Research and innovation
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Resetting brain circuits
New advances in technologies that stimulate the brain are breaking down boundaries between neurological and psychiatric treatments.
Helping patients regain the power of speech
Integrated clinical and research efforts at Penn are addressing the major unmet need for better solutions for aphasia and other communication losses.
America’s oldest hospital and the future of brain science
Growing from its origins in progressive mental health care, Pennsylvania Hospital is shaping the future of advanced care for neurological diseases.
Breathtaking discoveries that can transform medicine
New disease causes night blindness, peripheral vision loss
A newly uncovered genetic variant can leave central vision relatively untouched but causes loss of peripheral and low-light vision.
Benchmarks: recent highlights of discovery science
Molecular Cell: How cells ‘remember’ a viral infection
Scientists discovered a mechanism that allows cells to develop an “immune memory” and keep themselves in a heightened antiviral state to respond more strongly to viral infection. — Sept. 3, 2026
Disease Models & Mechanisms: Illuminating the mutations of NRXN1
Mutations in the NRXN1 gene have been linked to autism and other disorders, yet studying these mutations is tricky. But a team revealed unprecedented detail in the gene’s mutations using a new zebrafish model. — July 23, 2026
Nature Medicine: CAR T cells can survive decade in lymphoma patients
Within a group of long-term responders who’d received CAR T treatment, researchers found patients usually still had evidence of the cells in their blood after five years, including one patient with detectable cells after ten years. — Aug. 10, 2026
Fighting cancer with CAR T cell immunotherapy
AI framework aids target discovery for CAR T cell therapy
The customizable, human-in-the-loop AI framework uses public data to find viable target antigens for CAR T cell therapy.
Leading the way with innovative transplant methods
Bilateral hand transplant at Penn Medicine gives man new hands
Bilateral hand transplant at Penn Medicine gives Swiss man new hands 16 years after childhood amputations.
Our Nobel Prize-winning mRNA technology
New mRNA vaccine platform could expand global vaccine access
A Penn-developed nanoparticle platform could make mRNA vaccines easier to produce, store, and distribute.
Intercepting cancer before it starts
New frontiers in nipping cancer in the bud
The science of cancer interception is advancing at Penn Medicine with a new platform to develop cancer vaccines piling scientific strength upon strength.
Outstanding research leaders at the forefront
Two physician leaders will help shape LGBTQ+ health care
With a focus on strategy and research, Katie Dalke, MD, MBE, and Dovie Watson, MD, MSCE, build on Penn Medicine’s commitment to inclusive care.
The life-saving cycle of scientific innovation
How discoveries become cures, in a virtuous cycle
Public investments in biomedical research have an outsized effect, driving new scientific insights, economic growth, and ultimately treatments and cures.