1.21
Health Sciences
Embracing digital dentistry
Embracing digital dentistry
The School of Dental Medicine is enhancing and integrating its digital capabilities, opening up new possibilities for training students, conducting research, and delivering seamless and cutting-edge patient care.
The last line of defense: Contact tracers and COVID-19 patients
The last line of defense: Contact tracers and COVID-19 patients
The third in a series of Penn Medicine’s public health outreach to stem the spread of the coronavirus looks at the role of contact tracing.
Donita Brady is ready for the next steps in cancer biology research
Donita Brady is ready for the next steps in cancer biology research
The Presidential Professor of cancer biology leads a team that is working to understand how cancer grows uncontrolled in cells and discovering novel ways to stop it.
Creative storytelling through TimeSlips
Creative storytelling through TimeSlips
Through the TimeSlips program at the Penn Memory Center, older individuals are engaged through visual prompts to not just remember, but engage creatively with stimuli.
Uniting against an invisible foe
Uniting against an invisible foe
All across the University, researchers have launched new areas of study, reaching across disciplinary boundaries to make stunning progress in combating COVID-19.
Diagnostic imaging may increase risk of testicular cancer
Diagnostic imaging may increase risk of testicular cancer
New research shows a statistically significant increased risk of testicular cancer among those reporting at least three exposures to X-ray, including a colon X-ray, and CT below the waist.
To catch and contain COVID, step two is to process samples
To catch and contain COVID, step two is to process samples
The second in a series on the steps the health care community takes to quelling the spread of the virus, a look at the 24-hour cycle of testing.
Racial disparities in pediatric diabetes treatment
Racial disparities in pediatric diabetes treatment
Despite similar outpatient appointment attendance rates, significant disparities in continuous glucose monitoring and insulin pump use were observed in non-Hispanic Black children over 20 years.
Five things to know about the promising COVID-19 vaccine news
Five things to know about the promising COVID-19 vaccine news
Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine, whose work is a key factor helping to enable two vaccines in late stages of testing, sheds light on the biology behind them and on his predictions about next steps in vaccine development and approval.
Researchers find link between food insecurity and cardiovascular death risk
Researchers find link between food insecurity and cardiovascular death risk
Increasing rates of food insecurity in counties across the United States are independently associated with an increase in cardiovascular death rates among adults between the ages of 20 and 64.
In the News
NPR
Current, deadly U.S. coronavirus surge has peaked, researchers say
David Rubin of the Perelman School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said that while there’s been a decline in COVID-19 transmission rates in most parts of the country, it will take many weeks or months for the number of people getting sick and dying to fall. "It's going to take a while. There's going to be a long tail, unfortunately," he said.
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The Washington Post
Some COVID-19 mutations may dampen vaccine effectiveness
E. John Wherry and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about how new variants of the novel coronavirus might respond to the existing COVID-19 vaccines. “We don’t want people thinking that the current vaccine is already outdated. That’s absolutely not true,” said Wherry. However, he warned, the mutations “do in fact reduce how well our immune response is recognizing the virus.”
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The New York Times
Underselling the vaccine
Aaron Richterman of the Perelman School of Medicine said overemphasizing the COVID-19 vaccine’s imperfections and unknowns may do more harm than good. “Not being completely open because you want to achieve some sort of behavioral public health goal—people will see through that eventually,” he said.
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The New York Times
Need a new knee or hip? A robot may help install it
Matthew Sloan of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the increase in hip and knee replacement surgeries in the past 20 years. “Among the older patients, the big driver is the desire to stay active,” he said.
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CBS Philadelphia
Drug being tested at University of Pennsylvania to treat COVID-19 shows promise
Carl June of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about cyclosporin, an inexpensive drug that may help prevent severe inflammation in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. “Hopefully, [FDA approval of the drug] would decrease the burden of patients in our hospitals,” June said.
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