News & Events

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the use of wastewater surveillance to track the spread of infectious diseases, like COVID-19. To learn more about the process, history, and future of wastewater surveillance, we spoke with Dr. Medini Annavajhala, an assistant professor at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania, whose research involves wastewater surveillance.

Microorganisms are opportunists, constantly seeking circumstances that will allow them to survive.

Eight winners were celebrated during a virtual event. The students composed their essays in response to the writing prompt, “Dr. Hilleman made his impact on the world through the development of vaccines. What scientific issue would you take on if given the chance and why?”

We owe children the most protection when they are at their most vulnerable — early in their lives before they can protect and care for themselves.

Every few months, the news seems to have a story about some new strain of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. From Delta to Omicron and now beyond to Omicron’s numerous subvariants, SARS-CoV-2 has been changing ever since it first came to our attention in late 2019. But where do these viral strains and variants come from? When should they be concerning? How do viral changes influence ongoing vaccination efforts?