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Discover groundbreaking biomedical discoveries, pioneering health care innovations, and expert perspectives from Penn Medicine.

Pamela Collins holds her son, John, as he wears the Sonura Beanie
The small, high-tech beanie protecting premature babies

The Sonura Beanie, designed by former Penn Engineering students, is calming babies in HUP’s intensive care nursery.

Kevin Mahoney, Jennifer Kogan, J. Larry Jameson, Rod Wong, Marti Wong, Lisa Bellini, and Jonathan Epstein at a Perelman School of Medicine donation event
Penn Medicine to redesign physician training with landmark gift

The gift sparks curriculum transformation, new lectureship, and names Entrepreneurship Pathway in honor of alumnus Rod Wong, M03.

Latest news

Study finds telemedicine visits cost far less than office visits

In addition to being five times less costly, the telemedicine visits led to fewer follow-up visits, too.

Samuel Parry awarded SMFM Lifetime Achievement Award

Samuel Parry, MD, the Franklin Payne Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn has been awarded the Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM)’s 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Where peak performance meets progressive disease

A muscle science lab draws on personal experience at the extremes—world-class athleticism and muscular dystrophy—in seeking a safer gene therapy.

‘Cyborg’ implants help lab-grown pancreas cells mature

A new electronic implant system can help lab‑grown pancreatic cells mature and function properly, potentially providing a basis for novel, cell-based therapies for diabetes.

America’s oldest hospital becomes Philadelphia’s newest museum

America’s first hospital will mark its 275th anniversary by transforming Pennsylvania Hospital’s historic Pine Building into a museum, open this May.

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People of Penn Medicine

Florencia Polite speaking with a pregnant patient
Healer, educator, advocate: Meet Dr. Florencia Polite

At home and overseas, Florencia Polite, MD, is on a mission to help patients and physicians understand how RSV vaccines protect newborns.

  • Meredith Mann
  • November 12, 2025
Deborah Burnham has led the Writing a Life group since 2015
She helps patients find their words to cast a spell on cancer

Even before she experienced cancer herself, Deborah Burnham, PhD, had a knack for “magical” prompts to help cancer patients write through their illness.

  • Daphne Sashin
  • February 4, 2026
Lloyd and Midge smile at the camera as they walk hand-in-hand through a Doylestown Hospital hallway. They are wearing matching tan khaki pants and matching red sweatshirts
Warm hands, smiling faces: Volunteers at Doylestown Health

Doylestown Health’s culture of service shines through its volunteer program, a coveted opportunity to give back to the hospital that has touched so many lives.

  • Olivia Kimmel
  • October 30, 2025
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Pioneering the future of medicine

A hand holding a trophy against a grey background.
Four Penn studies named among nation’s top clinical research advances

Perelman School of Medicine papers win Clinical Research Forum’s 2026 Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards, highlighting the power of federal funding for science.

  • January 20, 2026
Emeka Anyanwu, a clinician-engineer who uses the Chart Hero platform, is shown using the tool at a computer
New AI tool helps doctors to sift and synthesize patient data

An AI-guided platform at Penn Medicine allows clinicians to quickly and easily unearth pertinent information from patients’ electronic health records that otherwise might have been difficult to find.

  • Frank Otto
  • January 8, 2026
Kiran Musunuru and Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas
World’s first patient treated with personalized CRISPR therapy

In a historic medical breakthrough, a child with a rare genetic disorder has been successfully treated with a customized CRISPR gene editing therapy.

  • May 15, 2025
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Our service in action for local communities

Five members of the Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program standing outside of the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center Level 1 Trauma Center
An opportunity to do more to help victims of violence

The Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program received new Pennsylvania funding to help victims rebuild their lives interrupted by violence.

  • Kelsey Geesler
  • December 12, 2025
Josh Glick instructs people as they perform hands only CPR on mannikins
The Mobile CPR Project takes lifesaving training on the road

When cardiac arrest hits outside the hospital, the odds of survival are long. A Penn team aims to save lives with free trainings in Philly and beyond.

  • Kris Ankarlo
  • December 2, 2025
Two medical students sorting through a pile of clothes with a bearded man wearing a hat and an orange and black shirt
Penn’s future doctors build trust on the streets

Penn medical students are forging connections with those experiencing homelessness and shining a light on the transformative power of street medicine.

  • Daphne Sashin
  • October 6, 2025
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Health care that meets patients where and when they need us

Pam Fisher, left, and Kara Buda, PhD, right, stand outside talking
Cancer care for the mind and spirit

A program where cancer patients can get free mental health care addresses an underrecognized need: that cancer’s deepest wounds are often not physical.

  • Daphne Sashin
  • February 2, 2026
Pilot Eric Houghton inspects a PennSTAR helicopter on the rooftop of the Clifton Center for Health Care Innovation at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with the skyline of Philadelphia in the background
PennSTAR delivers critical care in the air, across the region

For PennSTAR, Penn Medicine’s critical care transport service, any given day brings a new opportunity to save lives—at high speed and altitude, anywhere they’re needed across the region.

  • Kris Ankarlo
  • January 15, 2026
Bri Iacona sitting with her husband and son on a bench outdoors
Back on her feet and breathing

The Penn Lung Rescue team kept Bri Iacona alive for four months with the most advanced form of life support before she could have a double lung transplant.

  • Daphne Sashin
  • December 26, 2025
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Recent news media highlights

A woman holds an ear plug up to her left ear

Listening to pink noise could be ruining your sleep

Many of us use soft background noise like pink noise to help us fall asleep. Unfortunately, this strategy could actually backfire, according to research led by Mathias Basner, MD, PhD, a professor of Sleep and Chronobiology in Psychiatry. — SELF

A 3D illustration of cancer cells in the lungs

Lung cancer hijacks the brain to trick the immune system

A new preclinical study led by Chengcheng Jin, PhD, of Cancer Biology, suggests that tumors trick the brain into protecting them. Lung cancer tumor cells communicate with the brain, sending signals to deactivate the body’s anticancer immune response. — Scientific American

Penn Medicine transplant surgeons performing a double hand transplant

Penn Medicine celebrates six decades of organ transplants

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Penn Transplant Institute (PTI), which has grown into one of the nation’s most active, comprehensive multi-organ transplant centers since its first kidney transplant in 1966. — NBC10

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