Research at Penn | Penn Today

Research at Penn | Penn Today Skip to Content Skip to Content News from University of Pennsylvania Try Advanced Search Research at Penn Each day, in every School at Penn, from labs to libraries, field sites to clinics, researchers are making strides to cure diseases, improve lives, and better understand our world. Promise Longer, Healthier Lives 1,407 clinical trials (FY24) >67,000 patients in clinical trials (FY24) 42 FDA approvals (through 2024) (From Penn Medicine) Progress Creative Solutions 125 patents issued (FY24) 354 invention disclosures (FY24) 12 PCI-supported spinouts and Penn affiliated startups (FY24) (From PCI) Purpose Stronger, Safer Communities 619 commercialization agreements (FY24) $2.8B total annual output within the Commonwealth (FY24) $47M in Pennsylvania state tax revenue (FY24) (From PCI and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research) Passion Curiosity-Driven Pursuits MacArthur Award faculty recipients Nobel Prize faculty recipients >150,000 undergraduate research hours (From Institutional Research & Analysis and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships) Lifesaving breakthrough in bacterial behavior Natural Sciences Lifesaving breakthrough in bacterial behavior Penn biophysicist Arnold Mathijssen uncovers how and why E. coli manage to swim upstream causing infections in challenging places such as the urinary tract, respiratory system, and catheters, pointing to new strategies for designing safer, more effective biomedical tools and treatments. 3 min. read Future mRNA vaccines may prevent food and seasonal allergies Health & Medicine Future mRNA vaccines may prevent food and seasonal allergies Early research from Penn Medicine finds a new mRNA vaccine stops allergens from causing immune reactions and life-threatening inflammation, with promise for future treatment for a variety of seasonal and food allergies. 2 min. read Electronic medical records help save lives of HIV patients Health & Medicine Electronic medical records help save lives of HIV patients Management and socioeconomic development expert Leandro ‘Leo’ Pongeluppe and colleagues found that switching from paper to electronic medical records at HIV clinics in Malawi led to an estimated 28% reduction in deaths after five years, with the greatest impact on children. 2 min. read Sniffing out cancer: Trained dogs can detect hemangiosarcoma by scent Health & Medicine Sniffing out cancer: Trained dogs can detect hemangiosarcoma by scent Penn Vet’s Cynthia M. Otto and Clara Wilson and colleagues show that trained dogs can identify the odor of hemangiosarcoma, a devastating canine cancer, offering the hope of a better screening tool and more effective treatments. 3 min. read A built-in ‘off switch’ to stop persistent pain Natural Sciences A built-in ‘off switch’ to stop persistent pain J. Nicholas Betley has led collaborative research seeking the neural basis of long-term sustained pain and finds that a critical hub in the brainstem holds a mechanism for stopping pain signals from reaching the rest of the brain. Their findings could help clinicians better understand chronic pain and lead to new, more efficacious treatments. 4 min. read Kiran Musunuru: Editing genes to save lives Health & Medicine Kiran Musunuru: Editing genes to save lives Kiran Musunuru develops gene-based therapies to improve the health of patients with heart disease and correct genetic changes in people affected by ultra-rare conditions. Amy Johnson: Pushing the boundaries of equine neurology Health & Medicine Amy Johnson: Pushing the boundaries of equine neurology Balancing clinical care with scientific inquiry, Penn Vet’s Amy Johnson leads efforts to decode the complexities of neurologic diseases in horses. 2 min. read Shreya Parchure: Leveraging AI to help stroke survivors recover speech abilities Health & Medicine Shreya Parchure: Leveraging AI to help stroke survivors recover speech abilities Doctoral student Shreya Parchure and her team evaluated the usefulness of an AI tool for personalizing speech therapy for patients with post-stroke aphasia. 4 min. read Turning peels into pavers: How Penn designers turn food scraps into biodegradable building materials Natural Sciences Turning peels into pavers: How Penn designers turn food scraps into biodegradable building materials The Weitzman School’s Laia Mogas-Soldevila and Yasaman Amirzehni transform unavoidable food waste—like fruit peels and eggshells, which account for 14.8% of post-consumer restaurant food waste—into durable, biodegradable building materials in collaboration with Penn Dining. 4 min. read The world’s smallest programmable, autonomous robots Technology The world’s smallest programmable, autonomous robots Engineers at Penn Engineering have created robots barely visible to the naked eye that operate without tethers, magnetic fields or joystick-like controls. 2 min. read An AI tool to help better understand medical visits Technology An AI tool to help better understand medical visits Penn Engineering’s multimodal medical dataset, Observer, links video, audio, and transcripts to clinical data and electronic health records. 2 min. read Rethinking ‘one-teacher, one-classroom’ Social Sciences Rethinking ‘one-teacher, one-classroom’ A new study by Penn GSE’s Richard Ingersoll evaluates a team-based model of organizing teaching staff in elementary and secondary schools that integrates teams of teaching staff in contrast to this traditional one-teacher, one-classroom approach. 2 min. read Novel plant-based approach to a better, cheaper GLP-1 delivery system Health & Medicine Novel plant-based approach to a better, cheaper GLP-1 delivery system Research led by Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell investigates the use of a lettuce-based, plant-encapsulated delivery platform as a new oral delivery of two GLP-1 drugs previously approved by the FDA in injectable form. 3 min. read Chris Callison-Burch: 25 years of AI innovation Technology Chris Callison-Burch: 25 years of AI innovation Penn Engineering faculty Chris Callison-Burch, a leading researcher in the artificial intelligence field, reflects on decades of technological innovations that have informed the present and future of AI. 2 min. read Truth Mjumbe: Using AI to preserve memory and dignity Social Sciences Truth Mjumbe: Using AI to preserve memory and dignity Professional counseling student at Penn GSE Truth Mjumbe built Recall Aid, an AI-powered memory-support platform inspired by his own experience with epilepsy, his grandfather’s dementia, and his father’s work preserving civil rights histories. 2 min. read Prithvi Parthasarathy: Using AI to improve health care delivery in rural India Global Prithvi Parthasarathy: Using AI to improve health care delivery in rural India Prithvi Parthasarathy, a fourth-year neuroscience major, designed an AI triage tool to improve hospital efficiency and patient care. 3 min. read Safeguarding health for animals and people Health & Medicine Safeguarding health for animals and people Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital and New Bolton Center’s Infection Prevention and Biosecurity Programs are focusing on infection prevention, control measures, and biosecurity strategies to protect the animals, people, and communities served by its hospitals and facilities. 2 min. read Deepfakes, digital doubles, and the law: Protecting identity in the AI era Business & Law Deepfakes, digital doubles, and the law: Protecting identity in the AI era The evolution of AI technology may require guardrails that protect people’s control of their own identities, says the Penn Carey Law professor. 3 min. read Planning ahead in an age of longevity Social Sciences Planning ahead in an age of longevity Tamara J. Cadet of the School of Social Policy & Practice discusses strategies for preparing—financially and physically— for an extended lifespan. 3 min. read Preventing falls in older adults with mild cognitive impairment Health & Medicine Preventing falls in older adults with mild cognitive impairment A team led by researchers in the School of Nursing has developed a multicomponent intervention that uses passive monitoring and behavioral support to help reduce falls in at-risk older adults. 4 min. read Election transparency and voter privacy Business & Law Election transparency and voter privacy A new study in Sciences Advances, co-authored by Penn Carey Law’s Michael Morse, introduces the concept of vote revelation, or the potential for a vote on an anonymous ballot to be linked to the voter’s name in the public voter file. 2 min. read Tricia Rojo Bushnell: Using data to drive criminal justice reform Business & Law Tricia Rojo Bushnell: Using data to drive criminal justice reform Tricia Rojo Bushnell leads an interdisciplinary, data-driven research and policy hub focused on improving the criminal justice system. Mia McElhatton: How climate change affects migration Social Sciences Mia McElhatton: How climate change affects migration Fourth-year philosophy major Mia McElhatton is investigating the effects of climate change on how people move from place to place. 2 min. read Antonia Villarruel and Kathleen Hall Jamieson: Recommendations for economic prosperity and national security Campus & Community Antonia Villarruel and Kathleen Hall Jamieson: Recommendations for economic prosperity and national security Dean Antonia M. Villarruel of Penn Nursing and Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center are on the Vision for American Science and Technology task force that devised the policy recommendations. How plants ‘hedge their bets’ for better reproductive outcomes Natural Sciences How plants ‘hedge their bets’ for better reproductive outcomes Penn biologists reveal how plants respond to seasonal flowering cues while protecting the stem cells at their growing tip, enabling continuous reproduction in changing environments. 3 min. read What is real about human-AI relationships? Social Sciences What is real about human-AI relationships? In a new paper, Annenberg School for Communication doctoral student Arelí Rocha explores how people discuss their relationships with AI chatbots. 2 min. read Raindrop-formed ‘sandballs’ that erode hillsides tenfold Natural Sciences Raindrop-formed ‘sandballs’ that erode hillsides tenfold Penn geophysicists and colleagues have uncovered Earth-sculpting processes that result from the formation of snowball-like aggregates they call ‘sandballs.‘ Their findings provide fundamental insights into erosion and will broaden scientific understandings of landscape change, soil loss, and agriculture. 3 min. read Helping robots work together to explore the moon and Mars Technology Helping robots work together to explore the moon and Mars Penn Engineers, NASA, and five other universities tested robotic systems designed to help unmanned explorers cooperate in the dunes of White Sands, New Mexico, paving the way for moon and Mars exploration. 5 min. read Helheim Glacier: New information on sea-level rise Natural Sciences Helheim Glacier: New information on sea-level rise For nearly a decade, Leigh Stearns and collaborators aimed a laser scanner system at Greenland’s Helheim Glacier. Their long-running survey reveals that Helheim’s massive calving events don’t behave the way scientists once thought, reframing how ice loss contributes to sea-level rise. 5 min. read Exploring Black America: A historian’s unique path of inquiry Social Sciences Exploring Black America: A historian’s unique path of inquiry Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marcia Chatelain, a Penn Presidential Compact Professor of Africana Studies, takes a unique approach to history, from the impact of fast food to the leadership of the Civil Rights Movement. 4 min. read Ani Liu: Motherhood, microplastics, and her multimedia works on display Arts & Humanities Ani Liu: Motherhood, microplastics, and her multimedia works on display Weitzman professor of fine arts Ani Liu explores the physiological and emotional transformations in motherhood through her multimedia artworks while teaching students how to conduct fine arts research. 2 min. read Stefan Hatch: Tackling housing insecurity Social Sciences Stefan Hatch: Tackling housing insecurity Building on his working helping psychology professor Sara Jaffee evaluate PHLHousing+, Philadelphia’s monthly cash assistance pilot program, fourth-year Stefan Hatch has focused on housing instability in two senior research projects for his majors, urban studies and psychology. 2 min. read Research at Penn: In print Research at Penn is also a print publication highlighting notable research from across the University. Featuring original and repurposed stories from Penn Today, Research at Penn is brought to you twice a year by the Office of University Communications and available as a PDF ( Spring 2026 and Fall 2025 ). For more information on Penn’s research ecosystem, visit the Office of the Vice Provost for Research . To request a print copy of Research at Penn , email upnews@upenn.edu