Research Highlights
For more news highlights about basic science research at PennMedicine, see the PennMedicine Benchmarks e-newsletter.
- Penn Medicine Research Study Suggests New Role for ECMO in Treating Patients with Cardiac Arrest and Profound Shock
17 May 2013
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a procedure traditionally used during cardiac surgeries and in the ICU that functions as an artificial replacement for a patient's heart and lungs, has also been used to resuscitate cardiac arrest victims in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. Now, a novel study of this technique in the U.S. has been completed by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, indicating a potential role for this intervention to save patients who are unable to be resuscitated through conventional measures. - Penn Medicine Study Finds Broad Support for Rationing of Some Types of Cancer Care
15 May 2013
The majority of cancer doctors, patients, and members of the general public support cutting health care costs by refusing to pay for drugs that don't improve survival or quality of life, according to results of a new study that will be presented by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania during the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago in early June (Abstract 6518). - PARP Inhibitor Shows Activity in Pancreatic, Prostate Cancers Among Patients Carrying BRCA Mutations
15 May 2013
In the largest clinical trial to date to examine the efficacy of PARP inhibitor therapy in BRCA 1/2 carriers with diseases other than breast and ovarian cancer, the oral drug olaparib was found to be effective against advanced pancreatic and prostate cancers. Results of the study, led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel, will be presented during the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in Chicago in early June (Abstract 11024). - Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Names First Vice Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Eve J. Higginbotham, MD
15 May 2013
Eve J. Higginbotham, SM, MD, has been named the first Vice Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, effective August 1, 2013. - New Penn Medicine Research Identifies Infection and Sepsis-Related Mortality Hotspots Across the U.S.
15 May 2013
Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have created the first U.S. map that pinpoints hotspots for infection and severe sepsis related-deaths. - Pennsylvania Hospital Skilled Care Center Receives State's Second Annual Award for Excellence
14 May 2013
Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of Health Michael Wolf will be in Philadelphia tomorrow to present the second annual “Awards for Excellence in Health Care Compliance” to the Pennsylvania Hospital (PAH) Skilled Care Center (SCC). - Newly Described Type of Immune Cell and T cells Share Similar Path to Maturity, According to New Penn Study
13 May 2013
In animal studies, group-2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) confer immunity during a parasitic infection in mice and are also involved in allergic airway inflammation. A team of Perelman School of Medicine, researchers from the Departments of Medicine, Microbiology, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Cancer Biology, found that maturation of ILC2s requires T-cell factor 1 (TCF-1, the product of the Tcf7 gene) to move forward. TCF-1 is protein that binds to specific parts of DNA to control transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger RNA. - Penn Medicine Researchers Identify Four New Genetic Risk Factors for Testicular Cancer
12 May 2013
A new study looking at the genomes of more than 13,000 men identified four new genetic variants associated with an increased risk of testicular cancer, the most commonly diagnosed type in young men today. The findings from this first-of-its-kind meta-analysis were reported online May 12 in Nature Genetics by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. - Defects in Developmental Pathway Associated with Congenital Condition of Heart-Lung Connection
12 May 2013
Now, researchers have found that a mutation in a key molecule active during embryonic development makes the plumbing between the immature heart and lungs short-circuit, disrupting the delivery of oxygenated blood to the brain and other organs. The mutation ultimately causes blood to flow in circles from the lungs to the heart's right side and back to the lungs. - Not All Cytokine-producing Cells Start Out the Same Way, According to Penn Study
10 May 2013
Not all IL17-producing cells are the same, and the rules regarding how particular cell types are instructed to produce this important mediator differ. Research published this week in Nature Immunology from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania sheds light on the intricacies of those instructions. - Perelman School of Medicine Graduation: Doctors to Be Reached Near and Far to Make a Difference
10 May 2013
The Perelman School of Medicine's impact in global and community health will be well represented this Sunday at graduation, when 160 students take the Hippocratic Oath for the first time as new doctors. - John A. Dani Named Chair of Neuroscience at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
6 May 2013
John A. Dani, PhD, will become the new chair of the Department of Neuroscience in the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, on July 1, 2013. He will also serve as Director of the Mahoney Institute of Neurosciences (MINS) at Penn. - Penn Study Shows National Movement Against Non-Medically Indicated Deliveries Prior to 39 Weeks
6 May 2013
A national movement to eliminate non-medically indicated (NMI) delivery before 39 weeks has prompted nearly two-thirds of all U.S. hospitals handling non-emergency births to adopt specific policies against the practice, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The results of the nationwide survey represent a strong step in promoting maternal and perinatal health, and reducing the number of infants requiring admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The full results of the survey are being presented today at the Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. - Penn Medicine Immunologist Given Early-Career Research Award from Peers
6 May 2013
David Artis, PhD, assistant professor of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, will receive the AAI-BD Biosciences Investigator Award for outstanding, early-career research contributions to the field of immunology from the American Association of Immunologists (AAI). - Perelman School of Medicine Researchers Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
30 Apr 2013
Perelman School of Medicine researchers Shelley L. Berger, PhD, Daniel S. Och University Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology; director of the Penn Epigenetics Program, and Virginia Man-Yee Lee, PhD, director, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research; John H. Ware 3rd Professor in Alzheimer's Research; and professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, have been elected as new members to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. - First Large-Scale Study to Compare Treatments for HIV-Infected Children Finds Less-Used Regimen is More Effective for Children in Low-Resource Settings
30 Apr 2013
Researchers from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Perelman School of Medicine at The University of Pennsylvania, along with colleagues at the Botswana-Baylor Children's Clinical Centre of Excellence, conducted the first large-scale comparison of first-line treatments for HIV-positive children, finding that initial treatment with efavirenz was more effective than nevirapine in suppressing the virus in children ages 3 to 16. However, the less effective nevirapine is currently used much more often in countries with a high prevalence of HIV. The results of the study of more than 800 children are published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). - Penn Medicine's Brian Strom, MD, MPH, Receives Prestigious Translational Science Award for Contributions to Public Health and Policy
29 Apr 2013
Brian L. Strom, MD, MPH, the executive vice dean for Institutional Affairs in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, was recently presented with a National Award for Career Achievement and Contribution to Clinical and Translational Science at the Translational Science 2013 meeting in Washington, D.C. - Distinguished Penn Alumna and HHS Official Nicole Lurie, MD, MSPH, to Speak at the Perelman School of Medicine Commencement
26 Apr 2013
University of Pennsylvania alumna Nicole Lurie, MD, MSPH (B.A. '75, M.D.'79), Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will deliver the address at the Perelman School of Medicine's commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 12, 2013 in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. - Intractable Seizures Halted with Experimental Treatment for Rare Pediatric "Pretzel Syndrome"
25 Apr 2013
With a better understanding of underlying mechanisms that cause a rare neurodevelopmental disorder in the Old Order Mennonite population, referred to as Pretzel syndrome, a new study reports that five children were successfully treated with a drug that modifies the disease process, minimizing seizures and improving receptive language. - Penn Graduate Student and Postdoc Fellow Awarded Autism Science Foundation Grants
24 Apr 2013
A post-doctoral fellow and doctoral student in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have each been awarded an Autism Science Foundation (ASF) grant. - Binge Eating Curbed by Deep Brain Stimulation in Animal Model, Penn Study Shows
23 Apr 2013
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in a precise region of the brain appears to reduce caloric intake and prompt weight loss in obese animal models, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. - Anti-Smoking Ads with Strong Arguments, Not Flashy Editing, Trigger Part of Brain That Changes Behavior, says Penn Study
23 Apr 2013
Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that an area of the brain that initiates behavioral changes had greater activation in smokers who watched anti-smoking ads with strong arguments versus those with weaker ones, and irrespective of flashy elements, like bright and rapidly changing scenes, loud sounds and unexpected scenario twists. - Penn Researchers Discover Link Between Inherited Endocrine Tumor Syndrome and Well Studied Cell Pathway
23 Apr 2013
Researchers did not exactly understand how menin mutations lead to MEN1 syndrome, and more importantly, what molecular pathways might be dysregulated by menin mutations and thus can be targeted to improve therapy against this type of cancer. Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that pathway, which may lead to a new treatment for patients with MEN1 and sporadic endocrine tumors. - Penn Researcher Receives Prestigious National Clinical Research Award for Breakthrough in Gene Therapy
19 Apr 2013
A gene therapy study focused on finding a cure for a rare congenital blinding disease has been recognized as one of the ten most outstanding clinical research projects of the year by the Clinical Research Forum (CRF).