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Health Sciences
Reaching millennial women ‘where they’re at’—on Instagram
Reaching millennial women ‘where they’re at’—on Instagram
Researchers in the Women’s Health Clinical Research Center at Penn Medicine began experimenting with using Instagram for clinical birth control trial recruitment in 2017, and have since seen a surge in research participants.
Artificial cells can deliver molecules better than the real thing
Artificial cells can deliver molecules better than the real thing
With an onion-like structure, the artificial cells developed by researchers at Penn appear more stable and better equipped to carry cargo than their natural and commercial counterparts.
Shorter courses of proton therapy can be just as effective on prostate cancer
Shorter courses of proton therapy can be just as effective on prostate cancer
Treating prostate cancer with higher doses of proton therapy over a shorter amount of time leads to similar outcomes when compared to standard dose levels and treatments, and is safe for patients.
How doctors can help cancer patients quit tobacco
How doctors can help cancer patients quit tobacco
A simple set of decision-support tools combined with institutional buy-in can help increase the number of cancer patients who engage in treatment to help them quit tobacco.
Relieving water scarcity, one home at a time
Relieving water scarcity, one home at a time
Due to a rapidly depleting underground aquifer, many residents of Mexico City are left with little-to-no easily accessible clean water for hours or days at a time. This summer, members of the Penn chapter of Isla Urbana helped install rainwater harvesting and filtration systems to provide residents of the Mexican capital with clean water year-round.
One simple change can reduce frequent cancer imaging by half
One simple change can reduce frequent cancer imaging by half
A “nudge” is helping shorten treatment time for patients with advanced cancer, with less frequent palliative radiation therapy sessions.
Use of evidence-based therapies for youth psychiatric treatment is slow to catch on
Use of evidence-based therapies for youth psychiatric treatment is slow to catch on
Intensive training and practices are critical but underutilized in Philadelphia, despite city and researchers’ substantial efforts to showcase their value.
Social solutions to antibiotic resistance
Social solutions to antibiotic resistance
Research by sociologist Julia Szymczak of the Perelman School of Medicine is aimed at understanding, and eventually changing, behaviors that lead to the overprescribing of antibiotics.
Unraveling the brain’s reward circuits
Unraveling the brain’s reward circuits
Food, alcohol, and certain drugs all act to reduce the activity of hunger neurons and to release reward signals in the brain, but alcohol and drugs rely on a different pathway than does food.
New data reveals cell size sparks genome awakening in embryos
New data reveals cell size sparks genome awakening in embryos
An innovative study provides a new perspective on how a zygote transitions from maternal to zygotic control, uncovering how an embryo “recognizes” when to undergo this transition.
In the News
The New Yorker
The promise and price of cellular therapies
Carl June of the Perelman School of Medicine was profiled for his contributions to the field of CAR-T cellular therapy.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
In surgical recovery—or any tough task—the key is to keep moving, cardiac resident learns
Jason Han, a surgical resident in the Perelman School of Medicine, wrote about the importance of movement to post-operative recovery. When patients get some momentum, “their mindset about recovery changes. They begin to believe their recovery is within their control and they challenge themselves to participate in their recovery.”
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Reuters Health
Reduced work hours for trainee doctors not seen to compromise care
Krisda Chaiyachati of the Perelman School of Medicine weighed in on workday reforms that limited doctors in training to an 80-work week and 30-hour shifts. “I imagine it would be politically challenging to ask young physicians to routinely work, say, 100 hours a week.”
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Bloomberg
Trump calls for overhaul of costly kidney dialysis program
In response to President Trump’s push to reform the kidney dialysis program, which largely relies on clinic-based treatment, Jeffrey Berns of the Perelman School of Medicine said “there is under-utilization of home dialysis and under-exposure to it.”
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The New York Times
Aid in dying soon will be available to more Americans. Few will choose it
Emily Largent of the Perelman School of Medicine commented on a study about Alzheimer’s risk and the perception of aid-in-dying laws. While most participants would not choose the route for themselves, the majority of those surveyed supported the option’s legality for others.
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