News and views

Discover groundbreaking biomedical discoveries, pioneering health care innovations, and expert perspectives from Penn Medicine.
The exterior of the Scheie Eye Institute in MOTION van

Scheie Eye Institute in MOTION: Eye care, delivered on wheels

A brand-new all-electric Scheie Eye Institute van offering community-based screening for the four leading causes of blindness is now taking to the streets.

Alexander Lin and an advanced practice provider standing in front of a proton treatment room

Penn launches first advanced proton therapy clinical trial

The new form of proton therapy is called FLASH and is designed to deliver cancer-killing radiation therapy in less than a second.

Latest news

Framework calls for lifelong care after neurotrauma

A Penn-led consortium recommends lifelong monitoring and coordinated care after traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.

Telling patient stories while maintaining trust

Penn Medicine clinicians, scholars, and a determined medical student are building the framework for writing about patients with care.

$12 million expands Howley ASPIRE Nurse Scholars Program

$12 million from the Howley Foundation will expand educational opportunities for high schoolers while strengthening the region's nursing workforce.

Seven Penn faculty elected to National Academy of Medicine

Leaders in the fields of genetics, anesthesiology, veterinary medicine, and reproductive health are among the 100 new members, elected by current NAM members.

AI model can uncover unseen health issues in CT scans

The AI model Percival can detect health issues and unearth potential risks through CT scans, even for issues the imaging wasn’t ordered for.

View all

Back-to-school stories 

Kent Bream checking student Jaisen Smith’s blood pressure in a school gym

A new playbook for community care

Penn Medicine is helping student-athletes stay in the game while expanding access to care where it is needed most.

  • Lydia Moore-Hill
  • September 22, 2026
Jamie Shuda sitting at her desk, looking at BioEYES journals, with drawings and notes on her office wall in the background

Small fish, big impact

“Every kid can do science.” That’s the mission of Jamie Shuda, who has expanded Penn Medicine’s STEM community outreach programs.

  • Julie Wood
  • September 9, 2026
A teenage boy sleeping in a bed

The science behind teen sleep

Penn Medicine experts explain how later school start times could support teen sleep, learning, safety, and mental health.

  • Eric Horvath
  • August 19, 2026

People of Penn Medicine

Deidre Gray at a desk with a laptop, phone, and tablet

The ‘angel’ in the inbox

Patients think they’re reaching an institution when they message Penn Medicine on social media. What they remember is the person who reached back.

  • Daphne Sashin
  • July 27, 2026
Katie Dalke, MD, and Dovie Watson, MD, stand side-by-side in the lobby of the Clifton Center near a multi-colored mural

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.

  • Nicole Sweeney Etter
  • June 8, 2026
Neha Vapiwala with the Clifton Center in the background

How to grow at every stage of your medical career

Neha Vapiwala, MD, offers lessons for finding purpose throughout one’s professional journey in medicine.

  • Meagan Raeke
  • September 21, 2026
View all

Pioneering the future of medicine

Uterus transplant recipient, Jen Gobrecht, looks lovingly at husband, Drew

Uterus transplants in the United States largely successful

A national review finds uterus transplants have led to dozens of healthy births as surgical outcomes continue to improve.

  • September 24, 2026
An illustration of a microscopic image of CAR T cells attacking a cancer cell

10-year remissions with CAR T therapy in B-cell lymphoma

Many patients with large B-cell lymphoma or follicular lymphoma were still living without a relapse, 10 years after receiving CAR T therapy.

  • June 24, 2026
Gloved hands hold two large tubes containing clumps of cells in a clear liquid

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.

  • Christina Hernandez Sherwood
  • June 15, 2026
View all

The transformative power of philanthropy

Exterior rendering of the Middleman Center at Penn Medicine

Middleman gift accelerates Penn Medicine breakthroughs

The gift establishes the Middleman Center and Middleman Fund to advance promising discoveries and speed new treatments to patients.

  • September 10, 2026
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.

  • January 22, 2026
Rendition of a molecule

Novel medicine for rare disease prompts $10M gift for trials

The Clayco Foundation award will go toward safety trials of a new small molecule drug aimed at treating RVCL, a rare, fatal disease with no cure.

  • July 7, 2026

Celebrating our history

Stacey Peeples standing in her office, looking at shelves of books and artifacts

Preserving Pennsylvania Hospital’s history ‘never gets old’

Stacey Peeples oversees the archives of the nation’s first chartered hospital, home to a nearly three-hundred-year collection of medical artifacts.

  • Julie Wood
  • May 7, 2026
a bearded man stands behind an Apothecary desk

The evolution of the apothecary in a historic hospital

At Pennsylvania Hospital, tracing the history of the apothecary shows the importance of professionals helping patients with medicines, then and now.

  • March 27, 2026
A view of a photographic glass plate showing a coin purse with two coins inside. Two gloved hands hold open the cardboard housing the glass.

X-ray plates from 1896 give a snapshot of Penn’s place in history

A pair of early X-ray plates represent the beginning of a revolution in medicine that began at Penn.

  • Daphne Sashin
  • October 6, 2025

Our service in action for local communities

Sunny Vespico hands a woman a box containing a gun safe at a handout event in Delaware County. In the foreground is a poster displaying more information about the program.

A gun safety effort that doesn’t stop at the front door

Because safety matters inside the hospital and beyond, Penn Medicine across the region is connecting communities with gun locks, safes, and guidance. 

  • Kris Ankarlo
  • July 16, 2026
A group of people in gardening clothes in front of a large wooden fence

Planting seeds, growing leaders: Teens explore health justice

From planting to event planning, the LeadIN program teaches Philly teens about environmental justice and leadership skills.

  • Meredith Mann
  • September 16, 2026
The Witmer family, including two parents and two small children, sit on the couch in their living room

Making older homes a safer haven for young families

After five years, the Lead-Free Families initiative is proving the impact of a health system investing in safe homes.

  • Olivia Kimmel
  • March 17, 2026
View all

Meeting patients where and when they need us

A child draws pictures of faces on a sheet of paper

From one mother to another

Penn’s PATCH program is helping more children access specialized anxiety treatment—by supporting their families first.

  • Melissa Daly
  • July 21, 2026
Lifeguards sitting on a lifeguard stand at a beach

The diagnosis that saved a family

When a Jersey Shore lifeguard experienced sudden pain, he never expected it would lead to life saving surgery for him and two of his family members.

  • Matt Toal
  • August 20, 2026
A mural of the Philadelphia cityscape

A specialized approach to mental health crisis care

Penn’s Southwest Philadelphia crisis response center has expanded access, eased ED crowding, and connected more patients to ongoing mental health support.

  • Eric Horvath
  • June 3, 2026
View all

Recent news media highlights

A digital illustration of a neuron

Penn leads $26 million NIH study to identify early signs of ALS and FTD

Penn Medicine and the University of Miami are leading a $26 million NIH-funded effort to identify early biomarkers of ALS and frontotemporal dementia, with the goal of enabling prevention trials and offering hope to those at genetic risk for these devastating diseases. — Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia Inquirer
A pack of cigarettes

Financial incentives aid smoking cessation in lung cancer screening

Offering smokers up to $600 in financial incentives more than doubled quit rates in a clinical trial led in part by Penn’s Joanna Hart, MD, and Scott Halpern, MD, PhD, with 8% remaining nicotine-free versus 3% or fewer in comparison groups. – Medscape

Medscape
Pregnant woman is holding an ultrasound scan result

Pennsylvania mom beats breast cancer while pregnant

Carolyn Searles, diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer during pregnancy, was successfully treated with chemotherapy at Penn Medicine and delivered a healthy son. Her story in the 2026 AACR Cancer Progress Report underscores evidence supporting safe cancer treatment during pregnancy. – WHYY

WHYY

Subscribe

Subscribe to Penn Medicine newsletters and publications for the latest developments.
Subscribe