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To get smokers to quit, tap into their biology
Andrew Strasser in tobacco lab conducting research

To get smokers to quit, tap into their biology

How quickly nicotine clears the bloodstream determines which treatment will work best, a tool scientists at Penn Medicine are using to advance the field of tobacco research.

Michele W. Berger

The diversity of rural African populations extends to their microbiomes
A group of people, some holding sacks, next to a small rustic house and under trees

Hadza people gather to receive a government-provided food supply of beans and maize. (Photo: Alessia Ranciaro/Tishkoff Lab)

The diversity of rural African populations extends to their microbiomes

In the largest study of its kind, researchers led by PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff, Matthew Hansen, and Meagan Rubel investigated the gut microbiomes of people from Botswana and Tanzania, and illuminate the impact of lifestyle, geography, and genetics in shaping the microbiome.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Going out of the box to learn to treat exotic creatures
Penn Vet students examining a turtle

Fourth-year veterinary student Sarah Gronsky gets a close-up view of Cordelia, a Russian tortoise, at the School of Veterinary Medicine’s Ryan Hospital. To stand out in a competitive field, students hoping to pursue exotics veterinary medicine often squeeze extra research and training into their schedules.

Going out of the box to learn to treat exotic creatures

Veterinary students interested in wildlife, zoo, and exotics medicine get creative—and driven—to get the training opportunities they need to advance.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Podcast series charts a path for Latin Americans in science
With a microphone between them, Enrique Lin-Shiao and Kevin Alicea-Torres sit for an interview with one of the subjects of their podcast.

Co-founders of the "Caminos en Ciencia" podcast, biomedicine doctoral students Enrique Lin-Shiao and Kevin Alicea-Torres craft their program to highlight the career tracks and accomplishments of Latinx scientists. (Photo: Courtesy of Lin-Shiao and Alicea-Torres)

Podcast series charts a path for Latin Americans in science

Concerned about the scarcity of Latin Americans in scientific careers, doctoral students Kevin Alicea-Torres and Enrique Lin-Shiao took action to prime the pump. On their Spanish-language podcast, “Caminos en Ciencia,” they chat with Latinx scientists who discuss their career paths and provide advice for young scientists-to-be.

Katherine Unger Baillie

PCI event recognizes faculty trailblazers
business woman making connections on a screen while holding an ipad

PCI event recognizes faculty trailblazers

A Penn Center for Innovation event on Wednesday will celebrate this year’s 100-plus patent awardees and honor individuals with the most impressive startups, inventions, devices, and deals.

Lauren Hertzler

Two from Penn named to new class of AAAS Fellows
Michel Koo and Joshua Plotkin

Hyun (Michel) Koo and Joshua Plotkin

Two from Penn named to new class of AAAS Fellows

Noted for their contributions to dental and biological sciences, respectively, Hyun (Michel) Koo of the School of Dental Medicine and Joshua Plotkin of the School of Arts and Sciences are part of the newest cohort of fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Sniffing for science
Melissa Hopkins leans over to give a treat to her dog Cedar as instructor Meghan Ramos and other class participants look on

Melissa Hopkins stands ready with a treat as her dog Cedar successfully locates a target scent during a class at Penn Vet’s Working Dog Center. One of the course’s instructors, Meghan Ramos (at left in blue), says the course allows owners to “help their dog contribute to society in a positive way.”

Sniffing for science

In the “Citizen Science” course at the School of Veterinary Medicine’s Working Dog Center, Meghan Ramos and Tessa Seales work with dog owners to enhance their pups’ scent detection skills, with an eye toward bolstering the Center’s research.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Getting science right in the fake news era
closeup of stack of newspapers
  • Q&A

    • Getting science right in the fake news era

    Over his career as a science journalist, Carl Zimmer has seen legitimate science reporting denied and illegitimate science news taken as fact. In advance of a talk at Penn, Zimmer discusses the problem of misinformation and offers tips for avoiding being fooled by bogus science stories.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Johnson & Johnson lands at Penn
    'Bell ringing' at JPOD launch Earlier this month, Johnson and Johnson’s Michael Sneed and Penn President Amy Gutmann joined at the Pennovation Center to celebrate the launch of JPOD @ Philadelphia, a networking hub for several startups in the health and biotechnology field. Avisi is part of the inaugural cohort of resident companies supported by the incubator.

    Johnson & Johnson lands at Penn

    JPOD @ Philadelphia officially launched at Pennovation Works on Nov. 1, expanding the region’s ever-evolving innovation ecosystem.

    Lauren Hertzler