5/18
Coronavirus Research
A target for improving recovery from lung injury
After a bout of severe respiratory disease, some patients never fully recover. New research from the School of Veterinary Medicine identifies a factor responsible for inappropriate tissue regrowth after infection, pointing to a possible therapeutic target.
For ‘spirit of innovation,’ three from Penn named National Academy of Inventors Fellows
Vijay Kumar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine were honored with the recognition.
The pandemic’s impact on individual generosity
How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect people’s volunteering, donating, and helping behaviors? A report by SP2 faculty and students summarizes a nationally representative study aiming to answer this question.
Pre-pandemic conspiratorial mindset predicted hesitance to accept COVID-19 vaccine
A new study from the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that people who evinced a conspiracy mentality in 2019, prior to the pandemic, were subsequently more likely to believe COVID-19 conspiracy theories.
What U.S. adults know and believe about polio and the bivalent COVID booster
A new survey finds that while Americans say they do not have concerns about the safety or effectiveness of the bivalent COVID booster, they show much less acceptance of it than the vaccines against polio or monkeypox.
Unpacking barriers to COVID-19 vaccination in Latino communities
A study from Penn Nursing and others finds that for Latino or Hispanic populations in the U.S. four main barriers come into play: access to health care services, money, immigration concerns, and misinformation.
Hands-on medical simulation, simplified
Elizabeth Sanseau of CHOP and Annenberg’s Kyle Cassidy discuss Annenberg Hotkeys, a medical simulator developed during the pandemic to remotely prepare health care providers for emergency situations.
Despite lower crime rates in 2020, risk of victimization grew
Research out of Penn and the Naval Postgraduate School found that early in the pandemic the possibility of getting robbed or assaulted in a public place in the U.S. jumped by 15% to 30%, a rate that has stayed elevated since.
Do vaccine lotteries work?
Wharton’s Katy Milkman shares the lessons learned from last year’s Philly Vax Sweepstakes, a Penn-funded project designed to evaluate ways of increasing COVID-19 vaccinations in the city.
Understanding the expanded role of clinical ethicists
COVID-19 brought troubling ethical issues to clinical care, creating significant distress for clinicians, patients, and families. Behind the scenes, clinical ethicists managed those issues to support frontline workers.
In the News
The mRNA miracle workers
Nobel laureates Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine appear on “Sunday Morning” to discuss their careers, their mRNA research, and the COVID-19 vaccines.
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Review of COVID death stats finds likely undercount in official numbers
A paper co-authored by Penn researchers found that COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. were likely undercounted in official statistics during the first 30 months of the pandemic.
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The Franklin Institute honors nine scientists and engineers on its 200th anniversary
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine are noted for receiving awards from the Franklin Institute and subsequently being honored with a Nobel Prize.
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You should still get the COVID-19 vaccine. The Nobel Prize winner who helped discover it explains why
Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine, who won the Nobel Prize along with Katalin Karikó, discusses the backlash against vaccinations and whether to receive the latest COVID vaccine.
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Long COVID brain fog may originate in a surprising place, say scientists
A study by Christoph Thaiss and Maayan Levy of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues finds that long COVID’s neurological symptoms, like brain fog, memory loss, and fatigue, may stem from serotonin reduction.
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Long COVID research is in its ‘most hopeful’ phase yet
A study by Christoph Thaiss and Maayan Levy of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues suggests that serotonin could be a target for long COVID treatment.
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