The Regional Roundup: February 7th

Seasonal Affective Disorder has millions of Americans feeling depressed this winter. A cure for Leukemia comes from a Penn scientist. And, the Free library has a new director.

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Lovett Memorial Library, in Mt Airy on Oct 1, 2018. (Bastiaan Slabbers for WHYY)

Lovett Memorial Library, in Mt Airy on Oct 1, 2018. (Bastiaan Slabbers for WHYY)

Do shorter days and colder weather leave you feeling lethargic, unmotivated and less interested in the activities you usually enjoy? This time of year, many Americans experience “winter blues”, but others have more severe symptoms and might be struggling with Seasonal Affective Disorder. We discuss the symptoms and treatment of SAD and some easy remedies to ward off those blue winter feelings.

Guest: Dr. Stephanie Marcello, Chief Psychologist at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care (@Rutgers_UBHC)

After a decade of treatment, researchers say two patients have been “cured” of leukemia, a massive medical breakthrough based on the work of a renowned University of Pennsylvania professor and cancer researcher, who joins us to talk about how his CAR T therapy research went from an experimental treatment to a possible cure.

Guest: Dr. Carl June, Principal investigator at June Lab and Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy at Perelman School of Medicine (@carlhjune)

The Free Library of Philadelphia has a new president and director. He’s a book enthusiast, changemaker and former police officer from Flint, MI. We’ll talk about how he went from criminal justice to card catalogs, why libraries are life-changing for so many communities, and his outlook as he steps into the new role in our city.

Guest: Kelly Richards, Director and President of the Free Library of Philadelphia (@FreeLibrary)

We Recommend

Psychology Today: Feeling SAD? How to Identify and Treat Seasonal Affective Disorder “Because SAD is a form of depression, it causes the typical symptoms of the disorder. No matter when your SAD starts, you may feel tired, low on energy, restless, unable to focus, or as if you are moving in slow motion.”

The Guardian: First patients of pioneering CAR T-cell therapy ‘cured of cancer’  “Two of the first human patients to be treated with a revolutionary therapy that engineers immune cells to target specific types of cancer still possess cancer-killing cells a decade later with no sign of their illness returning.”

Billy Penn: Free Library picks a new director: Kelly Richards, a Black career librarian from Michigan “[Richards] was featured in “African American Librarians in the Far West: Pioneers and Trailblazers,” a book published in 2006 that highlighted Black librarians.”

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