June 04, 2010 01:59am EST 

With a top five ranking from U.S. News & World Report, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physicians, and the future leaders of academic medicine.
The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine is the nation’s oldest medical school, founded in 1765. Its rich tradition and heritage, combined with its consistent new developments and innovations in medical education and research makes it one of the top medical institutions in the nation. The students attending the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine are placed into an environment where skillful compassion reigns supreme: skill from the education of a top five research-oriented medical school and compassion for the patients they feel privileged to serve.
Today, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine boasts 1,700 full-time faculty members dedicated to teaching 725 medical students. They also host more than 1,000 residents and fellows and 560 PhD students. Furthermore, they are affiliated with the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (the nation’s first teaching hospital), Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (a top 100 hospital for cardiovascular care by Reuters), and Pennsylvania Hospital (the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751), three acclaimed hospitals that are part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Students who attend the School of Medicine enjoy the city of Philadelphia, which had the third-largest downtown in all of America.
Ranking number 2 in the U.S. News & World Report in research grants from the National Institutes of Health, the School of Medicine remains at the forefront of new knowledge and therapies aimed to improve human health. The research team’s highlights include: restoring sight in children and adults with congenital blindness using gene therapy, discovering a drug that is the first and widely-accepted medical treatment for alcohol dependence, and building the first new protein to be completely constructed from scratch. The research enterprise encompasses all areas of contemporary biomedical investigation on one single campus. The School of Medicine includes 18 Centers and Institutes, some of which include Abramson Cancer Center, the Penn Cardiovascular Institute, and the Penn Comprehensive Neuroscience Center.
Penn Medicine has recently made a splash in medical news, being chosen by TIME magazine, along with CHOP Autism Genetic Research, as one of the Top Ten Medical Breakthroughs of 2009. The team from Penn Medicine found that multiple gene variants, both common and rare, may raise the risk of autism spectrum disorders.
The first study found that a particular genetic variation is found in about 15 percent of children with autism. The second study, missing or duplicated stretches of DNA along two crucial gene pathways were identified. Both studies detected genes implicated in the development of rain circuitry in early childhood. In June, Penn Medicine autism genetic experts announced that they had identified 27 additional genetic variations where missing or extra copies of DNA segments were found in children suffering from autism spectrum disorders.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, fueled by their mission of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania Health System combine to create the Penn Medicine enterprise. Visit their website here for more information.