[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 127 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 127

Recognizing the 250th anniversary of the Perelman School of Medicine at 
                    the University of Pennsylvania.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               March 27 (legislative day, March 26), 2015

    Mr. Casey (for himself and Mr. Toomey) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the 250th anniversary of the Perelman School of Medicine at 
                    the University of Pennsylvania.

Whereas the Perelman School of Medicine, when founded by young Philadelphia 
        physician John Morgan in 1765, was the first and only medical school in 
        the 13 original colonies;
Whereas by organizing a medical faculty separate and distinct from the 
        collegiate faculty, the trustees of the University of Pennsylvania 
        effectively created the first university in North America;
Whereas, in 1766, when Dr. Thomas Bond began giving clinical lectures to the 
        students of the new medical school at Pennsylvania Hospital, he 
        conducted the first clinical medical teaching in the colonies;
Whereas the founding faculty of the Perelman School of Medicine introduced the 2 
        important elements in medical education of--

    (1) having a medical school within an institution of higher education; 
and

    (2) emphasizing the need to supplement medical lectures with bedside 
teaching;

Whereas, during the Revolutionary War, doctors from the University of 
        Pennsylvania served in the Continental Army, practicing battlefield 
        medicine and training surgeons;
Whereas, in the 1870s, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania became the 
        first teaching hospital built for a medical school;
Whereas the Perelman School of Medicine is responsible for many historic 
        discoveries, including--

    (1) the first human blood transfusion in 1795;

    (2) the first x-ray image in 1890; and

    (3) a modified dialysis machine in 1951;

Whereas, since the 1960s, the Perelman School of Medicine has been home to many 
        major medical innovations, including--

    (1) the identification of the ``Philadelphia Chromosome'', which 
demonstrated the genetic basis of cancer;

    (2) the development of cognitive psychotherapy;

    (3) pioneering work in transplant surgery;

    (4) the development of intravenous nutrition;

    (5) the development of Retin-A therapy for acne and wrinkles;

    (6) the development of a vaccine for pneumococcal diseases;

    (7) fundamental work on ion channels and signaling;

    (8) gene therapy for ocular disease; and

    (9) T-cell immunotherapy to fight cancer;

Whereas the Perelman School of Medicine boasts 8 Nobel Laureates in Physiology 
        or Medicine and numerous Lasker Award winners;
Whereas alumni of the Perelman School of Medicine include--

    (1) the first president of the American Medical Association;

    (2) a Surgeon General in the Army; and

    (3) members of the House of Representatives and the Senate;

Whereas the Perelman School of Medicine is home to more than 1,400 medical and 
        post-doctoral students and more than 5,200 faculty and staff;
Whereas more than \1/2\ of the students at the Perelman School of Medicine 
        pursue additional certificates or dual degrees, and most perform 
        community outreach or service;
Whereas the Perelman School of Medicine houses 28 basic science and clinical 
        departments, as well as 24 interdisciplinary centers and institutes; and
Whereas the Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top 5 medical 
        schools in the United States for the past 18 years: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the 250th anniversary of the Perelman School 
        of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania;
            (2) commends the faculty, staff, and students at the 
        Perelman School of Medicine for their continued hard work and 
        devotion to advancing science and medicine; and
            (3) congratulates the Perelman School of Medicine for its 
        distinguished history and long record of supporting medical 
        innovation.
                                 <all>