5/19
Health Sciences
Two Penn affiliates named 2022 Soros Fellows
Two Penn affiliates named 2022 Soros Fellows
Rishi Goel, a second-year Perelman School of Medicine student, and Kingson Lin, who graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 2017, are among the 30 recipients of the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.
Social connections influence brain structure of rhesus macaques
Social connections influence brain structure of rhesus macaques
Researchers from Penn, Inserm, and elsewhere observed that the number of grooming partners an individual animal had predicted the size of brain areas associated with social decision-making and empathy.
A new approach to nerve healing
A new approach to nerve healing
Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine developed an injectable microtissue that preserved muscle function in rodents with a severed nerve.
Lead toxicity risk factors in Philadelphia
Lead toxicity risk factors in Philadelphia
Two studies identify factors that correlate with high blood-lead levels in children, pointing to ongoing environmental justice issues that disproportionately fall on children of color and poorer communities in the city.
Questioning what we know about dementia
Questioning what we know about dementia
Penn researchers are looking into moments of sudden, clear communication in someone with progressive neurodegenerative disease for a deeper understanding of both brain science and philosophy.
Solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC
Solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC
The latest assessment offers both a harsh reality check and a path forward. Experts William Braham, Peter Psarras, and Michael Mann offer their thoughts.
HUP Pavilion’s halo lights up: A beacon for awareness
HUP Pavilion’s halo lights up: A beacon for awareness
The tops of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Pavilion is periodically lit up in colors to support causes that matter to Penn Medicine, like Rare Disease Day and relief efforts for Ukrainians.
Providing naloxone in the emergency department can save lives
Providing naloxone in the emergency department can save lives
A survey finds that approximately half of the patients said that they were carrying naloxone after their ED visit and two-thirds planned to continue carrying naloxone in the future.
Higher rates of chemical sedation among Black psychiatric patients points to inequities
Higher rates of chemical sedation among Black psychiatric patients points to inequities
Penn Medicine researchers also find that white patients are more likely to be chemically sedated in emergency departments at hospitals that treat high proportion Black patients, suggesting that hospital demographics can impact practice patterns.
Inflammation is not always linked to depression
Inflammation is not always linked to depression
A new Penn Medicine study finds that late-life depression is not linked to inflammation when other inflammatory conditions are excluded, but that depression occurs independently of inflammation.
In the News
WHYY (Philadelphia)
Want to know which COVID variant you have?
Frederick Bushman of the Perelman School of Medicine comments on COVID variant tracking: “If we know what variants are involved, what their properties are, we can tell what to expect by sort of forecasting by the experience of other places that are ahead of us, based on our sequence and knowledge of the different variants.”
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Business Today
Omicron infection produces better immunity response than booster shots: Report
John Wherry of the Perelman School of Medicine says COVID breakthrough infections should be thought of as essentially equivalent to another dose of vaccine and that, if someone had COVID recently, they could wait before getting another booster shot.
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Wink News
Head injury: Higher risk of epilepsy later in life
Discussing traumatic brain injuries, Andrea Schneider of the Perelman School of Medicine says, “One head injury is associated with about 1.2 times increased risk, but having more than one head injury is associated with over two times increased risk.”
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Bloomberg
Burnt-out nurses push back as staff shortages strain hospitals
Linda Aiken of the School of Nursing comments that there is pressure to cut hospital nursing staffs, but fewer nurses mean more deaths.
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6ABC.com
Penn Medical School holds first in-person commencement since pandemic
Graduates of The University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine were honored during their 2022 commencement Sunday morning at The Kimmel Center. The graduating class of 169 people were able to receive their diplomas and take the Hippocratic Oath in person for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.
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