The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—better known as the stimulus package—tossed federal subsidies and tax cuts in more directions than you can count: bridge construction, food stamps, energy-grid upgrades, payroll and child tax credits, and the list goes on. This summer Penn got in on a lesser-known part of the action. The University received $650,000 to fund summer research experiences for 45 college students and 10 high-school students. Here’s what a few of them did:
- Junior Louise Wang conducted research with Anil Rustgi, the T. Grier Miller Professor of Medicine, on the functions of the Lin28b gene, which is linked to pluripotent stem cells.
- Junior Kent Amoo-Achampong joined medical professor Daniel Polsky to find ways to reduce Medicare costs by improving the quality of healthcare delivery.
- Senior Alyssa Yeager worked with Penn Medicine professors Jim Wilson and Daniel Rader on gene therapies to treat two severe genetic disorders of the liver.
- Through Penn’s Teen Research and Education in Environmental Science (TREES) program, high-schooler Victor Fiore sought an effective heat treatment to eradicate antibiotics from water.
