4/16
Health Sciences
Penn Medicine Researchers Pinpoint Potential New Drug Target for Protection against Certain Neurodegenerative Diseases
Penn Medicine researchers have discovered that hypermethylation - the epigenetic ability to turn down or turn off a bad gene implicated in 10 to 30 percent of patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) - serves as a protective barrier inhibiting the development of these diseases. Their work, published this month in Neurology, may suggest a neuroprotective target for drug discovery efforts.
Penn Researchers Describe New Approach to Promote Regeneration of Heart Tissue
The heart tissue of mammals has limited capacity to regenerate after an injury such as a heart attack, in part due to the inability to reactivate a cardiac muscle cell and proliferation program. Recent studies have indicated a low level of cardiac muscle cell (cardiomyocytes) proliferation in adult mammals, but it is insufficient to repair damaged hearts.
Penn Medicine Study Finds Being Near Greened Vacant Lots Lowers Heart Rates
Greening vacant lots may be associated with biologic reductions in stress, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Residents who walked near newly greened vacant lots had significantly lower heart rates compared to walking near a blighted, or neglected, vacant lot.
Penn Vet Team Points to New Colon Cancer Culprit
Colon cancer is a heavily studied disease — and for good reason. It is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and its numbers are on the rise, from 500,000 deaths in 1990 to 700,000 in 2010.
Penn Dental Medicine’s Lizeng Gao Wins 2015 IADR Innovation in Oral Care Award
Lizeng Gao, a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, has won a 2015 International Association for Dental Research Innovation in Oral C
Botswana-UPenn Partnership Teams up with Microsoft and Partners to Launch Telemedicine Service over TV White Spaces Network
The Botswana-UPenn Partnership (BUP) is collaborating with Microsoft, the Botswana Innovation Hub, and other global partners to launch the first telemedicine service in Africa using TV white spaces to bring internet connectivity to hospitals and clinics across rural areas of Botswana.
Two Penn Medicine Gene Therapy Researchers Receive Pennsylvania Bio Awards
Two researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvaniawill be honored for their contributions for the burgeoning field of gene therapy by Pennsylvania Bio at their annual dinner this week. Pennsylvania Bio is the statewide bioscience trade organization which works to make the Keystone State a life sciences hub by creating an environment which cultivates progress and success.
Penn Medicine Immunotherapy Pioneer Carl June, MD, Awarded 2015 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize
University of Pennsylvania cancer and HIV expert Carl June, MD, has been named one of two recipients of the 2015 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize for his outstanding work in cancer immunotherapy.
Penn Medicine Analysis Shows that One-Third of Americans Do Not Have Access to Stroke Center Within One Hour
Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States, but access to rapid EMS care and appropriate stroke care centers with the ability to deliver acute stroke therapies can drastically mitigate the debilitating effects of a stroke. A population-based approach to health planning would prevent disparities in access to specialized stroke care, says new Penn Medicine research.
Penn Scientists Describe the Function of an Enzyme Critical to Male Fertility
Researchers are one step closer to unraveling the extraordinarily complex series of processes that lead to an event crucial to human reproduction: the creation of sperm.
In the News
Philadelphia Gay News
UPenn hosts free online panel for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion
The Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative, led by José Bauermeister and Jessica Halem of the School of Nursing, will host a free online panel in April on the integration of LGBTQ+ people in the workforce.
FULL STORY →
The New Yorker
How to die in good health
PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel says that incessantly preparing for old age mistakes a long life for a worthwhile one.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Mayor Parker’s plan to ‘remove the presence of drug users’ from Kensington raises new questions
Shoshana Aronowitz of the School of Nursing and Ashish Thakrar of the Perelman School of Medicine comment on the lack of specificity in Philadelphia’s plan to remove drug users from Kensington and on the current state of drug treatment in the city.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
How many patients would recommend their Philly-area hospital to family and friends? Check your local hospital
The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania has been named one of the most recommended acute-care facilities by patients in the Philadelphia area.
FULL STORY →
WHYY (Philadelphia)
Homeward bound: When a Penn Medicine nurse was diagnosed with uterine cancer, she turned to the service dogs she helped to train
A profile highlights Maria Wright of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, from her volunteer work connecting people with service dogs to her cancer diagnosis and her own journey applying for a service dog.
FULL STORY →