Health Sciences

Two people, one Black one white, sitting in a waiting room wearing masks.

Black and white women have same mutations linked to breast cancer risk

The prevalence of genetic mutations associated with breast cancer in Black and white women is the same, but the takeaway is not to change testing guidelines based on race alone, but focus on ensuring equal access to and uptake of testing to minimize disparities in care and outcomes.

Steve Graff ・

Ballerina Emily Davis is ‘on her toes’

May graduate Emily Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of Liberal and Professional Studies while working full-time as a ballerina with the Pennsylvania Ballet and volunteering to conduct research at CHOP and community service with Philadelphia nonprofits.

Louisa Shepard ・

From left to right: Jaclyn Camus, Anna Shirosky, Caitlyn Tukdarian

Penn Vet dual degrees: The student experience

The expansion of the dual degree program is timely, given the recent perfect storm of a pandemic; growing awareness of social, racial and economic inequity; and increased impact of climate change .

From Penn Vet ・

drawing of diverse group of people

The use and misuse of race in health care

In a Q&A, PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff, the Perelman School of Medicine’s Giorgio Sirugo, and Case Western Reserve University’s Scott Williams shed light on the “quagmire” of race, ethnicity, genetic ancestry, and environmental factors and their contribution to health disparities.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・



In the News


WebMD

Third COVID vaccine dose helps some transplant patients

Richard Wender of the Perelman School of Medicine said specialists, not primary care doctors, should be responsible for responding to emerging vaccination recommendations for unique populations such as transplant patients. Primary care doctors’ “focus needs to be on helping to overcome hesitancy, mistrust, lack of information, or anti-vaccination sentiment to help more people feel comfortable being vaccinated—this is a lot of work and needs constant focus,” he said.

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Boston Globe

Mass. joins several other states already deploying vaccine lotteries

David Asch of the Wharton School and Perelman School of Medicine said vaccine lotteries “appeal to the emotional side of our nature rather than the quantitative transactional side, and the former usually wins.”

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The New York Times

Scientists report earliest known coronavirus infections in five U.S. states

Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine commented on new research that identifies seven people who may be been infected with COVID-19 before the first confirmed cases in the U.S. “This is an interesting paper because it raises the idea that everyone thinks is true, that there were infections that were going undiagnosed,” he said.

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U.S. News & World Report

Teens who get while driving may take other risks behind the wheel

Research from the Annenberg Public Policy Center and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia finds that young adults who use the phone while driving are more likely to engage in other behaviors associated with car crashes. “It may be useful to treat cellphone use while driving as part of a group of risky driving behaviors, such as driving while impaired by alcohol,” said the APPC’s Dan Romer.

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The New York Times

COVID-sniffing dogs are accurate but face hurdles for widespread use

Cynthia Otto of the School of Veterinary Medicine said that before the U.S. deploys COVID-sniffing dogs on a large scale, clear training and performance standards need to be set.

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