Scott Rauch, HMS professor of psychiatry at McLean Hospital, was awarded the Daniel Drake Medal by the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine on May 28.
Rauch, who is also president and psychiatrist in chief at McLean, is a leader in developing and applying new technologies in psychiatry and neuroscience, using neuroimaging to understand the neural basis of psychiatric diseases, and using neurostimulation and surgical therapies for psychiatric disorders. He has also led efforts to use technology to improve access to psychiatric care while increasing cost efficiency.
Giada Bianchi, HMS clinical fellow in medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, has been named one of five scientists to receive a 2016 Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist Training Award.
Working with her mentor Kenneth Anderson, the HMS Kraft Family Professor of Medicine at Dana-Farber, Bianchi’s research goals are to provide new insights into disease biology and to investigate the basis for development of biomarkers and novel therapies against multiple myeloma or precursor conditions, allowing for rapid bench-to-bedside translation.
Janina Galler, HMS professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, received the 7th Annual Leon Eisenberg Award from the Global Mental Health, Neurodevelopmental Disabilities and Research Ethics programs in the Division of Developmental Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital at an event held at the Harvard Faculty Club on May 11. She also gave the Ludwik Szymanski Lecture on “The Legacy of Childhood Malnutrition: Effects on Brain and Behavior Across Generations” earlier in the day.
Galler studies the effects of childhood malnutrition. She has run a study based in Barbados for more than 45 years that examines the effects of early childhood malnutrition on survivors into their adulthood and follows its impact to their children and grandchildren.
Given annually to a leading researcher in the field of global mental health, neurodevelopment and ethics, the Eisenberg award recognizes contributions to the field of child mental health and development and ethics.
Two Harvard Medical School scientists were among 58 researchers in the life sciences elected to membership in EMBO in recognition of their contributions to scientific excellence and achievements.
The newly elected members from HMS are Marc Kirschner, the John Franklin Enders University Professor of Systems Biology, and Timothy J. Mitchison, the Hasib Sabbagh Professor of Systems Biology.
The major goals of EMBO are to support talented researchers at all stages of their careers and stimulate the exchange of scientific information.
Two Harvard Medical School physicians were recognized by the American College of Physicians at the organization’s 2016 Internal Medicine Meeting in Washington, D.C. in May.
Allan Goroll, HMS professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, received the John Phillips Memorial Award for Outstanding Work in Clinical Medicine, and James O’Connell, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Mass General, received the W. Lester Henry Award for Diversity and Access to Care.
Goroll wrote a textbook on primary care and co-founded the first three-year residency track in primary care in the United States. The John Phillips Memorial Award recognizes outstanding lifetime work in clinical medicine that was innovative or had a regional or national impact.
O’Connell is president of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, where he has treated the homeless for 30 years. Named in honor of the first African American regent and master of the ACOP, the W. Lester Henry Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments in advancing diversity in clinical medicine, research or access to care.
Eng Lo, HMS professor of radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, received the Molly and Bernard Sanberg Memorial Award from the American Society of Neural Therapy and Repair for his work investigating the molecular mechanisms of cell death following stroke.
Lo investigates neurodegeneration and neurovascular dysfunction in brain injury by using imaging, pharmacology and molecular cell biology of in vitro and in vivo models.
The Molly and Bernard Sanberg Memorial Award recognizes contributions to the field of brain repair. Lo was recognized at the society’s annual conference in Clearwater Beach, Florida, in April.
Four HMS faculty and staff members have been named recipients of the 2015-16 Awards for Exceptional Institutional Service to HMS/HSDM. The awards recognize those whose exemplary contributions have set the standard for service at HMS or HSDM through their personal initiative in providing service and engaging others to do the same.
The Barbara J. McNeil Faculty Award for Exceptional Service to HMS/HSDM will be presented at the Faculty of Medicine Meeting in the fall to the following individuals:
- Elizabeth Armstrong, professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital
- Isaac Schiff, the Joe Vincent Meigs Professor of Gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital
The presentation of the Daniel D. Federman Staff Award for Exceptional Service to HMS/HSDM will also take place in the fall. The following individuals will be recognized.
- Ann Ogletree, resident counselor for the HMS Program in Medical Education
- Jennifer Ryan, director of the HMS Office of Academic and Research Integrity
Members of the HMS/HSDM community were invited to identify individuals who provide exceptional service to HMS or HSDM. An advisory committee composed of representatives from HMS/HSDM and its affiliates reviewed and discussed each nomination and recommended the 2015-16 recipients.
The National Academy of Sciences announced on May 3 the election of 84 new members and 21 foreign associates. Members were elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
Two HMS faculty elected include:
Myles Brown, professor of medicine at HMS and director of the Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Robert Kingston, professor of genetics and vice chair of the Department of Genetics at HMS, and chief of the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital
The National Academy of Sciences is a private non-profit society of distinguished scholars, totaling 2,291 active members and 465 foreign associates. With the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, members provide science, technology and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.
Gary Ruvkun, HMS professor of genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Victor Ambros, the Silverman Professor of Natural Sciences and professor of molecular medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, are co-recipients of the 2016 March of Dimes and Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Prize in Developmental Biology for their “pioneering co-discovery of an unanticipated world of the tiniest genes, microRNAs, and the mechanism by which they regulate their targets.”
“Dr. Ambros and Dr. Ruvkun showed us that microRNAs, genes much smaller than ever imagined, are pivotal for governing embryonic development,” said Joe Leigh Simpson, senior vice president for research and global programs at the March of Dimes, in a press release. “We now know that microRNAs are involved in a wide range of activities relevant to birth defects, viral infections, cancer, and other disorders. This has revealed exciting new paths for lifesaving diagnostic tools and treatments for mothers and babies.”
Ruvkun, who is also the Hans-Hermann Schoene Distinguished Investigator at Mass General, and Ambros delivered the 21st annual March of Dimes Prize Lectures and received their prize on May 2 in Baltimore at the 2016 Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting. These scientists previously shared the 2008 Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research and the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for their work.
The March of Dimes Prize has been awarded annually since 1996 to honor investigators whose research has profoundly advanced the science that underlies the understanding of birth defects. The March of Dimes Foundation created the $250,000 cash prize as a tribute to Jonas Salk shortly before his death in 1995.
Matthew Meyerson, HMS professor of pathology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, has been selected to receive the 2016 Han-Mo Koo Memorial Award. Meyerson will accept the award and deliver an educational lecture and scientific lecture at the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) on May 19 and 20 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Meyerson, who is also director of the Center for Cancer Genome Discovery at Dana-Farber and serves as a lead investigator for The Cancer Genome Atlas, is being recognized for his contributions to the understanding of cancer genomics and targeted therapies. He is also principal investigator of the Genome Characterization Center at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.
“Dr. Meyerson is one of the world’s most influential scientists and is responsible for much of what we know about the genomic causes of cancer,” said Peter Jones, VARI’s chief scientific officer. “In keeping with the legacy of Dr. Han-Mo Koo, Dr. Meyerson’s research has had an overwhelmingly positive and tangible effect on patients, thanks to the therapeutic strategies developed based on his work.”
Early in his career, Meyerson contributed key discoveries to understanding the biochemical processes of cancer development and tumor progression. His later research identified many genetic mutations that contribute to lung cancer, helped establish the model of treating cancer by targeting its underlying genetic causes, and developed new ways of identifying pathogens, such as bacteria, that may cause cancer.
Sixty-six medical and veterinary students from 34 schools across the nation will spend a full year conducting mentored basic, translational and clinical research as fellows in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Medical Research Fellows Program.
This year’s class includes 11 students who will begin conducting their research at Harvard Medical School this summer. Two students from the fellowship class of 2015 who are currently conducting research at HMS will be supported by HHMI for an additional year of research.
The 11 students in the new class who will conduct their research at HMS are the following: Hena Ahmed, Diana Miao, Rohit Thummalapalli, Kathy Wang and Gabriel Friedman, all students at Harvard Medical School; plus Nicholai Henry, Morehouse School of Medicine; Jerry Lee, Duke University School of Medicine; Erik Levinsohn, Yale School of Medicine; Nathanael Moore, Indiana University School of Medicine; Tolulope Rosanwo, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; and Anthony Tran, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University.
The students who will receive funding for a second year of research working in HMS labs are: Sriram Anbil, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and Joseph Park, Boston University School of Medicine.
Each medical fellow receives $41,000 in grant support.
Barbara Kahn, the HMS George Richards Minot Professor of Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an international leader in the field of diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism, will receive the 2016 Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) at the organization’s Scientific Sessions in June.
In a career spanning nearly 30 years, Kahn has made landmark contributions to the field of metabolic research, uncovering the complex mechanisms of insulin action, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Her work has led to a new understanding of the role that adipose tissue plays in whole-body glucose homeostasis, a previously unappreciated concept that is now globally accepted and forms the basis of research worldwide aimed at developing new therapies for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity.
“Dr. Kahn’s extraordinary work has led the way for novel strategies to prevent and treat obesity and type 2 diabetes,” said Desmond Schatz, president for medicine and science at the American Diabetes Association. “Congratulations, Dr. Kahn, for your transformational leadership in shaping our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of obesity and type 2 diabetes.”
“Barbara Kahn’s discoveries have challenged the status quo and galvanized new directions in metabolic research,” said Jeffrey S. Flier, dean of Harvard Medical School and the 2005 recipient of the Banting Medal. “The momentum and impact of her work continues to build and pave the way for compelling new treatment strategies for metabolic diseases.”
The ADA’s highest scientific honor, the Banting Medal is named after Frederick Banting, the co-discoverer of insulin, and recognizes a scientist for “significant, long-term contributions to the understanding, treatment or prevention of diabetes.”
