Yvonne Paterson of Penn Medicine and Penn Nursing (left) and Nicola Mason of Penn Vet (right) conduct cancer research that has advanced care for both dogs and people.
“Penn Integrates Knowledge” is more than a catch phrase; it’s a philosophy that encourages faculty and students at the University of Pennsylvania to cross traditional academic boundaries to enhance their work. In the health and science fields, this integration has led to new insights in cancer therapies, surgical methods, and more efficient, greener fuels.
In 2015, following the lead of the University’s research community, a group of communications staffers at Penn began meeting to share ideas about the promotion of innovative, interdisciplinary health research. Three years later, the Penn One Health Communications Group has a vibrant web presence, several media events under its belt, and a wealth of ideas for how to continue building the visibility of the University’s unique take on collaborative work.
“We created the group knowing that cross-disciplinary research was an area in which Penn excels,” says Katherine Unger Baillie, a science news officer in Penn’s Office of University Communications. “But, once we started meeting, we discovered that there are more examples than we were even aware of. Now not only are we trying to identify new projects and new research coming down the pike, but we’re also looking for ways we can promote and enhance these collaborations.”
While the group began with representatives from what may typically be considered Penn’s four health schools—the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, School of Nursing, and School of Dental Medicine—it has since expanded to include representatives from the School of Engineering and Applied Science, School of Arts and Sciences, Annenberg School for Communication, and Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. This expansion broadens the traditional one-health perspective to be more inclusive of the interdisciplinary work at Penn.
Read the full story on Penn Today.