Explore the Cores and More: CHOP-Penn Community Events This Fall

09/05/23

Dear Colleagues,

The long-standing partnership between CHOP and the University of Pennsylvania has contributed to innovative thinking and the development of revolutionary therapies. Our strong partnership and shared resources are a powerful combination to transform health outcomes for children and adults over the human lifespan.

An exciting example illustrating the strength of our collaborative efforts is a recently awarded joint $26 million grant between CHOP and Penn Medicine from the National Institutes of Health. The study aims to develop treatments for three rare, incurable genetic diseases that impact newborns in the first weeks and months after birth: phenylketonuria, hereditary tyrosinemia type 1, and mucopolysaccharidosis type 1.

Leading this research initiative are Principal Investigators Kiran Musunuru, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Genetics, and William Peranteau, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Musunuru is the scientific director of the Penn Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease, and Dr. Peranteau holds the Adzick-McCausland Distinguished Chair in Fetal and Pediatric Surgery and is an attending surgeon in the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at CHOP. They will use CRISPR gene editing tools to develop and validate the safety of new gene therapies that can be given to patients in vivo and build evidence to move potential treatments into clinical trials.

UPCOMING EVENTS

This fall, a series of events will bring together our scientific communities, offering opportunities to celebrate and forge more collaborative ventures:

Cores Day takes place Wednesday, Sept. 13. The in-person event, a joint venture with CHOP, PSOM, Penn Vet, and the Wistar Institute, will showcase more than 70 shared biomedical resources and services. New this year will be a series of live informational presentations from the Core directors and staff using the Smilow video wall. Register and learn more about Cores Day on the event page.
The next installment of our “Meet the Experts —The Story Behind the Breakthrough,” series also will take place on Sept. 13. Scott Adzick, MD, MMM, surgeon-in-chief at CHOP and Professor of Surgery at Penn; and Alan Flake, MD, director of the Center for Fetal Research and Professor of Surgery at Penn, sit down with WHYY’s Maiken Scott to discuss how their theoretical “crazy ideas” were refined over decades of translational research to advance pediatric surgery. You are invited to attend the event virtually or in-person at CHOP’s Hub for Clinical Collaboration Lecture Hall at 4 p.m.
The 18th annual Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT) Symposium will take place Oct. 9-10, focused on the theme “Origins, Emergence, Prediction and Perception of Disease: A Quantum of Solace.” ITMAT is composed of investigators across both CHOP and PSOM. This event is free to attend in-person in Smilow or virtually and features several national and international speakers. Learn more and register.

We look forward to seeing you at these fall events!

Sue and Jon

Jon Epstein, Executive Vice Dean | Chief Scientific Officer, Perelman School of Medicine

Susan Furth, Executive Vice President | Chief Scientific Officer, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia