$18 Million Tobacco Regulatory Science Research Grant for PSOM
The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Rutgers University School of Public Health have received one of nine grants from the US Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health for a new cohort of Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science (TCORS 2.0). The grant, $18 million over five years, will drive research that will provide data to protect public health and inform regulatory science issues related to the effects of tobacco marketing and tobacco control.
Penn’s center is focused on examining the effects of advertising, packaging and labeling on perceptions, use and exposure of combustible tobacco products such as cigarettes and cigarillos (short, narrow cigars that are wrapped in tobacco leaves or brown tobacco-based paper). Researchers combine expertise in assessing smoking behaviors, toxin and nicotine exposure, as well as eye tracking and product risk perception measures to better understand the impact of potentially misleading advertising claims, descriptors, labeling and packaging features of combustible tobacco products.
“We are taking a comprehensive approach to better understand the effects of tobacco advertising and packaging—from psychological responses to use patterns and exposure,” said Andrew Strasser, principal investigator and director of the Biobehavioral Smoking Laboratory at Penn’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Nicotine Addiction (CIRNA), which was created in PSOM’s department of psychiatry in 2001.
The center will focus on four primary projects:
- Assessment of smoking behaviors, psychological responses and biological effects to understand the effect of cigarette packaging on smoking low-nicotine content cigarettes, an important component of potential regulatory strategies
- Experimental analysis of low-nicotine cigarette advertising and novel tobacco product marketing, with an aim to identify how the public is misinformed about health risks
- Experimental analysis of how cigarillo packaging with varying colors, graphic designs, descriptors and warning labels influences perceptions and use
- Examination of the effects of cigarette descriptors that can mislead about the health harms of tobacco products
The project will also focus on four cores, which will provide continued surveillance of the tobacco industry’s marketing strategies for combustible tobacco products; tobacco regulatory science training and career enhancement opportunities; and expert support on emerging biomarkers, analytic approaches and regulatory expertise.
The goal of the project is to help consumers make informed decisions about the use of “modified risk tobacco products (MRTPs)” while avoiding the deceptive marketing and advertising practices of the past, which led consumers to believe those products were safer than they truly were.
The new research continues work from the first TCORS grant to Penn, made in 2013, to Robert C. Hornik, the Wilbur Schramm Professor of Communication and Health Policy at the Annenberg School for Communication, and Caryn Lerman, the John H. Glick, M.D. Professor in Cancer Research at PSOM (Almanac October 1, 2013).
Additional Penn collaborators include: Janet Audrain-McGovern, associate professor in PSOM’s department of psychiatry and a member of Penn’s Cancer Center; Melissa Mercincavage, CIRNA postdoctoral researcher; and Joseph Cappella, the Gerald R. Miller Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication.
Penn Biden Leaders Dialogue at Competing Visions of the Global Order
Penn President Amy Gutmann introduced eminent global leaders Joe Biden, the 47th Vice President of the United States and the Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice Professor at Penn, and Nicholas Clegg, the former UK Deputy Prime Minister, who have worked together closely in the past, to a packed crowd of more than 1,000 students, faculty and staff in Irvine Auditorium, with an apt nod to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash Broadway musical Hamilton.
“You all know the show-stopping number that never fails to bring the house down: ‘The Room Where It Happens,’” President Gutmann said. “For the next hour or so, that’s where we get to be.”
The capstone event between Vice President Joe Biden and Sir Nicholas Clegg capped off a two-day Perry World House colloquium, Competing Visions of the Global Order, which featured an eminent slate of world leaders. This event was “truly one for the history books,” said President Gutmann. It was the Center’s second fall colloquium.
These types of conversations—raw and informative—are the basis of what Perry World House was hoping to achieve throughout the entire colloquium, which kicked off last Monday with closed working groups for students, faculty and policymakers. The event continued Tuesday with public sessions featuring a slate of world leaders, including Felipe Calderón, former President of Mexico; Richard Verma, former US Ambassador to India; and two former US national security advisers: Susan Rice, who served under President Barack Obama, and H.R. McMaster, who served under President Donald Trump, speaking about the past, present and future of international relations.
Michael DiBerardinis: Professor of Practice at Fels
Michael DiBerardinis, who has served as managing director for the City of Philadelphia under Mayor James Kenney since January 2016, will be joining Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences in January 2019 as a Professor of Practice at the Fels Institute of Government.
As managing director, Mr. DiBerardinis has played a critical role in the Kenney administration, overseeing and coordinating activity across most major operating departments of the city’s government.
“‘Mike D.’—as he is affectionately known—is a public servant in the truest sense of the words. I cannot thank him enough for being an integral part of my team the last few years,” said Mayor Kenney. “His experience and leadership have helped to successfully restore a strong managing director system to the government which will serve the City well in the future. I wish him nothing but the best and believe the students at Fels will benefit greatly from his wisdom and expertise.”
Steven J. Fluharty, SAS Dean and Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Professor of Psychology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, said that “Michael DiBerardinis is the ideal example of what we seek in a professor of practice. His track record of achieving results in government perfectly complements the expertise of our standing faculty and creates unparalleled learning opportunities for our students.”
Mr. DiBerardinis’s prior posts have included deputy mayor for environmental and community resources, commissioner of the department of parks and recreation, special advisor to the Free Library of Philadelphia, and secretary of conservation and natural resources for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
In addition to teaching, Mr. DiBerardinis will play a central role in leading a world-class mentoring program for Fels students, according to Matt Levendusky, professor of political science and Penny and Robert A. Fox Director of the Fels Master of Public Administration program, and John Lapinski, Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor of Political Science, and faculty director for the Fels Executive MPA program.
“Michael is a lifelong public servant who is deeply knowledgeable about the inner workings of city life in our region. His connections and decades of wisdom and experience will make him a fantastic mentor and open doors for students eager to be leaders in their communities,” said Dr. Lapinski.
Dr. Levendusky adds, “I’m thrilled Michael will be joining us. As a professor of practice, he will serve as a bridge between the standing faculty and the practitioner community and ensure that Fels continues to produce outstanding public-sector leaders.”
From the President and Provost: Creation and Implementation of a New Second Year Experience Program
A Message to the Penn Community:
At Penn, we are strongly committed to ensuring the success of our students on campus and beyond. To advance this mission for our undergraduate community—and after robust consultations with student leaders, College House faculty and staff, undergraduate deans, trustees, student advisors and other campus partners—we are pleased to announce the creation and implementation of a new Second Year Experience Program.
This year, the Program will begin to offer expanded programming and new events designed specifically for second-year students, both across campus and in individual College Houses. Starting with the incoming Class of 2024, the Program will house all Penn sophomores in a two-year College House system. Just as the opening of the Quad more than a century ago profoundly and positively impacted our University, the Second Year Experience Program will help shape the social, intellectual and cultural connections that will distinguish the Penn undergraduate experience for generations of students to come.
We believe that a two-year College House system will measurably strengthen the sense of community among our first- and second-year students—promoting students’ achievement and well-being, enhancing support for students’ academic and social lives, and increasing opportunities to engage with diverse programs and viewpoints. Housing all sophomores on campus also will eliminate a major source of stress and anxiety for first-year students, who have told us that they feel pressured to consider second-year housing options during their first semester as Penn students.
Our new Second Year Experience will include special programs designed specifically to address the unique needs of second-year students. These programs will encompass not only successful ongoing programs such as the Majors and More Dinners and the Wharton Sophomore Experience but also sophomore-specific courses, celebrations and social events, such as the new Sophomore Day that was held just a few weeks ago.
Penn’s ability to support a full two-year College House system will be made possible with the opening of New College House West in fall 2021, which will increase capacity for an additional 450 upperclass students on campus. In addition to New College House West, we will continue making major investments in Penn’s existing College Houses in the years ahead.
Penn’s 12 College Houses, each with its own focus and traditions, offer vibrant opportunities for self-discovery and enrichment. As living and learning communities of undergraduates, faculty, staff and graduate students, they help bridge the academic life of the classroom with our living spaces. There is evidence that students engaged in College House-type programs adjust better to college life, develop healthier habits, engage in fewer high-risk behaviors and perform better academically than their peers living off-campus. The 2017 Task Force on a Safe and Responsible Campus Community outlined these and related opportunities to better support student wellness and augment campus living and learning. A structured, community-oriented residential experience helps students develop smart, sound habits that will serve them well long after graduation.
In the months ahead, we look forward to sharing more details about our new Second Year Experience Program and Penn’s transition to a two-year College House system. We are confident that these initiatives will further Penn’s commitment to helping all students thrive as members of our Penn community and in their lives after graduation.
—Amy Gutmann, President
—Wendell Pritchett, Provost
Margaret Kip, University Registrar
Executive director of student registration and financial services Matt Sessa announced the appointment of Margaret Kip as University registrar effective September 17.
Ms. Kip has spent the last 19 years working in support functions in higher education at a variety of institutions, including Syracuse University and the University of the Arts, ultimately as an associate provost. She joined Penn in 2016 as the deputy registrar and became the acting University registrar in February 2018.
In the time Ms. Kip spent as the acting University registrar, she created several new and critical positions to strengthen the office’s support capabilities; re-established the Registrar’s Working Group to create a University-wide community of practice; and began creating more structured work processes to better track and assure quality work flowing through the Office of the University Registrar. As the University registrar, she will continue this work and expand her focus to larger improvement and collaboration opportunities for the office.
Ms. Kip holds a BFA from Syracuse (1999) and completed graduate coursework in database design and computer programming at Philadelphia University (2004).
In an effort to provide the most accessible, yet unparalleled, professional and continuing education opportunities, Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice has launched OpenSP2.
OpenSP2 gives individuals and organizations access to some of SP2’s most brilliant minds and research in social work, policy and non-profit leadership, both on- and off-campus. Current course topics being piloted include focuses on child welfare, animal assisted social work and kinship care.
OpenSP2 is designed to complement the school’s existing masters and doctoral programs. Now accepting applications, OpenSP2 includes non-credit and certificate programs offered on campus and online, with course flexibility that allows professionals to continue working while engaging with the fields’ leading scholars. This includes an Advanced Certificate in Oncology Social Work—the first of its kind in the world—which welcomed its first cohort in September. Online programming includes a massive open online course led by former dean Richard Gelles.
Instructional consulting and academic oversight for OpenSP2 is provided by SP2 faculty. In addition to professional learning courses, OpenSP2 will produce media, digital publications and events focusing on the research of the SP2 faculty. Learn more at https://www.sp2.upenn.edu/academics/opensp2
Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities: October 15 Deadline
The Wolf Humanities Center (formerly Penn Humanities Forum) awards five one-year Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships each academic year to junior scholars in the humanities who are no more than eight years out of their doctorate and who are not yet tenured (may not be tenured during the fellowship year). Scholars are required to spend the year (late August–May) in residence at Penn.
For the 2019-2020 academic year, their topic will be Kinship (follow link below for more information). The Fellowship carries a stipend of $56,225 plus single-coverage health insurance (fellows are responsible for coverage for any dependents) and a $3,000 research fund. Fellows teach one undergraduate course in either the fall or the spring semester in addition to conducting their research.
The PhD is the only eligible terminal degree, and applicants must be humanists or those in such allied fields as anthropology or history of science. Ineligible categories include an MFA or any other doctorate such as EdD, social scientists, scholars in educational curriculum building, and performing artists (note: scholars of performance are eligible).
The fellowship is open to all scholars, national and international, who meet application terms.
The application deadline is October 15 for each subsequent year’s fellowship.Fellowship guidelines and application are available on the Center’s website, https://wolfhumanities.upenn.edu/fellowships/andrew-w-mellon-postdoctoral-fellowship-humanities