CAMB's Coronavirus Response

Following the university’s current guidelines regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19), CAMB has developed, and will update continually, detailed information and resources for the following CAMB-wide topics:

Thesis Level Research | Thesis Committee Meetings | Thesis Defenses

For updated COVID guidelines from Penn, please refer here

For free COVID testing, please refer to:

For additional resources, please refer to:

If you have any questions or concerns, please email Dan Kessler, Craig Bassing, the CAMB Coordinators, and/or the Program Chairs. Their contact information can be found on the CAMB Administration page.

Information last modified January 20, 2023 

Thesis Level Research

Full Research Operations are in effect with the following precautions:

  • Across campus, consistent with University and Health System guidelines, cloth masks will no longer be allowed as the sole face-covering.  Students/staff/faculty should follow University masking guidelines when indoors. You may wear a K(N)95 mask or layer a cloth mask over a surgical style disposable mask. 

  • Physical distancing is recommended while indoors or outdoors. However there are no longer any density limitations.
  • The University requires every member of our community to provide proof of vaccination, including booster.
  • Use PennOpenPass to assess symptoms of and exposure to COVID-19

To anonymously report COVID-19 compliance violations, please call 215-P-COMPLY or make an online report. If you are in a CHOP lab, please call 866-246-7456 or make an online report using "CHOP" as the access ID. For reporting mask non-compliance, you can use this form.

Thesis Committee Meetings

Students may have virtual or in-person thesis committee meetings, depending on what works best for you. For virtual meetings, Zoom is recommended and supported by the University and PSOM. Please see our detailed instructions for setting up and starting a Zoom meeting. Plan for the usual 2 hour time block. We recommend doing a trial run beforehand to become familiar with any annotation type functions, which may be helpful while giving your PowerPoint presentations. Please reach out to your coordinator if you would like help with any aspect of setting up the virtual meeting.

Thesis Committee Chairs should schedule the student-only and mentor-only discussions prior to the scheduled thesis committee meeting if it is virtual.

Thesis Defenses

Thesis Defenses can now be in-person, virtual, or hybrid events. Students with an upcoming thesis defense please contact the CAMB office and let your coordinator know which you would prefer. The student's thesis defense presentation will be public regardless of format, and can be recorded for the student to share later. Any in-person thesis defense needs to abide by University COVID guidelines, which include:

  • The University requires that all that all members of the Penn community and visitors wear masks while indoors, in public or in shared spaces.    
  • The University requires every member of our community to provide proof of vaccination.
  • Use PennOpenPass to assess symptoms of and exposure to COVID-19
  • The travel suspension has been lifted, but guidelines regarding vaccines and some international travel are found here.
  • Visitors are welcome to campus and must comply with all Philadelphia health guidelines and policies and Penn Visitor Guidelines. Visitors must also complete a PennOpen Pass Screening.

Starting with the Fall 2021 term, PhD students will deposit their dissertations electronically with The Office of the Provost. Refer to the Graduation Checklist for more detailed information.