Interdisciplinary Centers, Units, and Projects
- Academic Entrepreneurship for Health & Medical Professionals
- Center for Bioethics
- Center for Neuroscience & Society
- Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF)
- Division of the Vice Provost for University Life (VPUL)
- Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
- McNair Scholars
- Morris Arboretum
- Online Learning Initiative
- Penn Institute for Urban Research
- Penn Libraries
- Penn Sustainability Review
Search results
Publication Synthesis of a Non-Aggregating Phthalocyanine with Enhanced Two-Photon Absorption(2025-04-11) Park, JuliaPhthalocyanines are highly photostable dyes with strong absorption in the red/near-infrared region, making them promising candidates for deep-tissue optical imaging and phototherapy. However, their strong tendency to aggregate in both aqueous and organic media limits practical use. To address this, a non-aggregating phthalocyanine was designed and synthesized by extending the isoindole units with arylmaleimide groups. The incorporation of 2,6-substituents in the aryl groups forces them into an orthogonal orientation relative to the macrocycle, effectively preventing π-stacking and aggregation. In addition to reducing aggregation, maleimide fusion stabilizes the macrocycle’s two-photon active gerade states, resulting in significantly enhanced two-photon absorption (2PA) near 980 nm. A scalable synthetic route to this novel phthalocyanine was developed, and its photophysical properties, including high fluorescence quantum yield and strong 2PA, were characterized. These features establish the new phthalocyanine as a promising platform for developing brain multiphoton imaging probes.Publication Paying for Value and Health Equity in Community Health Centers(Leonard Davis Institute, 2025-02-25) Paula Chatterjee, MD, MPH; Janet Weiner, PhD, MPH; Rachel M. Werner, MD, PhDCommunity health centers (CHCs) face substantial obstacles to participation in value-based payment models, in which payers reward performance on health outcomes. Further, these models rarely measure and reward efforts toward population health equity, a central CHC goal and outcome. In this issue brief, we recommend ways to promote and enhance CHC participation in value-based payment, and strategies to align these efforts with health equity goals. We base these recommendations on a series of focus groups and conversations with frontline CHC leaders, payers, and payment policy experts.Publication Simple Visual Aids Raise Awareness and Knowledge About HIV Treatment(Leonard Davis Institute, 2025-03-26) Aaron Richterman; Tamar Klaiman; Rebecca Connelly; Daniel Palma; Eric Ryu; Laura Schmucker; Katherine Villarin; Gabrielle Grosso; Kathleen A. Brady; Harsha Thirumurthy; Alison ButtenheimBottles filled with red and black beads representing the HIV virus among healthy cells improve understanding of terminology, attitudes toward living with HIV, and the intention to take medication to prevent transmission. People living with HIV in Philadelphia interacted with B-OK bottles (Figure 1) while a researcher explained that they show the amount of virus in the body when HIV is diagnosed, if HIV is untreated, and with daily antiretroviral therapy. B-OK increased understanding that medication prevents dying from HIV and reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to others. The bottles could support a U.S. initiative to cut new HIV diagnoses, currently stuck at 38,000 per year, by 90% by 2030.Publication Practice Specialization and Post-acute Outcomes of Patients with Dementia in Skilled Nursing Facilities(2025) Seiyoun Kim, PhD; Hye-Young Jung, PhD; Derek Lake, PhD; Rebecca T. Brown, MD, MPH; Rachel M. Werner, MD, PhD; Jason Karlawish, MD; Kira Ryskina, MDObjective: To evaluate the effects of physician and advanced practitioner specialization in skilled nursing facility (SNF)-based practice (SNFists) on the outcomes of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) admitted to SNF for post-acute care. Study Setting and Design: Taking advantage of the natural experiment provided by the growth of SNFists, we conducted a within-SNF differencein-differences analysis with cross-temporal matching. Our primary outcome was functional improvement at SNF discharge, measured using a validated activities of daily living (ADL) score. Secondary outcomes included unplanned rehospitalization, emergency department (ED) visits, observational stays within 30 days of SNF admission, successful discharge to the community, SNF length of stay, admission into long-term nursing home care within 6 months of SNF discharge, and 30- and 60-day Medicare payments for professional and facility services. Data Sources and Analytic Sample: Medicare facility and professional claims and Nursing Home Minimum Data Set (MDS) data from 2012 and 2019 were used. The study sample included 338,574 community dwelling fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries with ADRD, age 65 or older, discharged from an acute care hospital to one of the 5,196 SNFs that experienced an increase in patients treated by SNFists. Principal Findings: We did not observe an association between SNFist care and patient post-acute care outcomes or costs. Conclusions: Specialization in SNF-based practice among physicians and advanced practitioners alone may not be an effective strategy to improve post-acute care outcomes or reduce costs to Medicare for patients with ADRDPublication Evaluating the Impact and Efficacy of a Community Health Program in Argentina(2025-04-11) Valeria Bonomie PineruaDespite being free for everybody who steps foot on Argentine soil, the public health care system in Argentina has yet to reach effective universal coverage, in which barriers to access and quality are dismantled. San Antonio de Areco, a rural municipality on the outskirts of the Buenos Aires province populated by about 23,000 people, implemented a Municipal Territorial Health Program (PMTS) in 2021. This program involves the expansion of community health centers and implementation of community health workers in neighborhoods demonstrating the most need, with plans to eventually cover the entire municipality. This study employs ethnographic methods to understand how this program uses the tenets of primary health care to attempt effective universal health coverage. In doing so, I also aim to show how the PMTS has changed the relationship between the community and the healthcare system by expanding the definition of what is considered “care” to include a more comprehensive and relational model. While the PMTS may be considered a success, this project also identifies patterns in gendered and undervalued labor conditions for community health workers. These labor practices seem to stem from the very structural deficiencies in the Argentine healthcare system that also keep the nation from reaching effective universal coverage. Grounded in historical, anthropological and sociological disciplines, this project employs non-confidential document analysis, interviews, and focus groups to assess this program in relation to its surrounding community. The subjects of the research include hospital personnel, community health workers, program directors, community health center workers, and community members themselves.Publication Beyond Balancing: Ethiopia's Foreign Policy in a Multipolar World(2025-04-11) Kebebew, EuelWhy is Ethiopia aligning with international economic organizations across divergent global orders? Why has it chosen to join BRICS, a coalition of emerging economies often seen as counterbalancing Western dominance, while simultaneously seeking accession to the WTO, a symbol of Western-aligned trade liberalization? Ethiopia’s foreign policy approach toward international cooperation and alignment challenges standard theories in international relations, such as balancing, hedging, and bandwagoning. Instead, Ethiopia’s strategy reflects a distinctive model of dual alignment, where it sincerely engages with both Western and non-Western institutions as an equal and committed partner. This thesis investigates the underlying factors that have shaped Ethiopia’s unique position as a collaborator and friend to diverse global actors. By using novel interview data with UN diplomats, as well as archival research and process tracing, it examines how historical identity constructions, rooted in Ethiopia’s legacy of sovereignty and regional influence, and contemporary domestic political actors have contributed to its open, multipolar foreign policy. By exploring Ethiopia’s alignment strategy, this research seeks to illuminate a new category of international cooperation for emerging economies navigating a multipolar world—one that blends pragmatic partnerships with deep-seated values of inclusivity, autonomy, and a commitment to fostering relationships across ideological divides.Publication Developing a Model of Naturalistic Focal Seizures(2025-04-11) Yerahm Hong; Sophie R. Liebergall; Patrick Lawlor; Ethan M. GoldbergEpilepsy is the most common chronic neurologic disease, but still little is known about the underlying mechanisms of seizure initiation in epilepsy disorders. In vivo imaging of seizures in two-photon (2P) calcium imaging facilitates recordings of neuronal activity at a high spatial and temporal cellular resolution in awake, behaving experimental animals. The aim of this study is to develop a novel method to visualize focal seizure initiation in a mouse using in vivo 2P calcium imaging. To focally mimic the pathophysiology of Dravet Syndrome, the most common genetic epilepsy syndrome of childhood, an adeno-associated virus expressing Cre recombinase was locally injected into the primary somatosensory cortex to induce heterozygous deletion of the Scn1a gene encoding sodium channel subunit Nav.1.1. We found that focal heterozygous deletion of Scn1a may not be a powerful enough genetic lesion to induce a focal seizure, and that the viral injection may be causing local cell death. Future directions include optimizing the viral injection protocol to successfully induce a focal seizure. This project will help to better understand the underlying mechanisms of seizure initiation in hopes of improving treatments for Dravet Syndrome and other epilepsies.Publication Insurgent Figurations: the (formal) contours of anti-imperialist subjectivities in visual culture produced in/about nicaragua (since 1979)(2025-04-11) Logan Li SaenzThe following project explores a series of questions about art and revolution in the Nicaraguan social-historical context: How might visualities contribute to the production, or materialization, of “concrete political” subjects? What formal tactics were leveraged in conversation with historical contingencies to develop such a radical aesthetic enterprise, of humanist character? How can we re-evaluate visual forms as both objects and subjects of historical transformation — and thus as critical social technologies? What can we excavate from art objects about the inner circuits and interiorities — the spaces of subject formation — of imperialist domination and anti-imperialist struggle? Do images circulating (with)in the world work on the world . . . make revolution?Publication Gendered Insecurity and Informal Labor Among Syrian Refugees in Jordan(2025-04-11) Sinha, Anya; Sinha, RiyaThis joint research project examines the structural forces that shape the welfare of Syrian refugees in Jordan. One study investigates the determinants of refugee welfare within Jordan’s informal labor market, focusing on how place of residence, social connectivity, and legal status influence economic outcomes. The other study analyzes the conditions that shape Syrian refugee women’s security, identifying factors that heighten exposure to gender-based violence. By combining labor and gendered perspectives, our findings highlight the structural constraints on refugee self-sufficiency and underscore the need for policies that move beyond short-term aid, and we thus conclude with politically and economically viable recommendations. Together, our studies provide critical insights for refugee-hosting nations seeking to promote long-term security, inclusion, and economic stability for displaced populations.Publication The Woman, the Myth, the Legend: Jackie Kennedy and Leveraging Influence, Power, and Diplomacy(2025-04-11) Wattar, LeanneAfter World War II, the United States emerged as a superpower, facing the challenge of asserting itself among long-established imperial powers. While President John F. Kennedy is often credited with leading this transition, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy played a central yet underexplored role in shaping perceptions of American leadership. This thesis fills a gap in existing scholarship by examining her influence on the Kennedy myth and the use of soft power in redefining national identity and prestige abroad. The central question is: How did Jackie, and by extension the Kennedy administration, utilize soft power to further the influence of American ideals and prestige abroad through the creation of the Kennedy myth? Drawing on archival research from France, Germany, and the JFK Presidential Library, this project analyzes primary and secondary sources like photographs, diplomatic records, and media coverage to assess Jackie’s influence on the image of a rising American de facto empire. Key case studies include Franco-American relations, particularly the Kennedys’ 1961 Paris trip and Jackie’s rapport with Charles de Gaulle and André Malraux; and German-American relations, especially surrounding JFK’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. These moments illustrate how the Kennedys blended American democratic ideals with the elegance of Old World traditions to enhance U.S. prestige. Jackie’s unique ability to navigate cultural diplomacy and cultivate elite relationships allowed the U.S. to simultaneously project both tradition and innovation. Her example offers lessons for contemporary leaders and policymakers seeking effective soft power strategies when hard power falls short.