5/19
Health Sciences
Improving access to at-home health care
With their company Mobility Health, President’s Innovation Prize winners Aris Saxena and Yiwen Li have created a program which connects patients with on-demand health care at their homes.
How first responders and other parents can protect their children from trauma
While first responders try their best to shield their families from the emotional weight of their work, their children may take notice. First Responder Treatment Services at Penn Medicine Princeton House Behavioral Health offers ways to help.
Sister physicians share passion for local and global health equity
Trina and Nicole Salva are both OB/GYNs in Philadelphia whose outreach extends to underserved communities in the city, and to the Philippines—their family’s birthplace.
A new study finds genome refolding contributes to resistance to cancer therapy
While gene mutations can lead to drug resistance, researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine have identified an important, non-genetic adaptation that could also drive resistance to targeted therapy in T cell leukemia, a type of blood cell cancer.
Why unions matter for nursing
A new study examines nursing’s relationship to union organizing and feminism, as well as the profession’s unique organizing challenges.
Social isolation and anxiety in older adults with cognitive impairment
Social isolation among older adults with cognitive impairment has been historically understudied. Since the pandemic, older adults, particularly those with cognitive impairment, may be particularly vulnerable to ill effects from social isolation.
‘Mapping’ pancreatic cells at the development of Type 1 diabetes
Penn Medicine researchers examine of the underpinnings of the disease by creating a “map” to chart pancreatic islet cells over time.
From wearable light to tech startup
Lumify Care, supported by the 2021 President’s Innovation Prize and co-founded by May graduate Anthony Scarpone-Lambert and NICU nurse Jennifferre Mancillas, launched an app in January and expects version 2.0 of its uNight Light later in 2022.
Overcoming barriers to treatment for opioid use disorder
New research shows that emergency departments can be a gateway to medications for opioid use disorder.
One drink a day linked with reduced brain size
The Penn-led research, using a dataset of more than 36,000 adults, revealed that going from one to two drinks a day was associated with changes in the brain equivalent to aging two years. Heavier drinking was linked with an even greater toll.
In the News
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.”
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.”
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →