Dear Members of the HMS and HSDM Community:
On Nov. 18, members of the HMS community gathered in the NRB Amphitheater for the 2024 David Mahoney Prize Symposium, which honored American operatic soprano Renée Fleming for her extraordinary advocacy of research at the intersection of music, health, and neuroscience.
Ms. Fleming joined two HMS faculty for a panel discussion, which I moderated. The conversation was truly compelling. Panelists David Silbersweig, the Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry at HMS and chair emeritus of psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Lisa Wong, HMS assistant professor of pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate co-director and co-founder of the Arts and Humanities Initiative at HMS, shared fascinating insights about the many connections between the arts, neurobiology, and mental health. The topic uplifted everyone in the room — you could say our collective neurons were firing with a palpable sense of joy and inspiration.
Dr. Wong rightly noted during the conversation that the art of gathering — whether it involves music or not — is something we should treasure. As medical trainees and professionals, we know that being in community with others has profoundly positive effects on the brain. According to a report by the U.S. Surgeon General, one study found that those who had a strong sense of belonging to a community reported very good or excellent health at a rate 2.6 times higher than those with very low perceptions of belonging.
With that in mind, earlier this year I began hosting a series of Dean’s community breakfasts with the express goal of gathering individuals from a cross-section of our community for dialogue, exchange, and feedback. These breakfasts have been moving and meaningful to me. I’ve valued the opportunity to learn about each attendee, their roles, and their reasons for serving here in the HMS community. I’ve also heard their ideas for how we can support and strengthen HMS. I have been impressed by how many were drawn here because they believe in our mission and remain here because they share a commitment to championing health and well-being for all, whether through research, teaching, clinical care, or community service.
As we look forward to Thanksgiving and, subsequently, winter recess (which, as President Garber announced, will be extended this year to include Dec. 23 and 24), please take time to reflect on the privileges we enjoy by being part of this extraordinary institution. And please consider nominating yourself or a colleague for an upcoming Dean’s community breakfast (we have two scheduled so far in 2025: Feb. 5 and April 2) using this online form. I eagerly anticipate these moments to pause and hear from you, the people who make our community sing. I hope you will join in this chorus of voices.
Sincerely,
George Q. Daley
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
Harvard University