A $6 million gift to Harvard Medical School is providing financial aid to MD-PhD students in the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and expanding the size of the MD-PhD cohort entering in 2026.
Thanks to the gift — which establishes the Mark and Lisa Schwartz HST MD-PhD Fellowship Fund — five additional HST MD-PhD students will be fully funded.
The gift marks the latest commitment to HMS from Lisa and Mark Schwartz, who have long held the conviction that investing in people is the surest way to strengthen health care, lift communities, and raise standards of living.
The pair has seen firsthand what this kind of investment can yield. Over the past three decades, they said, they have watched physician-scientists push the boundaries of research while providing remarkable bedside care. They hope the fellowships will foster that combination of scientific rigor and deep compassion.
“We’ve met a number of HMS students and have been truly inspired by them,” Lisa Schwartz said. “We’re confident that they’re not only getting a superb medical education but that they are also well-rounded individuals with strong character, high integrity, and a real sense of mission.”
The new fellowships come at a pivotal time. Historically, the National Institutes of Health’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) and F30 fellowships have provided critical scholarship support for MD-PhD students. Recent federal funding cuts, however, eliminated $9.37 million in support for the Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program.
The Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program trains the next generation of physician-scientist leaders, providing rigorous preparation across basic and translational science, bioengineering, and the social sciences. These students undertake up to eight years of intensive dual training designed to bridge scientific discovery and patient care.
HST students make up the majority — about 65 percent — of Harvard’s MD-PhD student population. HST represents a collaboration among HMS, MIT, Harvard University, and Boston-area teaching hospitals that integrates science, engineering, and medicine to solve problems in human health.
In the face of the federal cuts, the Schwartzes saw an opportunity to step in.
“The suspension of this NIH funding, particularly for the MSTP program, which has proven to be highly effective in training physician-scientists, prompted our investment in the MD-PhD program,” said Mark Schwartz, a member of the HMS Board of Fellows.
The Schwartzes said that supporting these students is a natural extension of their long-standing belief in educational and clinical talent pipelines.
“PhD and MD-PhD programs are essential pathways for this kind of talent,” Lisa Schwartz said. “You’re trying to attract the best students and make their education affordable. That’s a good mission to be dedicated to.”
HMS Dean George Q. Daley underscored the impact of the gift.
“By establishing this fellowship fund, Lisa and Mark are strengthening the very heart of Harvard Medical School — our people,” said Daley. “In these challenging times, their unwavering support ensures that HMS can continue to lead in discovery, education, and patient care.”
Adapted from an article in Pulse.
