Penn Medicine News Blog

Smiles Break Past Sorrow at Camp Erin - Philadelphia

"Imagine the sound of this gong is like a rocket ship that can send messages up to your loved one," said drummer Josh Robinson, "take 10 seconds to think of your message, and when I ring the gong, it'll reach your loved one."

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This therapeutic music class was one of the many moments held throughout last weekend's Camp Erin. The annual bereavement camp, led by experts from Penn Wissahickon Hospice's David Bradley Children's Bereavement Program, brings children and teens together from throughout the Philadelphia area who have experienced the death of a relative or close friend.


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That Was Then, and This Is Now. Or Is It?

I hold the publication in my hands.  It features an article on “chronobiology” and sleep studies.  It includes some faculty newsmakers, such as Albert J. Stunkard, MD, professor of Psychiatry, one of Penn’s well-known experts on sleep disorders; Peter Quinn, DMD, MD, a leader in surgically treating the most painful maxillofacial disorders; Richard L. Doty, PhD, director of Penn’s Smell and Taste Center; Gail Morrison, MD, professor of Medicine; and Frederick Kaplan, MD, professor of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Another article in the issue is about the director of nursing, an energetic leader full of ideas who wants nurses’ roles to expand –- and “a change of attitude about the role of nursing” among members of the health-care community.  In addition, there is a message from HUP’s executive director, which concludes with an exhortation appropriate for all times: “Because there is no better form of marketing than a satisfied customer, I say again that you –- every HUP employee and volunteer –- are key.”  All in all, the publication seems very up to the minute.

Except that it’s the HUPdate of June 1988.

For me, as editor of Penn Medicine magazine, there are some startling coincidences.  The Spring 2013 issue of Penn Medicine, just out, features an article on chronobiology.  Although its focus is on the basic science underlying the field, the article also touches on the ways our inner clocks affect our daily lives, which is also described in HUPdate.  The current issue also includes a profile of Dr. Stunkard’s pioneering work in a longer article on the history of Penn psychiatry. 

Dr. Kaplan’s work on Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (F.O.P.), one of the rarest and most disabling genetic conditions that imprisons its childhood victims in a “second skeleton,” has been covered in Penn Medicine at least twice, including an article when he and Eileen M. Shore, PhD, discovered the cause of the condition.  This summer, an article on the condition and Dr. Kaplan, one of the world’s leading experts, is slated for The Atlantic.  Dr. Morrison, now senior vice dean for education, presided at this month’s graduation exercises of the Perelman School of Medicine, as she has for several years. Dr. Quinn is now vice dean for professional services in the Perelman School of Medicine; he was profiled a few years back in Penn Medicine.  Dr. Doty’s most recent book, The Great Pheromone Myth (Johns Hopkins University Press) was reviewed in our Winter 2010/2011 issue; he continues as director of the Smell and Taste Center.


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A Look Back, in Photos: The Past Month or So Around Penn Medicine

Though my Penn Medicine ID card says 'Digital Communications Editor,' I've worn a few hats here — including in-house photographer. Because it's an aspect of the job that I love, I'd like to share some of the photos I've taken over the past month or so, giving readers a glimpse behind the scenes of events — both the everyday and the extraordinary — that happen here. Some of these photos you may already have seen floating around in an online slideshow or accompanying an article on various Penn sites, others have not previously seen the light of day. All of them represent another experience I'm thankful to have had here at Penn Medicine.

The following is a look back over late April and early May.


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Angelina Jolie’s Cancer Prevention Surgery Puts Basser Research Center for BRCA In National Spotlight

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This week, when Oscar-winning actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie revealed that she underwent surgery to remove her breasts after learning that she carries one of the BRCA gene mutations that put her at high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, the news hit home here at the University of Pennsylvania. Just a year ago, Penn announced the creation of the Basser Research Center for BRCA, which was made possible by a $25 million gift from Penn alums Mindy and Jon Gray, in honor of Mindy Gray’s sister, Faith Basser, who died of ovarian cancer at age 44. As the only center in the United States devoted solely to research on prevention and treatment for cancers related to BRCA mutations, Jolie’s story turned a spotlight on the important work in progress there, and the experiences of the many other families with similar cancer risks.

This week, Susan Domchek, MD, executive director of the Basser Center in Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center, spoke with numerous national and Philadelphia-area media outlets, including the New York Times and Bloomberg News, all of whom were grappling with the larger questions prompted by Jolie’s disclosure. How many other women also face these same risks? Who should undergo genetic testing? Is having a mastectomy the only choice to cut risk?

These are issues that Domchek’s team in the Basser Center – which includes genetic counselors specifically trained to help people understand their genetic risks and create a personalized risk-reduction plan – confront every day, especially as the pace of genetic testing races forward and patients find themselves with more information about their potential risk than ever before.


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2013 Philadelphia Science Festival Recap

PSF 2013 Carnival Penn tent village 1Now that the school year and the focus on formal science education is slowing down, these images of Penn Medicine faculty, staff, and students sharing their love and knowledge of biomedical science with members of the public from infants to senior citizens during the 2013 Philadephia Science Festival may spark inspiration to last all year. Penn Med took part in a dozen activities all over the city, from a Carnival on the Ben Franklin Parkway that reached over 25,000 people to a TED-talk style panel discussion on innovation and funding at the historic Iron Gate Theatre. See ya' in 2014! 

Penn Medicine Graduation: What’s Next for the Class of 2013?

Yesterday was the Perelman School of Medicine’s graduation at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts, and for most of the students that means goodbye medical school and hello residency. So where will the 84 men and 76 women be heading as they embark on the next phase of their lives?

This year, an impressive 39 percent will take on primary care residencies around the country, no doubt helping to fill a critical void the U.S. has suffered in this area.

Internal medicine and pediatrics are popular disciplines again this year. And 26 percent of the graduating class is staying here at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for their residencies. 


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Trying to Give Trauma Docs a Breather

Rhonda at outreach cropped“I want to put trauma doctors out of business.”

Rhonda Holmstrom, Trauma Outpatient & Injury Prevention Coordinator, says this with a smile, knowing it’s not a realistic goal, but she –- and other members of the trauma team at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -– are reaching out to the community to help prevent many types of traumatic injury and are hopeful they can at least keep the need for trauma doctors to a minimum.

As a city hospital, HUP has a very busy emergency room.  Indeed, last year alone, the ER treated more than 2,500 trauma patients. Most, though, were not victims of car accidents, or even violence like gunshot wounds or stabbings. Instead, many injuries came from falls, most often among patients 65 or older.

According to the Centers for Disease Control website, falls are the leading cause of injury death among  adults in this age group.  Falls are also the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma, leading to brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and bone fractures.

The result, Holmstrom notes, is life-changing:  “These previously independent people now have an increased morbidity and mortality.  Most will not return to their homes.”


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Penn Medicine CAREs Grant Helps Prevent Youth Violence

IMG_0909Most Penn Medicine CAREs grants expand existing programs or start new ones that support community health. In the case of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Violence Intervention Program, a CAREs grant extends a program already making a difference that may not have received enough funding otherwise.


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Tau is its Own Worst Enemy

Cohen Nature Struct Mol Bio Blog post schematic Apr 13Two years ago, Penn neurodegenerative researchers determined that a well-known chemical process called acetylation has a previously unrecognized association with one of the biological processes associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. The findings were published in Nature Communications by first author postdoctoral fellow Todd Cohen, PhD, and senior author Virginia M.-Y. Lee, PhD, director of Penn’s Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research.

Tau is one of the primary disease proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Tau proteins are expressed primarily in the central nervous system where they help with the assembly and stability of microtubules, protein structures that are the backbone of nerve-cell axons.  


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Summer To-Do List: Stock Up on Sunscreen and Get Checked for Skin Cancer

It's Monday afternoon after another warm, sunny weekend here in Philadelphia, and that familiar reddish tint of sunburn is on faces all around me. As we emerge from a particularly gloomy and cold winter,  people have been embracing every opportunity to spend time outside, but we're apparently out of practice when it comes to remembering to apply sunscreen.

Spring is the perfect time to replenish your sunscreen supply, and take a few minutes to get your skin checked. If you notice any suspicious spots, or haven't had a full-body skin screening in a year or two, now is the time.

Just in time for the summer, Penn Dermatology and the Abramson Cancer Center's annual and free skin cancer screening will be held on May 18. If you haven't signed up already, or know someone who may need to get their skin cancer checked, call 215-662-2737 to schedule an appointment, as space is limited. A large team Penn dermatologists will be screening 300 patients in 4 hours; it only takes a pro about 7 minutes to assess your skin.


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