Excellence coupled to diversity and commitment are the hallmarks of Penn Medicine.
The strength of our research training programs can be attributed to the breadth and
depth of research expertise among our faculty, superior training programs in all
contemporary areas of biomedical science, and the diversity of our student body.
• Penn Medicine offers PhD training programs in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics,
Cell and Molecular Biology, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Genomics and Computational
Biology, Immunology, Neuroscience, and Pharmacological Sciences.
• Masters degrees are offered in Bioethics, Clinical Epidemiology, Health Policy Research, Public Health, and Translational Medicine.
• Penn Medicine provides trainees with both basic and clinical research opportunities in
an interdisciplinary environment that encourages collaboration and a broadening of students' perspectives.
• Currently there are some 753 students in PhD programs, 157 in combined degree
programs, 309 in Masters programs, and 723 post-doctoral fellows.
• Students have access to our 550 full-time training faculty who are drawn from
45 departments, centers and institutes in the Perelman School of Medicine, with over 1.4 million
net square feet of research space. Annual research funding for these
faculty exceeds $500,000,000.
• Additional educational offerings include Biomedical Postdoctoral programs, Certification and Non-Degree Programs, Patient Oriented Research Certification, Clinical Research Certification, Clinical Neurosciences Track (CNST), and the Robert Wood Johnson Scholars Program.
Learn more about our programs and resources by exploring this site.
» Perelman School of Medicine News and Press Releases
Penn Medicine is published
3 times a year for the alumni and friends of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center by the Office of Public Affairs » Meet a Penn Med Researcher
James Shorter, Ph.D.
James Shorter, Ph.D. Receives the Michael S. Brown New Investigator Award
James Shorter, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, is the winner of this year’s Michael S. Brown New Investigator Award. Dr. Shorter’s independent research focuses on the mechanisms by which protein-remodeling factors, molecular chaperones and small molecules antagonize amyloid fibers and preamyloid oligomers. It provides a superb and unique link between detailed quantitative analyses of protein folding and the diseases that arise when it goes awry. This work has enormous significance for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, in which amyloid structures play an important role. Already Dr. Shorter’s views are sought across the field, and his research generates a great deal of excitement; it has been the subject of press releases not just by Penn Medicine, but by the NIH, the Boston Biomedical Research Institute, the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, and others. Dr. Shorter’s colleagues described him as “exceptional” and “insightful”, and praise him for being a “very conscientious citizen of Penn”. His work addresses crucially important biomedical questions, and will have a significant impact on developing innovative strategies to attack diverse neurodegenerative disease problems.