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"Instructing Our Own Cells to
Rebuild Our Bodies"
John GEARHART
James W. Effron University Professor;
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology,
School of Medicine; Department of Animal
Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine
John Gearhart is not exactly a household
name, but that's okay. Stem cells are,
thanks to him. Not only was Gearhart
the first to identify and isolate human
embryonic stem cells, he's also been at the
forefront keeping the public informed —
and involved — about this often misunderstood
research. "When you
look at scientists in literature, it's always
very negative, always mucking around
where they shouldn't — you know, the
Frankenstein portrayal," he says. "We have
a responsibility as scientists to give you
the facts, the implications of our research."
At Penn, Gearhart is leading the team that
is building on our understanding of human
cells — which may lead to new ways to
treat mental retardation, Down syndrome,
and other congenital birth defects. "As a
scientist it's really the journey... This, to
me, is the excitement," says Gearhart —
a man who, as an undergraduate studying
genetics, had simply wanted to grow the
best apples in the world. |
"Obesity and the Built Environment"
Karen GLANZ
University Professor; Department of Biostatistics
and Epidemiology, School of Medicine and
School of Nursing
She's an Iron Man contestant, runs and
swims six miles a day, and bikes when she
can — yet for Karen Glanz, it is our health
that keeps her moving. That's because
Glanz sees health as a public matter,
rooted into our shared physical and social
contexts — the "built environment" of
fast food places, tv culture, suburban
sprawl. A globally influential public-health
scholar, Glanz specializes in the impact of
behavior on health, especially the risks
for cancer and obesity, and at Penn, she's
leading the new interdisciplinary Center
for Health Behavior Research. Here,
innovative studies are not only revealing
how biological, psychological, behavioral,
and social factors combine to shape our
health but also informing public policy on
issues like cancer screening, air pollution,
and access to fresh food. At a time when
obesity and cancer have become our
nation's most important health challenges,
Glanz's work is especially critical —
and relevant, given the current public
debate around health care.
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"Nanoscience: Reprogramming
Matter for Health, Energy
and Information Technologies"
Christopher MURRAY
Richard Perry University Professor; Department
of Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences;
Department of Materials Science,
School of Engineering and Applied Science
There are applied scientists, there are
theoretical scientists, and then there is
Christopher Murray, who connects the two.
The result: a research team that can bring
nonexistent materials into being. "The
part that's so exciting," says Murray, "is that
there's no obvious route in terms of how
that might be achieved." Murray, who has
been known for making some pretty novel
things himself — assembling artificial atoms,
for instance — works on the minuscule level
of atoms and molecules. Here, remarkable
properties emerge and materials can
be engineered for super strength, high
elasticity, unusual conductivity, or
bio-compatibility. The race is on to engineer
these capabilities into devices that will
change the world for the better.
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