Medicine | Penn Today

Three Penn faculty named Hastings Center Fellows

Holly Fernandez Lynch, Quayshawn Spencer, and Connie Ulrich have been named Hastings Center Fellows for deepening public understanding of complex ethical issues in health, health care, science, and technology.

Highlighted internal view of the female reproductive system.

FDA approves Penn’s ‘glowing tumor’ imaging drug to identify ovarian cancer cells

An injectable diagnostic illuminates cancer tissue that allows for greater precision during surgery was pioneered by surgeons at the University of Pennsylvania.

People light red candles in the shape of an AIDS awareness ribbon as darkness sets in

Access to HIV self-tests in Kenya

Marking World AIDS Day, Harsha Thirumurthy of the Perelman School of Medicine offers four takeaways from his research exploring the impact access to free HIV self-tests had on women in Kenya and on the importance of HIV awareness.

Common cardiac device implants and persistent opioid use overlap

A new study from Penn Medicine shows that about 12% of patients who receive implantable cardiac devices will continue taking pain medication in the months afterward.

Side by side maps of the northeastern United States representing 2016 and 2015 with darker shading in certain counties.

A better estimate for tick numbers with ‘citizen science’ data

A team led by School of Arts & Sciences biologists found a way to account for biases in data collected by members of the public, using it to create a comprehensive abundance map of the tick responsible for transmitting Lyme disease.

Onika Washington-Johnson hands a box of food to David Cabello in a parking lot.

A FAST approach to helping food insecurity

FAST (Food Access Support Technology) is a new platform created by Penn Medicine’s Center for Health Equity Advancement (CHEA) that connects health systems, food access community-based organizations and minority-owned small businesses to fight food insecurity.

Common gene variants linked to sepsis and COVID-19 severity in African Americans

Two genetic risk variants that are carried by nearly 40% of Black individuals may exacerbate the severity of both sepsis and COVID-19. A Penn Medicine study identifies two potential pathways to reduce the health disparities driven by these gene mutations.

People in masks talk about an exercise in listening

Learning to listen in troubled times

The SNF Paideia Program and partners featured Ernesto Pujol and Aaron Levy, an artist and an interdisciplinary scholar who have transformed both what it means to listen and what the act of listening can achieve as part of a lecture and workshops.

Texting thumb, trigger finger, gamer’s thumb and other smartphone injuries

David Bozentka of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the physical effects of heavy smartphone usage. “I consider texting thumb as more of a repetitive stress injury,” he said.

Person wearing a face mask holds up a smartphone, reading a text message.

Automated texting system saved lives weekly during first COVID surge

Patients enrolled in COVID Watch, an algorithmically driven text messaging system backed by a small team of nurses, were 68% less likely to die from COVID-19.

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