December 17, 2019 Volume 66 Issue 17

The University of Pennsylvania announced a $10 million gift from 1992 Penn graduates Mindy and Jon Gray in support of undergraduate financial aid for students from New York City, and the Penn First Plus program for students who are low income and/or the first in their families to attend college.

Jon Gray is the President and COO of Blackstone and Chairman of the Board of Hilton Worldwide. Mindy Gray is a member of the Penn Medicine Board, chair of the Basser Center Leadership Council and a founding board member of New York City Kids RISE, a nonprofit organization focused on expanding economic opportunity by providing a scholarship and savings platform for families, schools and communities.

In recognition of their philanthropy, every four years Penn will select an outstanding cohort of 10 students from New York City accepted to any of Penn’s four undergraduate schools (Arts & Sciences, Nursing, Engineering and Wharton) who qualify for the highest level of financial aid and for the benefits available through the Penn First Plus program. These students will receive grants that cover the full tuition and expenses associated with attending Penn. The gift is emblematic of the Gray’s mission to maximize access to education, health care and opportunity for low income children in NYC.

“The Grays are exemplary University of Pennsylvania leaders whose generosity is producing tremendous results,” said Penn President Amy Gutmann. “Their thoughtful philanthropy is dramatically accelerating BRCA1 and 2 cancer research, advancing patient care and rallying thousands of others to the cause. Now they are propelling Penn’s undergraduate scholarship program forward with a significant new gift that will alter the trajectory of generations of Penn students, starting with this year’s class. It is a true privilege to know this inspiring couple and to work with them on maximizing opportunities for our amazingly talented first generation, low-income students.”

“As a member of the first generation in my family to attend college,” said Mindy Gray, “I never take for granted how Penn opened the doors of higher learning for me. These are smart, hard-working students who deserve the same.”

“Mindy and I feel blessed to enable more students from NYC to receive the incredible opportunity that a Penn education provides,” said Jon Gray. 

Jon and Mindy Gray have supported the University of Pennsylvania throughout the 27 years since they graduated. They established, and continue to actively support, the Basser Center for BRCA at the Abramson Cancer Center, created in honor of Mindy’s late sister, Faith Basser. They also have made gifts to undergraduate financial aid, Kelly Writers House and campus renovation projects. 

In addition to endowing scholarships for the cohort, 10 percent of the gift will be used to ensure that these highly aided students at Penn have access to special opportunities inside and outside of the classroom. These students and other Penn scholarship recipients will be eligible for summer grants through an Opportunities Fund beginning this spring. The grants will provide recipients with the financial flexibility to pursue summer internships, join a research team, engage in service learning, travel abroad or take summer courses.

The largest initiative to improve hospital work environments to date has officially begun, with an award of €4 million from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program. The grant will support the international partnership of some of the world’s leading universities, led by KU Leuven and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research. The aim of the initiative is to redesign hospital workplaces to improve the mental health and well-being of nurses and physicians and to improve patient safety. This initiative begins in January 2020, aligning with 2020 being the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife as designated by the World Health Organization.

The US National Academy of Medicine has prioritized enhancing health professionals’ mental health and well-being as a public health goal. Burnout, depression and fatigue are far too common among nurses and physicians in fast-paced hospital settings, and suicide rates are alarming. Patient safety depends upon vigilance, quick thinking and intense attention to detail by health professionals, which is made more difficult by stressful work settings. 

“Hospitalized patients can only be assured safe and effective care when their nurses and physicians are able to perform at their best,” said Linda Aiken, professor and director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research and co-lead on Magnet4Europe, “and this requires healthy work environments.”

Magnet4Europe will implement an evidence-based intervention based on the successful Magnet Recognition Program®, a voluntary hospital designation for nursing-care excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Countless studies have shown that Magnet-Recognized hospitals have lower health professional burnout and safer patient care. Sixty hospitals in five European countries (Belgium, England, Germany, Ireland and Sweden) will receive a full-blown redesign of their workplaces—supported by one-to-one twinning with an experienced Magnet recognized hospital and an annual learning collaborative. A rigorous research evaluation will determine the success of the initiative. 

“Our research points to specific features of complex organizations,” added Walter Sermeus, European coordinator of the initiative at KU Leuven, “that if modified, can significantly improve the well-being of health professionals and patients alike. Magnet4Europe will translate these research findings into practice to expedite much needed workplace redesign in hospitals and other healthcare settings.”

There are currently 502 Magnet-Recognized hospitals in eight countries, with most located in the US. Only one hospital in Europe has achieved Magnet recognition. This initiative will test the feasibility and sustainability of the Magnet Model® for organizational redesign in the context of health care in Europe.

Emily Wilson, professor of classical studies, has been appointed the College for Women Class of 1963 Term Professor in the Humanities. Dr. Wilson works on Greek and Roman literature and its reception and translation, with particular interests in epic, tragedy and philosophy. Her internationally-recognized research has been supported by several distinguished honors, including the American Council of Learned Societies National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, the Rome Prize NEH Fellowship for the Humanities in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies, and, in the fall of 2019, a MacArthur Fellowship (Almanac October 1, 2019). 

Dr. Wilson is the author of six books and many articles and essays. Her first book, Mocked with Death: Tragic Overliving from Sophocles to Milton, won the Charles Bernheimer Prize of the American Comparative Literature Association. Her verse translation of the Odyssey received wide acclaim, was named by The New York Times as one of its 100 notable books of 2018 and short-listed for the 2018 National Translation Award. Her forthcoming works include volume one of the Bloomsbury Companion to Tragedy and Norton Critical Editions of the Odyssey and Oedipus Tyrannos. Dr. Wilson serves as the classics editor for the Norton Anthology volume in world literature. At Penn, she serves as graduate chair of comparative literature and literary theory. 

The College for Women Class of 1963 established this endowed term chair in 1989 to honor the role of women as scholars, teachers and students at Penn. 

Penn President Amy Gutmann was presented with this year’s Pennsylvania Society Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement at a black tie gala in New York City earlier this month. As tradition, the Pennsylvania Society donates a $50,000 philanthropic gift on the honoree’s behalf, of which President Gutmann chose the Henry C. Lea Elementary School. A surprise at the event, President Gutmann told the crowd of 800-plus Pennsylvania game-changers, including Lea’s principal ShaVon Savage, a Penn alumna, that Penn would match the donation, dollar for dollar, totaling $100,000 to support the West Philadelphia public school.

“Higher education,” said President Gutmann in her acceptance speech, has the “power to transform lives.” 

“At Penn, the future truly is wide open,” she said, gazing out at the crowd. “You see it in the dreams come true of our talented students. And you see it in the life-changing breakthroughs of our brilliant faculty.” 

Now more than ever education is “absolutely essential” to creating a wide, open future for as many people as possible. “We must always, always hold true to our commitment to quality education and opportunity for all Pennsylvanians,” she said. “Indeed, for all people everywhere.”

Summer 2020 will be the 12th summer of the RealArts@PENN internships. This innovative project is designed to support creative Penn undergraduates doing art in the realm of practice.

This year, RealArts@Penn is sponsoring 22 paid internships. This summer’s prize will be $4,000. 

These internships include: 

Journalism, Publications & Print

• Downtown Bookworks Inc. (New York City)
• Flathead Beacon (Montana)
• Library of Congress (Washington D.C.)
• Philadelphia Media Network (Philadelphia)
• Philadelphia Magazine (Philadelphia)
• Pitchfork Media** (New York City)
• McSweeney’s & the Believer (San Francisco)
• Small Press Distribution (San Francisco)

Museums

• Morgan Library and Museum (NYC)
• The Museum of Moving Images (Astoria, NY)
• Whitechapel Gallery (London, UK)

Music

• Settlement Music School (Philadelphia, PA)

Television & Film

• Brooklyn Films (Los Angeles)
• David Stern and Stuart Gibbs, Writers (LA)
• Doug Robinson Productions (Los Angeles)
• Genre Films (Los Angeles)
• Grandview (Los Angeles)
• Management 360 (Los Angeles)
• Monami Productions (Los Angeles)
• Tremolo Productions (Los Angeles)
• Viacom Catalyst: Creative + Strategy*** (NYC)

Theater

• 1812 Productions (Philadelphia)

** open to graduating seniors only

*** open to juniors and seniors only 

To apply for an internship, go to https://www.writing.upenn.edu/realarts

The firm deadline for applications is 11:59 p.m. January 20, 2020.

RealArts@Penn internships and programs are open to all students in all four undergraduate schools. RealArts@Penn is a program centered around the creative student, regardless of their course of study. The mission is to allow students to deepen their understanding and advance their experience in the creative industries. Through internships, mentorships and apprenticeships, Real Arts@Penn provides a foundational and real-world vision of the creative fields in which they are interested.

RealArts@Penn internships are unique opportunities curated by the RealArts@Penn team and guided by their mission. Each internship is coupled with a stipend. These internships afford students an indispensable network of mentors, leaders and friends, cultivating a profound and critical insight into the world of creative business.

The RealArts@Penn program has built a vast network of alumni in creative fields who are eager to help current Penn students and young alums. Through one on one pairings, alumni visits and the RealArts@Penn Alumni Mentor lunch series, students have opportunity to learn from and connect with alumni working in a variety of creative industries.

Penn Faculty Fellowships

The Wolf Humanities Center offers fellowships each year to standing faculty at Penn in the humanities and allied departments. The fellowships are for research that relates to the Center’s theme for the year in which the award is granted.

Junior scholars receive a $5,000 research fund stipend (paid in two installments). 

Senior scholars are invited to apply for either a $5,000 research fund stipend OR one to two course reliefs. The Wolf Humanities Center provides course replacement money for up to two courses, to be paid to the fellow’s department at Penn’s LPS instructor rate and to be used solely for course replacement. Advance written approval of any course relief request is required from the applicant’s department chair. Scholars who have already had one semester of course relief not given as compensation for service between Fall 2017 and Spring 2020 may only apply for a $5,000 research fu nd stipend or a single course relief.

Fellows are required to attend the Wolf Humanities Center’s weekly Mellon seminars (Tuesdays, noon–1:50 p.m.)* and present their research at one of the sessions during the year. In addition to Penn faculty, seminar members include Mellon Postdoctoral Fellows, regional faculty, the Center’s director and topic director.

*NOTE: Interested applicants are advised to check well ahead with their department/s to avoid conflicts in scheduling classes and other obligations.

Call for Applications 2020–2021

Research Topic: Choice

Application deadline: March 22, 2020

Applications are now being accepted for research on the topic of Choice, the Center’s topic for 2020-2021. Please apply via the Interfolio portal at https://apply.interfolio.com/71703

Applicants are required to submit an up-to-date CV and a single PDF including the following:

Project Title

Project Abstract (125 words maximum)

Project Proposal (approx. 1,000 words)

Senior Faculty Applicants: if you are applying for course relief, please ask your department chair to email Sara Varney by March 22, 2020 with their written approval of your application and course relief request.

Penn Graduate Student Research Fellowships

The Wolf Humanities Center is currently offering two one-year research fellowships at $2,500 each to Penn graduate students in the humanities who are ABD. Students should be conducting dissertation research related to the Center’s theme for the year in which the award is granted. Fellows are required to attend the Wolf Humanities Center’s Mellon Research Seminar, held Tuesdays from noon–1:50 p.m.* during the academic year, and present their work at one of the sessions. Seminar members also include postdoctoral fellows, faculty from Penn and regional universities and the Center’s director and topic director.

*NOTE: Interested applicants are advised to check well ahead with their department/s to avoid conflicts in scheduling classes and other obligations.

Call for Applications 2020–2021

Research Topic: Choice

Application deadline: March 22, 2020

Applications are now being accepted for research on the topic of Choice, the Center’s topic for 2020-2021. Please apply via the Interfolio application portal at https://apply.interfolio.com/71832

Applicants are required to submit an up-to-date CV and a single PDF including the following:

Project Title

Project Abstract (125 words maximum)

Project Proposal (approx. 1,000 words)

Also required: One confidential letter of recommendation from the applicant’s dissertation advisor or graduate chair. Letters must be uploaded to Interfolio no later than the March 22 deadline. 

Penn Undergraduate Research Fellowships

The Wolf Humanities Center offers fellowships each year to Penn undergraduate students from any school who are interested in conducting extracurricular research in the humanities on some aspect of the Center’s annual theme. Students must be full time, on campus for the full academic year of the award and in good academic standing.

Fellows become members of the Wolf Undergraduate Humanities Forum, a community of undergrads who meet to discuss and present their research, pursue various cultural activities of common interest and occasionally meet in special receptions with the Wolf Humanities Center’s distinguished speakers. In the past, these speakers have included Zadie Smith, Michelle Alexander, Junot Diaz, Slavoj Žižek and Colson Whitehead. The year’s program culminates in a spring conference at which students give formal presentations on the results of their research.

Fellows are required to attend and participate in biweekly meetings as well as the Undergraduate Humanities Forum Research Conference, scheduled for Friday, March 26, 2021. Additional opportunities and outings for fellows will be announced during the year. 

Call for Applications 2020–2021

Research Topic: Choice

Application deadline: March 22, 2020

The Wolf Humanities Center is offering 12 fellowships for the 2020-2021 academic year for Penn undergraduates from any school who are interested in conducting research on some aspect of Choice, the Forum’s theme that year. Applicants must be full time and in good academic standing. Awards are available in three categories:

Research Fellowship and Undergraduate Chair (one $2,000 award)

Research Fellowship and Member, Executive Board (two $1,750 awards)

Research Fellowships (up to nine $1,500 awards)

To Apply: Your completed application form, (download at http://tinyurl.com/wolfundergrad) unofficial transcript and one letter of recommendation from your undergraduate chair or a faculty member in your major. Please note that the application form asks applicants to consult with and identify a faculty advisor who will work with them on their proposed research during the fellowship year.

Please upload your application form and an unofficial copy of your transcript as a single PDF to https://tinyurl.com/wolfunderupload no later than March 22, 2020, 11:59 p.m.  Please name your file: LastName_FirstName.pdf. 

Please ask your referee to upload their confidential letter of recommendation to our secure server no later than March 22, 2020. Letters should not be emailed.

The following is published in accordance with the Faculty Senate Rules. Among other purposes, the publication of SEC actions is intended to stimulate discussion among the constituencies and their representatives. Please communicate your comments to Patrick Walsh, executive assistant to the Senate Office, either by telephone at (215) 898-6943 or by email at senate@pobox.upenn.edu

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Actions

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Chair’s Report. Faculty Senate Chair Steven Kimbrough informed SEC members that all members of the Standing Faculty were invited to participate in the current meeting, given significant faculty interest in the subject matter. He also reported that Bill Braham, professor of architecture, will chair the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on the Institutional Response to the Climate Emergency (“CIRCE”). A full membership roster will be announced at a later time.

Panel Discussion on Penn Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0 (“CSAP 3.0”). Bill Braham, reported on the “Climate Action Plan for UPenn’s Main Campus.” Prof. Braham explained his long-standing consulting relationship with Facilities and Real Estate Services (FRES) in which his Center for Environmental Building and Design (CEBD) provides the analysis for the three Carbon Action Plans and building energy reduction projects. Prof. Braham also co-chairs the Utilities Subcommittee of the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee (ESAC), which advises FRES on the development of the Carbon Action Plans. Prof. Braham supplemented the information in CSAP 3.0 by presenting a planning document in the form of a “waterfall” diagram that illustrates Penn’s carbon footprint and the strategies being used to achieve net zero carbon by 2042. (The diagram can be found at upenn.edu/faculty_senate/sec.html under the December 2019 “Actions” link.) Since 2009, Penn’s main campus has reduced its carbon emissions by 28.9%. With the recently approved Solar Power Purchase (PPA) agreement, CSAP 3.0 is projected to reduce campus emissions 55.5% by 2024. That plan also includes industry-wide enhancements to a “cleaner” electric grid, a program to renovate Penn’s “Top 30” buildings, “continuous recommissioning” and “enhanced recommissioning” strategies for other campus buildings, and some carbon offsets purchased by Penn’s steam supplier. Buildings that are the greatest consumers of energy on campus (e.g., laboratories) are prioritized for recommissioning in order to have the greatest impact. Air travel, another major source of carbon emissions, requires attention from faculty and staff as to how to affect change without a clear and evident solution. Both FRES and CIRCE will consider options for incentives and alternatives.

Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell reported on the “Environmental Innovations Initiative,” which was announced on December 4, and on Penn scholars’ significant impact on climate change. The Initiative will begin with a series of listening tours and town halls and will consult with experts at Penn’s peer institutions before formalizing a structure for the Initiative.

An animal nutrition program in the Vet School has been adopted by regional farmers and has led to a measurable reduction of nitrogen and phosphorous runoff in the Chesapeake Watershed. Also, the Penn Institute for Urban Research and the Perry World House are inviting visiting scholars to launch a city climate resiliency initiative that will provide mayors of “low income cities” a support structure and knowledge to help them create climate resilient environments. 

Vice President of FRES Anne Papageorge and Vice President for Business Services Division Marie Witt reported on the Penn Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0. Ms. Papageorge summarized progress on the Climate Action Plan 2.0, which concluded in 2019. The Penn Sustainability Course Inventory has expanded from 124 to 401 courses. Building-related carbon emissions have decreased by nearly 30%, notwithstanding campus growth of over 600,000 square feet. Twenty-five main campus buildings and major interior renovations are LEED-certified. Over 50% of construction and demolition waste is diverted from the landfill as part of LEED. CSAP 3.0 (2019-2024) sets forth goals across seven areas. academics, utilities and operations, physical environment, waste minimization and recycling, purchasing, transportation, and outreach and engagement. Penn has engaged in a 25-year contract to invest in the building of two new solar farms, the most significant commitment of this kind amongst Penn’s peers. 

A robust discussion ensued. Several faculty members encouraged a reframing of reporting on progress and policies in this area to ensure that perspectives on justice, human rights and anxieties are heard. For example, future sustainability initiatives could engage students and faculty in understanding the financial, environmental and ethical trade-offs and decision points underlying each component of the Action Plan. Faculty members also voiced concerns that sustainability and climate action at Penn is under the domain of FRES given that the issues are broader than facilities or real estate.

Jonathan A. Epstein, executive vice dean, chief scientific officer and the William Wikoff Smith Professor of Cardiovascular Research in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has been awarded the Harriet P. Dustan Award for Outstanding Work in Science as Related to Medicine by the American College of Physicians (ACP), a national organization of internists. Established by ACP’s Board of Regents in 1958, this award recognizes outstanding work in science as related to medicine, and it was renamed in 2017 after Dr. Dustan, a Master of the College and a clinician and investigator whose pioneering research advanced the detection and treatment of hypertension.

Dr. Epstein is a physician-scientist and renowned stem cell biologist and developmental biologist who is a leading figure in cardiovascular biology. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular development and implications for understanding and treating human disease. He has repeatedly provided paradigm-shifting discoveries based on a deep understanding of molecular mechanisms of human biology and disease. His stem cell, angiogenesis and epigenetic studies have had direct implications for the development of new therapeutic agents for heart failure and myocardial infarction. Most recently, Dr. Epstein and his team reported on the use of CAR T-cell therapy to treat fibrosis associated with heart failure, in a paper published in Nature, which was featured in The New York Times and Scientific American.

Third-year Penn Dental Medicine student Ola Adel Farrag (D’21) earned first place in the third annual Shils Stars Dental Student Competition.

Presented by the Dr. Edward B. Shils Entrepreneurial Fund, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to innovation in health care, the Student Competition included submissions from US- and Canada-based dental students who pitched their ideas, innovations and inventions to a panel of judges led by Stanley M. Bergman, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Henry Schein, Inc. Ms. Farrag took the top prize for her “P-File,” a design for a new endodontic file.

Ms. Farrag has applied for a patent in the US and Egypt and for international protection and is currently working on manufacturing and testing the prototype.

The Student Competition was held in conjunction with the Shils Entrepreneurial Fund’s 17th annual awards ceremony, which took place this year at New York University College of Dentistry on October 16.

Dr. Shils was the founder of the Wharton Entrepreneurial Center, now the Sol C. Snider Center (Almanac November 23, 2004).

Annenberg School for Communication doctoral candidate Natalie Herbert was recently selected to participate in the Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in Washington, DC.

The National Academies bring experts together from all areas of research, and those experts communicate what they know to policymakers and the public to facilitate better evidence-based policy. The Mirzayan Fellowship gives early-career individuals the opportunity to spend 12 weeks at the National Academies learning about science and technology policy and the role that scientists and engineers play in advising the nation.

As a Mirzayan Fellow, Ms. Herbert, a message effects scholar, will work for the InterAcademy Partnership for Policy (IAP) developing a series of workshops and guides for academies’ media strategies when releasing new consensus reports, including how to use press to reach policymakers and the public.

Ms. Herbert is interested in how expert uncertainty can be misconstrued as expert conflict in the public health domain. She is testing message interventions to reduce the negative effects of perceived conflict and increase trust in science and expert recommendations. She is involved in a collaboration with Penn Nursing that uses virtual reality technology to train citizens to administer naloxone in order to reverse opioid overdoses.

Christopher A. Hunter, Mindy Halikman Heyer Distinguished Professor of Pathobiology at the School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, has been elected president-elect of the International Cytokine and Interferon Society. Dr. Hunter officially began his term in November and will take office as president following the Cytokines 2021 Cardiff meeting in October 2021.

The International Cytokine and Interferon Society (ICIS) is devoted to research in the fields of cytokine, interferon and chemokine cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry and the clinical use of these biological response modifiers. Bringing together over 950 scientists from across different research disciplines, the ICIS is the premier organization promoting cytokine-based discovery to identify therapies for people with autoimmune diseases, cancer and infectious disease.

Dr. Hunter’s research focuses on the complex interplay of the immune system at the cellular level and how those interactions govern a host organism’s recognition and response to immune insults. He has a particular interest in the role played by cytokine networks that regulate the balance between protective and pathological immune responses. His research is relevant to many inflammatory processes, including cancer, asthma, lupus, multiple sclerosis and arthritis.

The broad impact of Dr. Hunter’s research is illustrated by his roles as a senior investigator for the American Asthma Foundation and as a scientific founder and member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Surface Oncology. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He is the recipient of the Burroughs Wellcome Young Investigator Award and the Cormie Prize in Neurology, and was selected as an Irvington Research Scholar. He is the author of more than 250 publications and his work has been cited more than 30,000 times.

Associate Professor Simon Kim and Weitzman students from his 701 studio in 2018 are featured in the 2019 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism: Collective City.

Mr. Kim’s project, “TYOLDNPAR: The Heterotopial City,” was submitted by his firm, Ibañez Kim. “Montreal, Sensate and Augmented” was created by his 701 studio in 2018. Participating Weitzman students include Mostafa Akbari, Yunyoung Lina Choi, Wenna Dai, Zihao Fang, Yuting He, Wenqi Huang, Mikyung Lee, Chuqi Liu, Bowen Qin, Yingke Sun, Si Yang Xiao, Weimeng Zhang and Chengyao Zong. The Biennale opened in September and was on view through November 10 in Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul.

Lisa Lewis, associate professor of nursing, Calvin Bland Fellow and assistant dean for diversity and inclusivity at Penn’s School of Nursing, and Sarah Light, associate professor of legal studies and business ethics at Wharton, have been awarded the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women’s 8th Annual Advising Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising. 

This award was established by TCPW to recognize undergraduate advisors who have distinguished themselves in providing outstanding assistance and advice to their advisee students and who have made a significant impact on the academic experience of these students. The awards were presented at the TCPW Fall Conference.

Vincent Reina, assistant professor of city and regional planning at the Weitzman School, has received the 2019 Rising Scholar Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. 

The ACSP Rising Scholar Award recognizes early-career scholars who demonstrate strong potential for a meritorious impact on planning scholarship based on the originality and rigor of his or her work. The selection committee considers the scholar’s impact on the larger research/academic/professional community and the general public; impact on the professional community; impact on a community; and impact on policy. To be eligible, scholars must be pre-tenure, tenure-track faculty members in an ACSP member program or department.

Dr. Reina’s research focuses on urban economics, low-income housing policy, household mobility, neighborhood change and community and economic development. His work has been published in Urban Studies, Housing Policy Debate and Journal of Housing Economics, among other journals.

Penn senior Christina Steele and 2018 graduate Erin Hartman have been named Marshall Scholars. Established by the British government, the Marshall Scholarship funds up to three years of study for a graduate degree in any field at an institution in the United Kingdom. They are among 46 Marshall Scholars for 2020 chosen from more than 1,000 applicants. The scholarship, meant to strengthen US-UK relations, is offered to as many as 50 Americans each year. 

Ms. Hartman, from Medford, New Jersey, graduated magna cum laude from the School of Nursing in 2018. She is currently a registered nurse in the emergency department at New York Presbyterian Hospital, where she also works as a certified sexual assault forensic examiner in the Victim Intervention Program. She plans to pursue a master of laws degree in international human rights and practice at the University of York, followed by an master’s degree in gender, peace and security at the London School of Economics. Her passion is in empowering women, and her ambition is to help eradicate violence against women around the world. 

Ms. Steele, from Valley Stream, New York, is majoring in psychology with minors in religious studies and biological basis of behavior in the School of Arts and Sciences. She will pursue a doctorate in social psychology at the University of Edinburgh with a goal of developing evidence-based interventions that target interpersonal conflict and foster positive relationships in society. Ms. Steele is a 2019 Beinecke Scholar and a recipient of the George Weiss Challenge Scholarship and the Gillian Meltzer Miniter Scholarship. 

Ms. Steele and Ms. Hartman applied with assistance from CURF. Penn has had 17 Marshall Scholars since the scholarship’s 1953 inception.

Penn senior Andrew Howard, alumnus Malik Abdul Majeed (W’17), and master’s student Zinan Chen were chosen to receive the Schwarzman Scholarship, which funds a one-year master’s degree in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing. 

They are part of the fifth class of Schwarzman Scholars and will enroll at Tsinghua University in August 2020. This year, 145 Schwarzman Scholars were selected from more than 4,700 applicants and include students from 41 countries and 108 universities. More than 400 candidates were invited to interview before panels in Beijing, London, New York or Bangkok. 

Ms. Chen, from the Yunnan Province of China, is pursuing her master’s degree at GSE in education entrepreneurship. She earned her BA in political economy from the University of Washington. Ms. Chen co-founded UniWill Ventures and serves as general partner of this early-stage venture capital fund. She founded her first non-profit organization at age 16 and since then has been involved in improving education quality, combating malnutrition and equalizing women’s rights in developing countries. She hopes to leverage the power of investment capital combined with goodwill to solve social and environmental issues.

Mr. Howard, from Great Falls, Virginia, is a finance and statistics major. He serves as president of the Wharton Dean’s Advisory Board, as director for Penn’s International Affairs Association student group, and is a scholar for the Penn-Wharton Public Policy Initiative. He is interested in the intersection of public policy, technology and finance, which he has pursued through internships with Goldman Sachs, IAC/InterActiveCorp and the Securities & Exchange Commission. He hopes to use his experience as a Schwarzman Scholar to build a global network of innovative entrepreneurs.

Mr. Majeed from Islamabad, Pakistan, graduated with his bachelor’s degree in finance and statistics in 2017. He currently works at Cornerstone Research, where he is active in building the firm’s pro bono initiatives. While at Penn, he was a member of the Pakistani community and organized the first Penn Pakistan conference. His interests lie at the intersection of economics and law, specifically how they interact to promote development. Previously he has worked on a randomized controlled trial with the Center of Economic Research in Pakistan and as an investment banking analyst at UBS. 

Schwarzman Scholars pursue a master’s degree in global affairs with a core curriculum focused on three pillars: China, global affairs and leadership. They have the opportunity to take elective courses from a variety of disciplines, to travel in China and to participate in professional development opportunities. They study and reside at the new Schwarzman College building to encourage cross-cultural connections and intellectual exchange. Mr. Howard and Mr. Majeed applied for the Schwarzman Scholarship with assistance from CURF.

Daisy the Goat Kid’s Harrowing ER Visit

By Sacha Adorno, Penn Vet Contributing Writer

The week of March 18 started with joy and excitement for Mary Ann Bucklin and her family when, in the earliest hours of Monday morning, their goat Ivory gave birth to a doeling. But things soon took a turn, leading to five days of ups and downs (and ups) for the baby they’d named Daisy.

“On Monday morning, we heard sounds coming from the barn and found Ivory had given birth overnight,” Ms. Bucklin explained. “We noticed the kid wasn’t nursing, and she fell over whenever we helped her stand. Following our veterinarian’s advice, we tried feeding her with a syringe, which perked her up but not for long. Our vet told us to take her to the New Bolton Center emergency room.”

Penn Vet admitted both goats. “We did a complete work-up of each one. Ivory was healthy. Daisy’s heart rate and breathing were OK, but she was weak and had a low body temperature,” said Michelle Abraham, assistant professor of clinical critical care medicine. “Her mucus membranes were congested and blood sugar profoundly low. So, we administered an antibiotic to clear potential infections and helped her nurse.”

First the Good News ... Then the Bad

Within a few hours, Daisy looked brighter.

“New Bolton Center called us that night to say Daisy was improving, and we went to bed hopeful,” said Ms. Bucklin. “But the next morning we got a call that she wasn’t doing well and had a 50/50 chance with intervention.”

Overnight Daisy had become increasingly lethargic, and her glucose levels were dangerously low. Her care team—veterinarians, students and volunteers, who’d fallen in love with the little goat—circled around.

“Someone was with her every minute. We were doing everything we could to help her to get better,” said Amanda Hardcastle, an extern from the University of Tennessee, and one of four students assisting on the case along with Penn Vet students Megan Caiazzo (V’20), Gabrielle Faragasso (V’20) and Stefanie Gayer (V’19).

Daisy’s treatment included a steady flow of fluids and dextrose during the night, but by morning her condition had deteriorated. She had diarrhea and required oxygen therapy when her skin started turning blue. After multiple tests, Dr. Abraham diagnosed neonatal sepsis and septic shock, a highly fatal condition caused by serious infection. Daisy became comatose very quickly and was having trouble maintaining her blood pressure.

“Because the kid didn’t nurse in her earliest hours of life, it’s possible she didn’t ingest the colostrum, a milky substance rich in antibodies that helps newborns develop a healthy immune system to fight infection,” explained Dr. Abraham.

Dr. Abraham gave Daisy an antitoxin, an aggressive course of antimicrobial medications, and constant infusions of fluids and medications to help her heart beat and maintain her blood pressure.

Slowly, Daisy improved and wanted to nurse. Every day, Ms. Bucklin received a call from New Bolton Center about the goat’s condition—“we really appreciated these calls and hearing she was getting stronger,” she said. 

By the end of the week, Daisy began to show her sparkly personality and nursed unprompted. She was discharged on Friday, going home to live with Ivory, two other goats, two dogs and eight humans.  

“When we picked her up at the hospital, we were surprised by the outpouring of emotion,” remembered Ms. Bucklin. “Everyone who cared for Daisy greeted us. They clearly adored her and were so happy she pulled through. It was like a mini-celebration—and great contrast to the start of the week!” 

Beloved Boxer Becomes a Penn Heart Patient

Edited version of story by Katie Baille, University Communications 

Eight years ago, Karen Cortellino, a physician from New Jersey, adopted Sophie, a boxer, two weeks after the death of the family’s first boxer, and “she’s been Mommy’s baby ever since.” 

A few months ago, Sophie became the first dog with a particular type of heart disease—arrhythmogenic right ventricle cardiomyopathy (ARVC)—to be treated with cardiac ablation.

Anna Gelzer, a professor of cardiology in Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine, led Sophie through the procedure with cardiology resident Alexandra Crooks. But the equipment and expertise to perform an ablation, in which a high energy catheter tip burns tiny portions of damaged heart tissue to restore normal rhythms, wouldn’t have been possible without collaborators from down the street. At the Perelman School of Medicine’s Translational Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratory, Director Cory Tschabrunn and members of his team worked with their veterinary colleagues to plan out and provide Sophie a procedure that mirrors the best that human medicine has to offer.

“This collaboration and this close distance between our hospitals allows us to be able to utilize the tremendous access to all this knowledge,” said Dr. Gelzer. “And from our experience with Sophie and other dogs to come, we may able to glean information that will be valuable to human medicine.” 

For Dr. Gelzer and Dr. Crooks, Sophie is a pilot case for a study now backed by two grants that will support cardiac mapping and ablation procedures for six additional dogs. Currently, cardiac ablation is only available for pet dogs in two other sites in the world. Sophie’s case puts Penn Vet on the map. While the equipment necessary to perform ablations is costly, access to Penn Medicine’s Translational Electrophysiology Lab has opened the possibility that Penn Vet may one day be able to provide committed dog owners a more durable alternative to medication for treating their pets’ arrhythmias.

A Scary Spell

Sophie’s diagnosis of ARVC meant she could suffer a life-threatening arrhythmia, despite starting medications to reduce that risk. A strikingly similar condition affects roughly 1 in 1,000 humans. In both dogs and humans, the disease causes a deterioration of the tissues in the heart muscle, leading to occasional episodes when the heart beats very fast. The condition increases the risk of sudden death. While drugs like beta blockers and sodium channel blockers can mitigate this risk, arrhythmias can sometimes break through these medications.

Dr. Cortellino began researching alternative treatment options. In humans with a similar diagnosis, the treatment of choice is an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD). But, as Dr. Gelzer explained to Dr. Cortellino when she reached out about this possibility, that option is not yet tenable for dogs. But she did have an alternative proposal. The only catch was that it had never been done in a dog with ARVC before.

Ideal Expertise

In 2000, Dr. Gelzer had worked with David Callans, a professor of medicine at PSOM and an expert on cardiac electrophysiology. They collaborated on basic cardiac research using pig models. Roughly a year ago, when discussing one of Dr. Gelzer’s cases, Dr. Callans connected her with Dr. Tschabrunn, who had recently set up his lab in Penn Medicine’s Smilow Center for Translational Research as part of the Electrophysiology Translational Center of Excellence (EP-TCE) initiative. Dr. Tschabrunn and Dr. Gelzer struck up a collaboration that brought together the latest in technique and technology in cardiac electrophysiology with deep knowledge in veterinary cardiology.

“This was an exciting opportunity not only in terms of a research collaboration,” said Dr. Tschabrunn, “but we also had the chance to help a patient by combining our expertise and resources that are really only available at just a few institutions in the world.”

Not a Bandage

Ablations are “routine care” for many cases of arrhythmias in people. “You approach the heart through the blood vessel, get in the right spot, and—with all the expertise and knowledge of the practitioner—you can find the damaged area and burn it,” said Dr. Gelzer. “And then maybe the patient doesn’t need to be on medications that can have side effects and are in some cases not that effective.” Dr. Gelzer saw Sophie, a healthy dog aside from her heart condition, as an excellent candidate for an ablation. 

Before the surgery, the veterinarians gathered data on the patterns of Sophie’s arrhythmias. That information was used during the procedure to zero in on the area of the heart to target with the ablation.

The morning of the procedure, a full complement of experts awaited Sophie: not only Dr. Gelzer, Dr. Crooks, Dr. Tschabrunn and his team and Giacomo Gianotti, head of anesthesia at Ryan, but also two anesthesia residents, Penn Vet’s two other cardiology faculty, Marc Kraus and Mark Oyama, two cardiology residents, a cardiology research intern, experts on the machines, veterinary nurses and interested observers.

The procedure was long and complex. To locate the unhealthy tissue, the clinicians used an advanced mapping system based on GPS technology called CARTO, which maps the voltage of the heart tissue. Decreased voltage corresponds with diseased tissue. They confirmed these areas by artificially introducing extra heart beats into Sophie’s normal rhythm. Sophie’s heart resisted these challenges, a sign that her disease was being kept in check by her medications, but the heart mapping and challenges did allow the clinicians to reproduce abnormal beats, giving them more evidence that they were targeting the right areas. Guided by that information, Dr. Tschabrunn used precisely directed radiofrequency to burn millimeter-sized portions of the tissue inside Sophie’s right ventricle. And all went smoothly. And Dr. Cortellino and her family are reaping the benefits: “Sophie is back to her perky self.”

Paving the Way

Drs. Gelzer and Tschabrunn recently performed another ablation on a canine patient, and they are hopeful that the outcomes from the study will lay the groundwork for ablation to become a more routine option for dogs. From Sophie’s case and others that follow, researchers hope to glean information that could benefit both human and veterinary patients in the future. 

“Loveliest Colt in the World” Recovers from Eye Trauma 

By Sacha Adorno, Penn Vet Contributing Writer

“I’ve been coming to New Bolton Center with my horses since I was a teenager, and I’m now in my 60s. I wouldn’t go anywhere else when there’s a problem,” said Cathy Vincent, co-owner of Adandy Farm in Greenwood, Delaware, which has been in the Arabian horse business since 1967.

During a life spent breeding, training and showing horses, Ms. Vincent has dealt with an equine injury or two. Most recently, her seven-month-old colt Total Heir suffered blunt force trauma to his eye.

“It happened around four in the afternoon. We’re not sure exactly what caused the injury, but as soon as his caretakers saw the eye, they called our regular veterinarian. She took one look and told them to go right to New Bolton Center,” said  Ms. Vincent, who owns Total Heir with Millie Chapman in Junction City, Oregon. “I was in Arizona for a show, so they put him in the trailer—his first ride ever and he went without a problem.”

Two hours later Total Heir was in the hospital. By the time he arrived, the eye was filled with blood, and he was non-visual. “We knew we wanted to intervene with tissue plasminogen activator, also known as TPA,” explained Nicole Scherrer, clinical assistant professor of large animal ophthalmology. “It’s administered through an injection in the eye and acts as a clot buster. The medicine is often used in humans during the early stages of a stroke to improve their long-term prognosis.”

Artful Injection

But applying the medication isn’t as simple as immediately injecting it into the affected eye. According to Dr. Scherrer, “there’s a bit of an art as to when exactly to do the injection.” If done too soon, the procedure can cause a re-bleed because it takes away the eye’s ability to clot naturally. But waiting too long can cause permanent eye damage. To make a bit more difficult, Total Heir also had an eye ulcer needing attention.

Dr. Scherrer and her ophthalmology team first treated the horse with anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antibiotic and pressure reducing medications, monitoring him until he was stable enough for the procedure. “We had to watch to make sure the ulcer didn’t worsen, there was no active bleeding in the eye and that his intraocular pressure was appropriately managed,” she explained.  

After two days of medical treatment, Dr. Scherrer believed that he was ready. “We injected the solution directly into his eye, and within 12 hours the blood had cleared,” she said. 

Always Elegant ... and Super Sweet

Total Heir was able to go home, where he received daily medications. “My wonderful team at the stable gives him medication three times a day—it’s no small job; each dose takes 30-40 minutes to administer,” Ms. Vincent said.

Not that anyone is complaining. “Total Heir never gives us any trouble. He is always an elegant, happy boy,” said Ms. Vincent of the colt, who is back to his regular exercise routine. “He has a wonderful pedigree—his grandfather was Gitar AF, an amazing horse and also well known to New Bolton Center!”

Dr. Scherrer seconded this: “Total Heir is one of the loveliest babies in the entire world and super easy to work with. It’s a huge credit to the barn and how well they manage their horses. We love him very much!” 

When a Doctor Suddenly Goes into Heart Failure

“On December 21, 2018, I almost died.” That’s the first line of Alin Gragossian’s blog, “A Change of Heart.”

Dr. Gragossian was a 30-year-old emergency medicine resident who, in the weeks leading up to that day, had been feeling a little run down. As a resident working long hours, it didn’t seem too abnormal. The persistent cough she had developed was annoying but not unbearable.

Even when one of her attending physicians noticed she was short of breath from talking, Dr. Gragossian shrugged it off. “I went for a run just last week. How bad could it be?” she thought. But over the next couple of days, it became harder for her to ignore that she was having trouble breathing.

When her boyfriend who hadn’t seen her for a few months confessed that she looked sick, they headed to her ER for a chest x-ray.

“My heart looked big. My heart rate was in the 140s, and I wasn’t breathing well,” Dr. Gragossian said. “They thought it could be pneumonia.”

Still, Dr. Gragossian’s focus was on her shift the next day. If she could just get some antibiotics, she thought, she should be able to salvage some sleep and make it through another day. Instead, one of her attendings insisted she stay overnight for observation ... which proved to be a lifesaving measure.

That night, Dr. Gragossian went into heart failure. She doesn’t remember much after the rapid response team arrived at her bedside. She was intubated and put on a ventilator. And then she was put into a medically induced coma in an effort to stabilize her and buy her doctors some time to figure what was going on.

Over the next 48 hours, her doctors zeroed in on her heart, but they still weren’t sure what was causing her condition. She was taken to the catheterization lab, her heart failing from minute to minute. She was put on medications just to keep it pumping.

Dr. Gragossian was ultimately diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart chambers dilate or enlarge, preventing the heart from pumping blood as well as it normally would. If it goes on long enough, it can lead to heart failure, as it did with Dr. Gragossian.

“My dad has dilated cardiomyopathy, but his isn’t as severe as mine,” Dr. Gragossian said. “And his father died in his late-thirties, early-forties from a heart condition, but we’d never put it all together before.”

The cause of dilated cardiomyopathy isn’t generally known, but it’s estimated that up to a third of cases are inherited from parents.

With the diagnosis, Dr. Gragossian was transferred to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “I knew where it was headed at that point: heart transplant,” she said.

On January 15, 2019, 11 days after Dr. Gragossian was placed on the heart transplant waiting list, she was, as she writes on her blog, “reborn with a new heart, all thanks to a selfless organ donor who was likely from around the area and happened to have a matching blood type.”

Pavan Atluri, director of Penn Medicine’s Cardiac Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program, performed the surgery.

Making Sense of a Near-Death Experience

Dr. Gragossian started her blog seven days after her transplant, while she was still in the intensive care unit. She vowed to use it as a space to “advocate for organ donation, research and charities.” (Within the first two months, she had already raised several thousand dollars for a national charity and she’d begun working with another, Philadelphia-based one.) The blog also helped stave off boredom—Dr. Gragossian is not someone who does well with sitting still—and served as an outlet for her thoughts.

Dr. Gragossian needed to explain the thoughts racing through her mind. After all, she was suddenly forced to confront the possibility of her death at the age of 30.

“It was very, very, very scary,” she said. “But I had a lot of faith in the system. I knew that my doctors and nurses would take care of me, and that ultimately made me feel better.”

She was also just beginning to process how she was going to proceed with the rest of her life.

“You see, there are several ways to interpret these ‘inconvenient’ life events (let’s call these ILEs),” Dr. Gragossian wrote in her first blog post. “You can genuinely see them as setbacks and let them take over your thoughts. You can blame yourself or others (or even a higher being) and dwell on the reasons why such ILE happened to good, ol’ you.

“Me? I gracefully embraced my ILE. I am continuing to learn from it every day, even in my hospital room on Post-Op Day 7.”

Anticipating the Next Chapter

Dr. Gragossian was discharged from the hospital nine days after her transplant and was up and doing things for herself after a couple of weeks. By March, she had already been easing back into jogging—“slowly,” she qualifies—for a month. And she was itching to get back to work.

Before all this happened, Dr. Gragossian was preparing to move to New York to begin a fellowship in critical care. That’s been postponed for at least a year. If her follow-up care under Rhondalyn C. McLean, associate medical director of the Penn Medicine Heart Transplant Program, continues to progress as well, and if her next couple of routine biopsies remain clear, Dr. Gragossian will be allowed to finish her residency in the coming months.

Until then, she’s continuing to process the whirlwind that was last winter. “Even before all this happened, I was someone who’d try to take something and learn from it. It’s changed me in a lot of ways,” Dr. Gragossian said. “It’s got me thinking about taking full advantage of my time and making sure that I’m doing what I want to be doing. But I think it’s also going to make me a different clinician. I do think it’ll help me better empathize with my patients.” 

From Conquering Cancer to Climbing Kilimanjaro

Jennifer Vrana has been in the midst of an adrenaline rush for 18 years. Following the attacks on September 11, 2001, the Philadelphia police officer headed to New York City to join the bucket brigade at the World Trade Center site. Seven weeks later, she was diagnosed with stage 4b Hodgkin’s disease. A year after that, she needed a stem cell transplant. But she didn’t slow down. Instead, she sped up. 

Step One: Find Normalcy Amid Chaos

Ms. Vrana began her cancer treatment at a hospital where she quickly felt that she was being treated “as a number” rather than a person. She recalls the physicians telling her that they were “excited to be able to keep people alive for up to seven years,” and the bizarre, nonchalant comment only strengthened her resolve to beat the odds.

She switched to Pennsylvania Hospital for her care and recognized immediately that her oncologists, David Henry, vice chair of the department of medicine, and Patricia Ford, director of the Peripheral Stem Cell Transplant Program and the Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery, were a perfect fit. “I had my primary doctor at one location, my surgeon at another and then Dr. Henry and Dr. Ford at Pennsylvania Hospital, and they all knew each other and worked well together across health systems. In that aspect, I was beyond blessed. I’d found the right place at the right time,” she said.

During her eight cycles of chemotherapy, Ms. Vrana had two goals: keep working and keep planning. She transferred from the Roxborough/Manayunk police district to City Hall so she could walk to the hospital for treatment every other Monday at 9 a.m., and she never took time off. Seeing herself in uniform in the mirror each morning kept her motivated, “and it brought a sense of normalcy.” Sluggishness would set in by Thursday each week, but she kept herself going by planning exciting outings: rodeos, concerts, skydiving, swimming with dolphins, and “everything else that doctors told [her] not to do.” 

When it came time for her stem cell transplant in October 2002, Ms. Vrana was still reveling in the success of a rodeo competition that she had won three weeks prior. Her hair was gone, but she was in high spirits, which were further bolstered by the success of the lifesaving
procedure. Two days after discharge, she contracted a staph infection and was rushed back to the hospital. Her care team noted that her chance of survival was declining by the hour, but fortunately, her fever broke overnight, and when her family arrived the next morning, they found her calmly smoking a cigarette by her window (and hiding it from her nurses).

“I had the best nurses on earth, and I still keep in touch with a couple of them,” she said. “I truly believe that if it wasn’t for my nurses that night, I wouldn’t have made it. They stuck to me like glue. I experienced the worst 24 hours of my life, but that was the turning point.”

Step Two: Ditch Normalcy Altogether

In the 17 years that followed her transplant, Ms. Vrana has recovered and was given a clean bill of health. She has given up smoking, picked up running and adopted a healthy diet. But more significantly, the shift in perspective prompted by her diagnosis surprisingly shifted her mental health in a positive direction.

“I really do consider this whole experience to be a gift. Pre-cancer, I had my job, my friends, my rodeos—but I appreciate everything so much more,” she said. “I’m a survivor, and I’m not going to slow down.”

Ms. Vrana still lives her life with a six-month-long mindset. These chunks of time are filled with as many “spectacular things” as she can fit, both to celebrate her continued ability to engage with the world around her, and to honor those who cannot embark on the same journeys. 

She returned to school and earned her BA and MBA, gained two promotions and became a lieutenant on the police force, helped found the Liberty Gay Rodeo Association, reconnected with her family and married her wife and “ultimate reward,” Suzanne. She has also gone skydiving over an Arizona desert and cage diving surrounded by great white sharks; galloped on horseback through fields filled with rhinos and zebras and watched the sunrise from a hot air balloon over the Valley of the Kings; spent time supporting children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in South Africa and made regular visits to the Disney parks. She climbed Pike’s Peak in Colorado as practice for her journey to the top of Kilimanjaro.

“I’ve been able to do the craziest, most amazing things. My first post-transplant trip was to Iceland. A friend and I were snowmobiling on a glacier, and as we went through the clouds at the top, I just cried. It was so beautiful, and I was so thankful to be alive,” Ms. Vrana said.

In October, Ms. Vrana made it to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, on the 17th anniversary of her transplant. She and her group climbed through the night so they could watch the sunrise from the highest point in Africa.

“Cancer’s just a word. Believe me, I know how privileged I am to say that; survivor’s guilt is real, and I strive daily to be the best I can be in honor of those who were lost. But a diagnosis is just a diagnosis. It’s what you do with it that matters,” she continued. “Do it your way. Only you know what your way is. But I do know that the day you decide you’re too tired to get up—that’s the day you start dying. So I never laid down. And I’m still moving.” 

Dancing with MS

Adapted from stories by Stephanie Stahl, CBS Philly, and Stu Bykofsky, Philadelphia Inquirer

A growing number of young people—especially women in their 20s and 30s—are being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). Fortunately, there are several new treatments that allow many patients to live healthy lives. MS can be debilitating, but it doesn’t have to be. Philadelphia dancer Danielle Bourgeon thought her days on pointe were over when she was diagnosed, but you’d never know.

“For me, it was really important to tell this story,” Ms. Bourgeon, a Chicago native who studied ballet at Pittsburgh’s Point Park University, said. 

It’s a story about resilience, how dance helped the 34 year old get her life back. In 2005, Ms. Bourgeon suffered an injury that would keep her from becoming a ballerina. She earned a bachelor’s in fashion marketing at the Art Institute of Philadelphia and now works for a Lansdale, marketing firm. Then, in 2009, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. 

“I was completely paralyzed on my left side,” Ms. Bourgeon said. “It was really rough for me, and it got really dark for me really fast, particularly when I was not able to walk. I know it’s not a death sentence, but it feels like that.”

MS impacts the central nervous system. Symptoms include vision changes, pain and fatigue and they fluctuate.

“You don’t know what it’s going to take from you, you don’t know how it’s going to affect you and living with that unknown and that level of unknown and uncertainty is very scary,” Ms. Bourgeon said.

Penn Medicine Associate Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center Dina Jacobs said more young people are being diagnosed with MS.

Dr. Jacobs said they’ve gotten better at diagnosing MS, which could account for the growing numbers.

While there’s still no cure, MS can be well managed now that there are 17 different FDA approved treatments.

“It’s such an incredibly hopeful time,” Dr. Jacobs said. “The medications we have—they have higher efficacy and they’re really making more of an impact.”

The new treatments—along with a good diet, exercise and stress control—have helped Ms. Bourgeon get back to dancing.

“It’s not a death sentence and it took me a while to figure that out,” she said.

Now with that attitude and feeling good, Ms. Bourgeon recently choreographed a dance about her journey with MS called “Made Stronger,” which incorporated her walker. This could be considered a risky move.

“I didn’t want it to come off as mocking people who need to use a walker,” she said. “I’ve spent many nights playing with the walker to see what looks interesting and gets my point across.” At the beginning of the piece, she is giving up on herself, but by the end she walks away from the walker. She performed it with a colleague in July as part of a Philadelphia Dance Day Showcase.

“I’m not MS and MS is not me,” she said. “I want to live my life as much as I can.”

Ms. Bourgeon is also reaching out to other newly diagnosed MS patients to let them know that their lives can be OK. Doctors say it can be tricky to diagnose, but finding MS early and getting treated is the best way to limit and control symptoms. 

On December 4, hundreds of guests attended the annual State of University City at World Café Live. UCD Board Chair Craig Carnaroli and Councilperson-elect Jamie Gauthier offered opening remarks. UCD issued its annual State of University City report. Below are excerpts. For the full report, visit https://tinyurl.com/UCDStateofUnivCity2020

Spotlight on University City: University City is the region’s leader in education, science and innovation. The 2.4-square-mile neighborhood boasts world-class institutions that have catalyzed over 85,000 jobs in fields including medicine, higher education, technology, real estate, and hospitality. University City is a destination for culture seekers and food lovers, a transportation hub with some of the most bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly streets in the city, and is home to the most significant development projects in the region. With diverse demographics, a blend of housing and rental options, top-notch schools and hospitals and amenities galore, University City is Philadelphia’s neighborhood of choice where the quality of life matches the quality of opportunity.

Real Estate Development: Accelerated growth, rapid transformation and continued investment remain the story in University City’s real estate sector. Progress on major residential, institutional, public space and mixed-use projects marked another busy year of groundbreakings, topping outs and ribbon cuttings in the neighborhood. In the past year, significant progress has been made on three major long-term projects: uCity Square; Schuylkill Yards; and the 30th Street Master Plan. Other key developments, including the new Pavilion at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3.0 University Place and Drexel’s Bentley Hall, made major strides toward completion. All told, these investments in the neighborhood are further cementing University City’s status as the region’s economic and innovation powerhouse.

Employment: New development and institutional expansions contribute to University City’s continued status as a top regional employment hub. In 2019, the total number of University City jobs increased for the fourth consecutive year and eclipsed 85,000 total workers in the neighborhood for the first time. University City accounts for approximately 12% of all jobs within Philadelphia, despite representing only 1.69% of the city’s total footprint. A large percentage of jobs are found at the local hospitals and universities, but growth associated with nascent technology firms and commercialization of research is also creating more employment opportunities at every rung of the career ladder.

Office: Look no further than the nearly 5 million square feet of office space, up 37% over five years ago, to see that University City remains a desirable place to do business within the region. The average gross rent of $39.02 per square foot far outpaces averages for Center City Philadelphia and the region at large, and the 88.4% occupancy rent remains in the top five out of all submarkets in the region. More inventory is on the way with upcoming groundbreakings planned for buildings in Schuylkill Yards, 3.0 University Place, uCity Square, plus many others.

Retail and Hospitality: Local and national retailers, restaurants and hotel operators view University City as a prime location due to an eclectic mix of employees, commuters, college students and residents. University City boasts 285 restaurants and bars, including new additions like outposts of popular chains Bonchon, Halal Guys and Panera, a hybrid beer hall/arcade called The Post and Sunset Social, a rooftop restaurant offering stunning views of Philadelphia. Adding to the vitality, a recent survey of outdoor seating revealed a whopping 5,657 outdoor seats within the district, and out-of-town visitors can choose from over 1,000 available hotel rooms, from luxury offerings at AKA University City to the chic The Study at University City to the recently renovated University City Sheraton.

Higher Education: True to its name, University City offers top options in the region and nation for undergraduate and graduate studies. More than 53,000 students are enrolled in the neighborhood’s five institutions of higher education. Students from around the country and the globe are drawn to the proximity to employment opportunities the beautiful campuses, the vitality of the surrounding community and the varied housing inventory. According to a recent report by Campus Philly, from 2000-2017, Philadelphia added 68,700 residents between the ages of 25 and 34 who hold a bachelor’s degree and retained 54% of college graduates. The total number of undergraduate and graduate students in University City and the total degrees conferred far outnumber peer employment centers.

Healthcare: The neighborhood’s medical institutions—Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center—combine to account for nearly 38% of all jobs in University City, making them an essential component of the local economy. Both CHOP and the Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania—Penn Presbyterian receive annual accolades, including CHOP’s ranking as the #2 hospital for children in America according to US News and World Report, Penn Medicine ranking #17 in the nation for top employers according to Forbes, and 481 Penn physicians ranking in Philadelphia magazine’s list of top regional doctors. Our local hospitals are also leading the way in new treatments, procedures and medical technologies and will soon be able to accomplish even more with the addition of the Pavilion, a new facility from Penn Medicine that will house 500 private patient rooms and 47 operating rooms.

Transportation: University City’s streets, sidewalks and transit stations combine to offer excellent options for traveling within the neighborhood or to points beyond, and the neighborhood once again earned “paradise” status for walking, biking and public transit from Walkscore.com A reported 68% of residents commute to work without relying on a car, a higher percentage than any peer innovation city other than Washington, DC. The addition of new bike share stations and bus routes, plus an estimated $450 million of public investment toward local transportation infrastructure over the next 10 years, will further improve University City’s accessibility.

People: Our neighborhood of nearly 55,000 people is made up of a diverse mix of college students, new families, young professionals and residents who have called University City home for decades. The abundance of college students accounts for both the high percentage of millennials living here and also the nearly 60% of residents who have obtained at least a bachelor’s degree. This young, educated population is very diverse, with an over-60% probability that any two residents meeting are of different races, a higher rate than all peer employment centers other than Mission Bay in San Francisco and downtown San Jose. The current population is up nearly 13% since 2010, which demonstrates improved quality of life and increased desirability of the neighborhood.

Life in the Neighborhood: What makes a neighborhood a great place to live? For University City, it’s fantastic amenities, an excellent dining scene, diverse housing options, world-class transit, parks and public spaces aplenty and communities with distinct personalities. Options for housing in University City are as varied as the residents, with historic homes, luxury high-rises, dormitories and walk-up apartments. Residents are never far from a piece of public art, a green space or a place to sit. Getting around is a breeze thanks to the excellent transportation options, and 68% of residents elect to walk, bicycle or ride public transit to get to work. Raising a family? Local schools earn annual accolades, and a new 90,000 square foot K-8 school at 3610 Warren Street will soon open. An eclectic dining scene caters to every appetite and retail options range from national chains to one-of-a-kind storefronts. Active neighborhood associations and community groups provide civic pride and engagement to the sub-neighborhoods within the district.

Innovation: University City is nationally recognized as a hub for advances in science, research and medicine, and is earning a reputation as the “Silicon Valley of health care,” according to Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky and others. Local discoveries, including the first FDA-approved cell therapy and first FDA-approved gene therapy, bring billions of dollars to the regional economy, a number that grows each year as new start-ups, incubators, and laboratories launch. A record-smashing 228 patents were issued to University City businesses and institutions, who also accounted for $1.76 billion in R&D funding. Facilities, including the Cambridge Innovation Center at 3675 Market Street, the Pennovation Center, Drexel’s ic@3401, and forthcoming projects such as two new expansions of Penn’s prestigious Wharton School will fuel even more discoveries and inventions in the years to come.

Download the January AT PENN calendar as a PDF or visit the online version at https://almanac.upenn.edu/at-penn-calendar/january-at-penn-2020

Visitors to the Morris Arboretum this month can enjoy holiday events, including tours, walks and the special Holiday Garden Railway display. See http://www.morrisarboretum.org/

Create a Beautiful Holiday Arrangement

Saturday, December 21, 1-3:30 p.m.

Join Cheryl Wilks, floral educator, florist and owner of Flowers on Location, for a holiday arrangement workshop. Design a beautiful, long-lasting arrangement for your table centerpiece or fireplace mantle. There are a number of shapes to choose from and they will be demonstrated. You will have a wonderful assortment of greens, flowers, branches, candles, accessories and more to choose from to make your one-of-a-kind arrangement. Bring a rectangular box to transport your design home. 

Members: $60; non-members: $65. 

Also available for children: 10:30 a.m.-noon. Members: $35; non-members: $40.

Holly Highlights and Winter Greenery Tour

Saturday, December 28, 2 p.m.

Bundle up for a unique tour highlighting the Arboretum’s collection of hollies and other broadleaf evergreens that enliven the winter landscape with their lush greenery and provide year-round appeal and an everlasting framework for seasonal plantings. Explore the holly slope area, learn some fun facts, and get new ideas for your own home garden. 

Tour begins at Widener Visitor Center. Included with garden admission.

Holiday Garden Railway Nights

Fridays, December 20 and 27.

Saturdays, December 21 and 28.

Sundays, December 22 and 29.

4:30-7:30 p.m.

Enjoy the Holiday Garden Railway all lit up and decorated for the season. White lights sparkle along the rails and miniature greens adorn the buildings.

New this year, on your way to the Holiday Garden Railway discover a forest of trees made of lights up to 12 feet tall.

Member adult: $15; member child: $8. Non-member adult: $20; non-member child: $10.

Professional and Personal Development Programs

Open to faculty and staff.
Register at http://knowledgelink.upenn.edu/

Develop Your Presentation Skills; 1/14; 12:30-1:30 p.m. Fear: That’s the main reason most people won’t make presentations—or make them poorly. By following some simple lessons anyone can conquer presentation phobia and go on to make his or her case successfully and professionally.

Your Career @ Penn; 1/14; 12:30-1:30 p.m. This series  has been developed to assist staff in building their careers at Penn by helping to connect your skills and abilities with career opportunities. The session will be facilitated by Penn HR. Topics include increasing your marketability at Penn and internal job strategies.

Fundamentals of Strategic Planning; 1/16; 12:30-1:30 p.m. In today’s work environment, complex tasks and projects are more common than ever. By utilizing strategic planning skills, you’ll be able to set yourself and/or your team up for success. Participants in this course will learn to identify the foundation for creating a strategic team, discover strategic values, participate in strategic planning efforts and avoid common pitfalls that derail strategic plans.

Retirement Planning; 1/22; 12:30-1:30 p.m. Everyone has a unique vision of what their retirement is going to look like. However, achieving that vision takes careful planning and dedication. The retirement planning seminar offers you the knowledge and tools that can help you take crucial steps towards achieving the retirement you are envisioning.

Work-life Workshops

Open to faculty and staff.
Register at www.hr.upenn.edu/registration

Guided Mindful Meditation; 1/7, 1/29; 12:30-1:30 p.m. This workshop is offered twice a month for participants to practice present moment awareness with kindness and compassion. The guided meditation will focus on the breath and being in the body. Self-applied massage and gentle mindful movements that promote rest and relaxation and reduce stress may also be included in the workshop. No experience necessary. All are warmly welcome.

Faculty and Staff Family Days with Penn Basketball—Women’s Basketball vs. Princeton University; 1/11; 1-1:30 p.m.; $3.50 The Division of Human Resources and Penn Athletics invite benefits-eligible faculty and staff to cheer on the Penn Women’s and Men’s basketball teams at the Palestra. Faculty and staff tickets include a discounted game ticket, compliments of Penn Athletics, and a $5 concession coupon redeemable for food and beverage, compliments of the Division of Human Resources. Tickets are required for each game. The maximum number of discounted tickets each eligible employee can purchase is four tickets for each game. Order tickets online at https://tinyurl.com/familypennbasketball and enter the code FAMILY or in person at the Penn Athletics Ticket Office in Weightman Hall, located at 235 S. 33rd Street, between Walnut and Spruce Streets.

Mindfulness; 1/21; 12:30-1:30 p.m. This monthly workshop will offer participants an opportunity to practice awareness activities adapted from Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. During the first part of our practice, we will begin with a guided meditation focusing on the breath. The second half of our session will focus our attention on a guided exploration of the body, bringing awareness to the different areas of the body and allowing ourselves to experience how each part feels, without trying to change anything. No experience necessary. All warmly welcome.

Creating a Positive Outlook; 1/23; 12:30-1:30 p.m.; This workshop provides tools to help participants live life in a more positive way, even when faced with negative people and experiences. They will better understand the causes of negativity, learn how self-talk affects attitudes, and gain tips to be their best selves possible.

An Introduction to WELL Building Concepts; 1/27; 12:30-1:30 p.m. Join Penn staff from Facilities, the School of Arts & Sciences and Wharton to discuss the WELL Building Concepts. This introduction will discuss examples of projects at Penn and provide participants with tips and strategies to improve employee health and well-being in workspaces using the WELL Building Standard as a guide; including air, water, nutrition, light, fitness, comfort and emotional health.

Penn Healthy You Workshops

Open to faculty and staff.
Register at www.hr.upenn.edu/registration 

Gentle Yoga; 1/9, 1/23, 1/30; 11 a.m.-noon; 1/15, noon-1 p.m. Let your body reward itself with movement! Join us for this Gentle Yoga session and explore the natural movements of the spine with slow and fluid moving bends and soft twists. During this session, you will flow into modified sun salutations that loosen those tightened muscles and joints of the lower back, neck, shoulders, and wrists. And as an added bonus, you’ll get a workout in the process. Mats and props will be provided.

Spinning; 1/14; 11:30-12:15 p.m. Pedal your way to a fantastic workout indoors! With the use of stationary cycles, each class is led on a “virtual” outdoor road, complete with a variety of exercises. This class will give you an energizing, calorie-burning, fun workout and it is great for all fitness levels because you will always ride at a self-directed pace.

January Indoor Wellness Walk; 1/17; noon-1 p.m. We invite you to get moving and kick off 2020 with our monthly wellness walk. Each January, roughly one-third of Americans resolve to better themselves in some way and even fewer follow through. This month’s New Year’s Resolution–themed walk, held in the Palestra, will occur rain or shine—no excuses not to come! Whether you wish to lose weight, have more energy or just be healthier, it is important to remember to reach your goals one step at a time. We hope you will be able to join us for this Human Resources and Center for Public Health Initiatives co-sponsored event. Bring your water bottle and a co-worker!

—Division of Human Resources

In addition to Family Day with Penn Women’s basketball on Saturday, January 11 (see above), Family Day with Penn Men’s basketball will take place Saturday, February 1 at 7 p.m. Order online: https://tinyurl.com/familypennbasketball and enter the code FAMILY, $6.50/ticket, or in person at the Penn Athletics Ticket Office.

Below are the Crimes Against Persons or Crimes Against Society from the campus report for December 2-8, 2019. View prior weeks' reports. –Ed.

This summary is prepared by the Division of Public Safety and includes all criminal incidents reported and made known to the University Police Department between the dates of December 2-8, 2019. The University Police actively patrol from Market St to Baltimore Avenue and from the Schuylkill River to 43rd St in conjunction with the Philadelphia Police. In this effort to provide you with a thorough and accurate report on public safety concerns, we hope that your increased awareness will lessen the opportunity for crime. For any concerns or suggestions regarding this report, please call the Division of Public Safety at (215) 898-4482.

18th District

Below are the Crimes Against Persons from the 18th District: 7 incidents (3 domestic assaults, 2 robberies and 2 assaults) with 2 arrests were reported for December 2-8, 2019 by the 18th District covering the Schuylkill River to 49th Street & Market Street to Woodland Avenue.

Please take note of the Division of Human Resources services schedule during the upcoming Winter Break.

Human Resources will be closed Wednesday, December 25, 2019 through Wednesday, January 1, 2020 for Penn’s Special Winter Vacation. However, during the break, many of our resources will still be available to University faculty and staff. Please note that these services may be closed, limited, or operating on modified schedules on December 24 and 25, 2019 and January 1, 2020. See the schedule below for details. Have a safe and wonderful winter break!

—Division of Human Resources

Almanac publishes a supplement every January featuring the camps and programs taking place at Penn over the summer. Offerings listed are camps for children, teens and young adults for an array of activities, from academics and enrichment—including anthropology, business, law, veterinary medicine and music—to recreation and numerous sports camps. To submit a summer camp or program, email almanac@upenn.edu with the following information: name of camp/program; dates held (if multiple sessions, indicate dates for each); age range; summary of 35 words or less; cost (note any discounts); link to enrollment/application forms; deadline, if applicable, to apply/enroll; link, email and/or phone number for more information.  

This is the last issue of the semester. Weekly publication will resume after the Winter Break with the January 14 issue. The deadline is January 6.  

For more information about issue dates and deadlines for the spring 2020 semester, visit https://upenn.edu/almanac/publication-schedule-deadlines