[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 51 (Thursday, March 26, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2054-S2055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 127--RECOGNIZING THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
     PERELMAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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

                              S. Res. 127

       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

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     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.

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