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Alexis Ogdie, MD, MSCE, selected Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Fellow.

Dr. Yong Chen has been awarded $8 million to lead a national effort using AI to improve how mental health conditions are diagnosed and treated—part of a larger $150 million initiative to advance mental health research.

A new study led by James Lewis, MD, MSCE, finds that racial and ethnic gaps in IBD care are closely tied to socioeconomic factors—highlighting the need for more equitable access to treatment and specialist care.

Sleep issues are common in older adults–but vision problems may be part of the cause. A new study by Alan Y. Huang, Joshua R. Ehrlich, and Ali G. Hamedani finds that those with visual impairments are more likely to use sleep medications, highlighting a connection between eye health and sleep quality.

Flawed study designs in nutrition research may be leading to misleading advice about healthy eating. DBEI’s Mary E. Putt, ScD, and co-authors warn that many popular dietary trials are too short and poorly structured to give reliable results-putting future nutrition guidelines at risk.

Jinbo Chen, PhD elected 2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowof this post here.

Nandita Mitra, PhD has been awarded the Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Dr. Eric Tchetgen Tchetgen has been awarded the inaugural David Cox Medal for Statistics, which honors mid-career researchers for outstanding contributions to the field.

Penn researchers, including Drs. Halpern and Harhay, found that electronic nudges improved end-of-life care discussions in ICUs, increasing hospice discharges and comfort-care orders without shortening hospital stays.

Penn Medicine researchers, including M. Kit Delgado, MD, MS, found that small financial incentives using connected car data significantly increased seatbelt use—even after rewards ended—offering a low-cost, scalable strategy to improve driver safety nationwide.

Elizabeth Diemer, PhD, brings expertise in causal inference and mental health epidemiology to her new role as an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology within the department.

The 2025 DBEI Research Day highlighted groundbreaking advancements in precision health and artificial intelligence. Attendees engaged in insightful discussions, showcasing innovative research and fostering collaboration to advance health, science, and education.

Drs. Christie, Halpern, and Harhay are to be honored by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) for excellence in research, humanism, and mentorship. Awards will be presented at the 2025 ATS International Conference in San Francisco (May 18-21, 2025).

Kevin B. Johnson, MD, MS, and Penn Medicine researchers conducted a study demonstrating how an AI-powered scribe technology reduces clinician workload, enhances patient interactions, and decreases after-hours documentation, improving efficiency and easing physician burnout.

Rising temperatures pose serious risks for people with type 2 diabetes, increasing the likelihood of heat exhaustion, blood sugar fluctuations, and cardiac issues. Charles Leonard, PharmD, MSCE, FISPE addresses these health threats with Yale Climate Connections.

A new National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report, involving DBEI experts Brian Strom, MD, MPH and John Farrar, MD, PhD, finds that co-prescribing opioids and benzodiazepines to veterans increases the risk of death, highlighting critical implications for veteran health care.

Muscio Kit Delgado, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Epidemiology, has been elected to the ASCI. His research blends behavioral and data science with insights gleaned from practicing emergency medicine in an urban trauma center to help promote smarter health choices and policy.

Kevin B. Johnson, and Li Shen—faculty in the Division of Informatics—were recognized by the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) at the AMIA 2024 Annual Symposium.

In a new study, Yong Chen, PhD and colleagues at Penn Medicine, used AI and latent transfer learning to analyze long-COVID data, identifying four patient sub-populations with distinct care needs, improving hospital resource allocation and tailoring treatment for diverse patient populations.

Mingyao Li, PhD and her Penn Medicine colleagues developed an AI-powered tool called MISO (Multi-modal Spatial Omics) that can detect cell-level characteristics of cancer by looking at data from extremely small pieces of tissue—some as small as the width of five human hairs.

Amid rising polarization and misinformation, Jeffrey Morris, PhD, of Penn Medicine tackles vaccine skepticism with evidence-based insights. In an interview with Undark, he advocates respectful dialogue that considers social and political dynamics.

The University of Pennsylvania Prevention Research Center has received a $6.5 million CDC grant to advance community-based prevention research, focusing on improving shared decision-making for older cancer patients. This five-year project will study interventions tailored to patients’ needs, enhancing outcomes in Philadelphia and beyond.

In Annals of Internal Medicine, Nicholas Seewald, PhD, introduces a framework for target trial emulation, enabling researchers to evaluate health policies with the rigor of clinical trials in nonexperimental studies.

Contact Blockley Hall (Room 114)423 Guardian DrivePhiladelphia, PA 19104 Office: 215-898-4691 glaffert@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Contact Blockley Hall (Room 818)423 Guardian DrivePhiladelphia, PA 19104 mark.chanel@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Penn and CHOP researchers receive a $50 million NIH grant to study how environmental exposures impact pregnancy and child health, aiming to reduce health disparities and improve maternal-child outcomes.

Contact Blockley Hall (Room 922)423 Guardian DrivePhiladelphia, PA 19104 Office: 215-746-8557 sabarile@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Contact Blockley Hall (Room 633)423 Guardian DrivePhiladelphia, PA 19104 Office: 215-573-4922Fax: 215-573-4865 vallejo@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Contact Blockley Hall (Room 633)423 Guardian DrivePhiladelphia, PA 19104 Office: 215-573-7393 mfox@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Joseph Romano, PhD, MPhil, MA is an Assistant Professor of Informatics in the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Senior Fellow in the Institute for Biomedical Informatics (IBI) and an investigator in the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET).

Contact Blockley Hall (Room 923)423 Guardian DrivePhiladelphia, PA 19104 Office: 215-573-6167 natalya.levina@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Alisa Stephens Shields, PhD serves as an Associate Professor in the Biostatistics division of the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, and is recognized for her collaboration and impactful leadership in the realms of health, statistical education, and inclusion in the field.

For almost three years, Kacie Bogar, MS has served as a Research Project Manager for the Center for Real-World Effectiveness and Safety of Therapeutics (CREST) and the Epidemiology division in the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics.

Alisa Stephens Shields, PhD, Associate Professor of Biostatistics, was selected by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to receive the 2024 Myrto Lefkopoulou Distinguished Lectureship.

Before joining Harvard University as an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, Rui Duan, PhD, completed her PhD in Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Edward Kennedy, PhD is a Penn alum through and through—prior to completing his PhD in Biostatistics in 2016, he earned his BA in Mathematics (2007) and MA in Statistics (2014) from the University.

Contact 6th Floor, South Pavilion PCAM Expansion3400 Civic Center Boulevard, Bldg. 421Philadelphia, PA 1910 Office: 215-898-8731 Mobile: 609-784-5116meghann.risell@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Penn undergraduates assist Beth Leong Pineles, MD, PhD with a study of activity restriction during pregnancy with the goal of “deimplementation” in the Penn Medicine system and ultimately nationwide.

Michael Harhay, PhD, MPH, co-authors "Bayesian Statistics for Clinical Research" in The Lancet, comparing Bayesian and frequentist methods and highlighting the growing accessibility and impact of Bayesian analysis in medical research.

Dr. Ritchie is an expert in translational bioinformatics, with a focus on developing, applying, and disseminating algorithms, methods, and tools integrating electronic health records (EHR) with genomics. The mission of […]

In a recent Undark feature, Dr. M. Kit Delgado, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, discusses how behavioral science and nudge theory are transforming health care decision-making.

Dr. Mingyao Li's article in Nature Methods discusses how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing spatial omics, enhancing integration of diverse data and accelerating biological discoveries for improved health outcomes in biomedical research.

Can cash incentives make roads safer? A Penn Medicine study led by Dr. M. Kit Delgado reveals how rewards and feedback can significantly cut down handheld phone use while driving.

Join us in welcoming Jiayin Zheng, PhD, as an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics. Dr. Zheng’s research spans data integration, bioequivalence, and survival analysis, collaborating across neurology, cancer, and infectious disease.

Qi Long, PhD, Professor of Biostatistics, has been appointed as the new DBEI Vice Chair of Faculty Professional Development, effective July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027.  

Nandita Mitra, PhD, Professor of Biostatistics, has been awarded the 2024 L. Adrienne Cupples Award for her outstanding contributions to research, teaching, and leadership in biostatistics and public health.

Penn Medicine researchers are developing AI-powered tools to help clinicians interpret conflicting clinical trial results, aiming to improve patient care and decision-making.

Joining the DBEI as an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, LauraEllen Ashcraft, PhD, MSW, will support the development of implementation science infrastructure across divisions.

The Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics and Master of Public Health Program at the University of Pennsylvania have established an Epidemiology track within the MPH Program, an interdisciplinary graduate program focused on preparing the next generation of public health leaders.

Excess weight gain during pregnancy increases long-term death risk from heart disease and diabetes, a Penn Medicine study finds, highlighting the need for better prenatal weight management and preventive care.

Kevin B. Johnson, MD, MS was awarded the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award under the “High-Risk, High-Reward Research” program funded by the National Institutes of Health Common Fund. Established in 2004, the NIH […]

Joel Gelfand, MD, the James J. Leyden, M.D. Endowed Professor in Clinical Investigation of Dermatology and Epidemiology, and colleagues at Penn found that adults and children with atopic dermatitis (AD) […]

Earlier this year, John Farrar, MD, PhD and Enrique Schisterman, PhD were named to National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ad-hoc committees. Farrar serves on “Evaluating the Effects of Opioids and Benzodiazepines on […]

In April 2023, the American Statistical Association (ASA) bestowed its prestigious distinction of Fellow on Phyllis Gimotty, PhD, Alisa Stephens-Shields, PhD, and 45 other ASA members for their professional contributions, leadership, and commitment […]

Pregnancy complications like preterm birth and high blood pressure increase long-term death risk, a Penn Medicine study finds, highlighting the need for preventive care decades after childbirth.

Elizabeth Nesoff, PhD, MPH discusses her recently published study in the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI) blog investigating neighborhood features that were correlated with fatal opioid overdoses among the […]

Anne Marie McCarthy, PhD was featured on the Real Pink Podcast where she discussed the development of new ways to identify people with high risk of aggressive breast cancer.  Understanding your breask cancer risk

Penn Medicine has opened a Center for Living Donation, bringing under one roof its services for patients who receive kidney, liver, and uterus transplants with organs donated by living people. […]

Dr. Kevin Johnson, MD, MS, FAAP, FAMIA, FACMI shares his experience trying to donate blood as a gay man and discusses how the Unites States has more restrictive rules than […]

A difference in the effectiveness against strokes and other blood clots was easily visible in the first year among patients who’d taken the anticoagulant apixaban rather than rival rivaroxaban, according […]

First study author, Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE, and the investigators discovered that apremilast (brand name Otezla), which has helped psoriasis patients achieve clearer skin and ease the symptoms of their psoriatic arthritis, could […]

Penn Medicine researchers will help lead the development of an algorithm to flag patients at risk of rare disease thanks to a $4.7 million NIH grant. This 4-year U01 will involve 10 […]

COVID-19 has been associated with a multitude of diseases, but can it also increase the risk of dangerous blood clots? Dr. Vincent Lo Re III and colleagues explore the risk […]

Patients come to a hospital nearly 36 million times each year in the US, and antibiotics are often part of the picture: One large study showed that clinicians prescribed them […]

In 1991, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine declared that computer-based patient records were an essential technology for health care. The new records would not only support patient […]

Advanced spatial transcriptomics techniques are advancing our understanding of cancer and other diseases at the cellular level: “You can zoom in, you can look at the tissue-specific features, how many […]

In a review of current facts about the antiviral drug Paxlovid, Susan Ellenberg, PhD, comments on Pfizer’s unusual release of interim results during an ongoing clinical trial. Read the article […]

Knashawn Morales, ScD, and Wei-Ting Hwang, PhD, have been named as new Fellows of the American Statistical Association. The world’s largest community of statisticians, the ASA is known as the […]

For medical researchers who aim to understand the patient experience, “collecting abundant social-media data is cost-effective, does not involve burdening participants, and is available in real time,” Graciela Gonzalez Hernandez, […]

If Philadelphia’s masking policy aims to prevent spread of Covid-19, emphasizing hospitalization numbers, a lagging indicator, over case numbers isn’t wise, comments Michael Levy, PhD. “It’s like instead of using […]

At the start of the pandemic, professionals working in health systems across the US realized that if a sizable portion of the many people infected with SARS-CoV-2 went to hospitals, […]

Masking policies during Covid-19 have inspired plenty of political debate, but scientific evidence about the policies’ effects has been very limited. This isn’t surprising, given that it is not practical […]

Amid the omicron surge, more patients are coming into the hospital for other reasons but testing positive for Covid-19 once they arrive. M. Kit Delgado, MD, MS, says that many […]

A diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis finally explained Christi Taylor-Gentry’s throbbing joint pain. But as recently as 2006, when Alexis Ogdie-Beatty, MD, MSCE, became a doctor, she was taught that the […]

In addition to making events such as catastrophic flooding more frequent, climate change will negatively affect human health in many other ways. Prior research has demonstrated, for instance, that high […]

Kevin Johnson, MD, MS, FAAP, FAMIA, FACMI, has been named the David L. Cohen University Professor. Dr. Johnson says that like Cohen, he believes in uniting various sectors to achieve […]

George Demiris, PhD, FACMI, has been named the Mary Alice Bennett University Professor. He cites Dr. Bennett’s pioneering policy of respectful care for patients as a great inspiration. Read more.

“Pregnant women CAN drink coffee – it could even slash risk of disease for mum and baby,” proclaimed a headline in the English paper The Sun about a recent study […]

Jeffrey Morris, PhD, commented on how expanded reporting requirements and intense scrutiny of the hundreds of millions administered COVID-19 vaccine doses have driven record-high reporting of potential side effects to […]

Epidemiology PhD candidate Katherine Strelau reached a new understanding when she tested positive for Covid-19: We have entered a new era of the pandemic, she wrote in an opinion piece. […]

“We may have underestimated our ability to pivot and change rapidly,” Peter Merkel, M D, MPH, comments about the many ways Covid-19 has reshaped the way we conduct clinical trials ” […]

Low to moderate caffeine intake during pregnancy may lower gestational diabetes risk without increasing risks for preeclampsia or hypertension, a Penn Medicine study finds, offering reassurance to pregnant coffee drinkers.

Hospitals in Philly are facing a bad blood shortage. During a pandemic, people still get into accidents and get cancer that requires transfusions, says Meenakshi Bewtra, MD, PhD, MPH.  Read […]

Many human diseases start out with single cells, which establish the problem by spreading out. Spatial transcriptomics, a groundbreaking method, allows scientists to take advantage of that activity, measuring all […]

It’s frustrating when vaccine opponents use the government’s VAERS database to stoke false concerns about safety, says Susan Ellenberg, PhD, “especially when they interfere in such major ways with critical […]

A new study showed that older Israelis who received a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine are much less likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 or to develop severe COVID-19 […]

Some evidence that the protection of the Covid19 vaccine wanes comes from observational studies ” and so we must view our inferences critically, says Jeffrey Morris, PhD. In everyday life, […]

Given rising rates of obesity in the U.S. and the many associated health problems, researchers have tested various strategies for weight loss. Both financial incentives and environmental changes — such […]

The experience of a Covid-19 breakthrough infection can range “from being asymptomatic to feeling pretty lousy, but typically it’s a shorter course than what we’re seeing for COVID without the […]

Measuring blood pressure is hard, and getting it right is critical. Can we do it with a smartwatch? That technology is “not ready for primetime yet,” says Jordana Cohen, MD, […]

An analysis by Jeffrey Morris, PhD, showed how Israel’s Covid19 data were easily misinterpreted: the elderly are both most vaccinated and most at risk for severe illness. The findings were […]

Covid-19 vaccines work, but a statistical illusion makes some people think they don’t. This perspective piece prominently cites work by Jeffrey Morris, PhD.   Read the perspective in the Washington Post

To slow spread of the Covid-19 delta variant, Philadelphia needs an even greater, on-the-ground push for more vaccination, comments Michael Levy, PhD: “This thing is just about momentum.” Read the […]

Michael Z. Levy, PhD, warned that the looming return of evictions comes at a time when COVID-19 vaccination rates in the U.S. have plateaued and while the highly transmissible Delta […]

Can a music festival be safe during the Covid-19 pandemic? It’s not so much about attendees’ personal risk, comments Michael Levy, PhD. It’s about what happens when they bring the […]

M. Kit Delgado, MD, MS, commented on evidence-based tips to help teens reduce distraction when driving. Read the article in the Wall Street Journal

While many studies have looked at how to limit patients to a short course of opioids, few have examined the other side of the issue: Are there some patients for […]

A good clinician consultant should be able to explain why they arrived at a particular recommendation, and explainable artificial intelligence should also be possible, writes Jason Moore, PhD ”   […]

Although mammography reduces breast cancer mortality by 15 to 20 percent, the diagnosis in many cases — approximately 15 percent of all breast cancers — occurs after a patient has […]

Pennsylvania isn’t tracking all Covid-19 cases in vaccinated residents, but other states’ data show a clear, relevant trend, says Jeffrey Morris, PhD: “The vaccines are really working, and the unvaccinated […]