Archives

Jordana Cohen, MD, MSCE, contributed to the 2025 AHA/ACC Hypertension Guideline–the first national update since 2017–introducing major changes in risk assessment, screening, and treatment. Her work was featured in an NPR interview highlighting these advances.

Drs. Nadir Yehya and Michael Harhay received a 5-year R01 grant from NICHD to lead the PARMA trial, a study advancing treatment strategies for pediatric ARDS.

Congratulations to Dr. Todd Miano, recipient of the American College of Epidemiology’s 2025 Early Career Epidemiologist Award. This honor recognizes his outstanding contributions to advancing drug safety research and shaping the future of acute care pharmacoepidemiology.

Dr. Samantha Piekos’ study shows how placental biology varies across pregnancy complications, highlighting the power of a systems biology approach to distinguish complex pregnancy syndromes.

Dr. Andrea Schneider’s study finds that vascular risks, particularly diabetes, are linked to slower cognitive recovery after traumatic brain injury.

Dr. Mary Putt and her team contributed to new research exploring how sleep drive impacts seizure severity and identifies a potential way to reduce them.

Join us in congratulating Dr. Nandita Mitra on her appointment to Penn’s Academic Planning and Budget Committee, where she will help guide the University’s academic and financial planning.

Ricardo Castillo’s new study identifies critical barriers to mass dog rabies vaccination campaigns and proposes strategies to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies by 2030.

Congratulations to Dr. Adam Naj, honored with the Publication of the Year Award for a major study on PSP genetics published in Nature Communications.

Dr. Danielle Mowery’s new study explores how patients engage with SMS systems after hospital discharge and what those patterns reveal about future care needs.

Dr. Jeffrey Morris was featured in The Atlantic and New York Magazine’s Intelligencer, where he discussed major flaws in widely cited vaccine studies and the risks of bias in study design.

Sarah Schrauben, MD, MSCE, led a 7-year study showing how urine biomarkers may help noninvasively track kidney disease in diabetic patients.

LauraEllen Ashcraft, PhD, MSW, is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology whose research focuses on implementation science, equity, and translating evidence into sustainable practices in real-world health care settings.

Julia DiTosto, MS, is a PhD student in Epidemiology whose research explores how gynecologic conditions like fibroids and PCOS may impact long-term heart health. Using real-world data and causal inference methods, she aims to generate insights that improve care for reproductive-age populations.

A new study co-authored by Dr. Jordana Cohen explores the risks of white coat hypertension and emphasizes the importance of out-of-office blood pressure monitoring for accurate diagnosis and treatment.

Carmen Guerra, MD, MSCE, is launching a mobile mammography program on July 13 to expand access to mammography for communities in and around Philadelphia.

Congratulations to Dr. Ellie Caniglia on receiving the Brian MacMahon Early Career Epidemiologist Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to epidemiology.

Dr. Alexis Ogdie co-authored a study published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases that explores distinct patient groups and treatment responses in psoriatic arthritis.

A new study in Arthritis Care & Research, co-authored by Dr. Alexis Ogdie, explores patient-defined treatment goals in psoriatic arthritis.

Dr. Alexis Ogdie joins Medscape’s InDiscussion podcast to talk about digital tools for psoriatic disease, including the development of the Psorcast app and the future of technology in rheumatology care.

Congratulations to Dr. Joel M. Gelfand on being honored with a gala celebrating his groundbreaking contributions to dermatology, epidemiology, and patient-centered research.

Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH, is the George A. Weiss University Professor with joint appointments in Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine and School of Nursing. Her work focuses on translating theory into practice to address critical public health issues like physical activity, obesity, and health equity.

Congratulations to Dr. Alisa Stephens Shields on her recent JAMA Network Open publication evaluating the impact of COVID-19 self-test kit distribution in underserved communities.

Before joining Brown University as an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, Arman Oganisian, PhD, completed his PhD in Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Congratulations to Basam Alasaly, from Penn Medicine’s AI4AI Lab, for presenting at the AMIA 2025 Clinical Informatics Conference.

Jordana B. Cohen, MD, MSCE is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology in the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, a Senior Scholar in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB), and a Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.

Congratulations to Dr. Mary E. Putt on her recent publication in Physician’s Weekly exploring how brain activity following electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) could hold new clues for improving treatment of severe, treatment-resistant depression.

Congratulations to Dr. Kevin B. Johnson on his publication in The Scientist highlighting the development and global impact of REDCap as a vital tool for clinical research data management.

Congratulations to Dr. Nandita Mitra on her election as President of the Society for Causal Inference. This leadership role recognizes her longstanding contributions to the field and her commitment to advancing research and collaboration in causal inference.

Congratulations to Dr. Anne Marie McCarthy on her recent publication in Radiology, highlighting how advanced imaging techniques can uncover subtle breast tissue patterns linked to cancer risk.

Congratulations to Dr. Rui Xiao on her Nature publication offering new guidelines to support rigorous and reproducible research using zebrafish, a key model in biomedical science.

Read about Dr. Mingyao Li's recent publication in Nature, which maps early human brain development using spatial transcriptomics. The study reveals that cortical layers and areas are specified earlier than previously thought, offering new insight into how the brain takes shape.

Penn researchers have published new findings in AIDS showing that HIV status may influence the risk of infection following abortion. The study focuses on patients in Botswana and underscores the importance of improving reproductive health care and equity for people with HIV.

Read about Dr. Sean Hennessy's recent publication in the American Journal of Epidemiology, which uses a new statistical method to better understand the real-world effects of testosterone therapy. The study offers valuable insights into balancing its potential benefits and risks in clinical care.

Read about Dr. Joshua Baker's invited review explaining the connection between rheumatoid arthritis and metabolism, and how this link affects patient care amid new obesity treatments and improvements in arthritis management.

Read about Dr. Jordana Cohen's editorial in Annals of Internal Medicine, where she highlights important considerations around diagnostic testing for primary aldosteronism and its impact on patient care.

Qi Long, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics—a prestigious honor awarded for his impactful work in advancing data science and applying statistics to improve biomedical research.

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) […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]