Health Sciences

Five University of Pennsylvania Professors Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

PHILADELPHIA –- Five University of Pennsylvania faculty members have been named Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  They are among 212 new Fellows and 16 Foreign Honorary Members recognized as some of the world’s most accomplished leaders from academia, business, public affairs, the humanities and the arts. The new AAAS Fellows at Penn are:

Jacquie Posey

Penn School of Nursing Hosts Bioethics Symposium April 27

PHILADELPHIA – The Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania opens its 25th-anniversary year with the symposium “Bioethics: History Informing the Future.”  

A New Way to Make Reprogrammed Stem Cells

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have devised a totally new and far more efficient way of generating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), immature cells that are able to develop into several different types of cells or tissues in the body.

Karen Kreeger

Penn Study Sheds Light on End of Life Management of Implanted Defibrillators

Each year, more than 100,000 patients in the U.S. undergo implantation of a new implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for heart rhythm abnormalities. This number constitutes a 20-fold increase over the last 15 years. Current medical guidelines advocate discussion of end of life care of these medical devices, including deactivation, but many patients may not understand their options.

Jessica Mikulski

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation as Good as Surgery for High Risk, Operable Patients

Just released data from a clinical trial shows continued promise for a new minimally invasive treatment option for patients with severe aortic stenosis.  New research presented at the 2011 American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Sessions from the first arm, Cohort A, of the Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valves (PARTNER) Trial shows that transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Jessica Mikulski



In the News


Fortune

California declares a state of emergency as a new severe bird flu case was discovered. What it means for the rest of the country

Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine says the latest H5N1 bird flu strain might have a greater potential to adapt and cause severe disease in humans.

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The New York Times

Is protein powder a scam?

Colleen Tewksbury of the School of Nursing and Perelman School of Medicine says that the vast majority of people in the U.S. already get enough protein from the foods they eat and don’t need to take it in supplement form.

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Las Vegas Sun

Nation’s health care industry can be improved, if we have the will to try

Michael Anne Kyle of the Perelman School of Medicine says that patient frustration with health care is fueled by spending a lot of money while still facing problems with the service.

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The Washington Post

Dogs may be able to communicate by pressing buttons, research suggests

Postdoc Amritha Mallikarjun of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that dogs use buttons as a trained behavior to try and get the things they want.

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NPR

For kids with rare genetic disorders, customized CRISPR treatments offer hope

Scientists at Penn are trying to develop a template for groups of rare conditions that are similar enough to be affected by a single, easily adaptable gene-editing treatment.

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