Three HMS researchers have received awards from the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). ARVO is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world, with approximately 11,000 members from 71 countries.
Anil Chekuri, HMS instructor in ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, received the Bert M. Glaser, MD Award for Innovative Retina Research. The Glaser Award recognizes an early-career investigator who has discovered a novel drug, technique, or mechanism of disease that impacts the understanding and/or treatment of a retinal disease or condition. Chekuri’s research focuses on developing a treatment for vision loss in familial dysautonomia, a rare genetic neurodegenerative disorder.
Leo Kim, HMS associate professor of ophthalmology at Mass Eye and Ear, received the Kreissig Award for Excellence in Retinal Surgery. The Kreissig Award recognizes excellence in understanding the mechanisms of retinal disease requiring surgical management, innovative approaches to management, and/or outcomes of surgical treatment. Kim’s practice focuses on complex retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and proliferative vitreoretinopathy — the primary cause of retinal detachment surgery failure. He also leads a research program investigating the molecular mechanisms of retinal angiogenesis and fibrosis.
Nazlee Zebardast, HMS associate professor of ophthalmology at Mass Eye and Ear, has been awarded the Carl Camras Translational Research Award. The award recognizes early-career investigators exhibiting excellence in areas of translational research. Zebardast and her team have developed polygenic risk scores that summarize a person’s inherited risk for glaucoma from thousands of genetic markers. The scores can help doctors identify individuals who need closer monitoring or earlier treatment.
Adapted from ARVO materials.
Two HMS faculty members have been recognized by the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) for their outstanding research and career achievements.
Facundo Batista, HMS senior lecturer on immunology, part-time, at Massachusetts General Hospital, will receive the AAI-BioLegend Herzenberg Award for outstanding contributions to the field of immunology in the area of B-cell biology.
Michael Wheeler, HMS assistant professor of neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, will receive an AAI ASPIRE Award for early-career research accomplishments and professional promise in the field of immunology.
Batista and Wheeler will be honored at the annual meeting of the AAI in Boston in April.
Adapted from AAI materials.
Three HMS researchers have been elected fellows of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy. Election to the AACR Academy recognizes scientists, clinicians, and physician-scientists whose visionary work has reshaped the landscape of cancer research.
The new fellows of the AACR Academy “embody the pinnacle of scientific excellence,” said Margaret Foti, CEO of the AACR. “Together, these individuals from around the globe, specializing in various scientific disciplines, have fundamentally shaped cancer research and improved patient outcomes.”
The two new AACR Academy fellows from HMS are:
- Alice Shaw, the HMS George P. Canellos, MD, and Jean S. Canellos Professor of Medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, recognized for her translational and clinical cancer research that has led to the development of numerous next-generation targeted therapies, as well as her clinical evaluation of novel mechanistic combination strategies that have guided the field of precision oncology.
- Kimberly Stegmaier, the HMS David G. Nathan Professor of Pediatrics at Dana-Farber, recognized for her fundamental and innovative research in pediatric oncology, including integrating functional genomics and chemical biology to define fusion gene-driven oncogenic mechanisms, systematically mapping context-specific dependencies, and translating these discoveries into multi-institutional clinical trials to establish new precision therapies for children with cancer.
- Matthew Vander Heiden, HMS instructor in medicine at Dana-Farber, for uncovering fundamental metabolic pathways in cancer onset and progression, informing innovative strategies for early cancer detection, targeted therapy, and precision oncology.
Adapted from AACR materials.
Philip Kranzusch, HMS professor of microbiology at Dana-Farber, has been named to receive the Award in Microbiology from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The $25,000 award recognizes a recent notable discovery by a scientist age 50 or younger.
Kranzusch will be recognized for his work advancing the understanding of innate immunity and revealing its evolutionary roots in bacterial antiviral defense — discoveries that have reshaped microbiology and immunology and opened new fields of study. His research focuses on how cells detect and respond to viral pathogens and how these signaling pathways can be harnessed to develop new therapies for infections, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.
He will be presented with the award at the NAS annual meeting in April in Washington, DC.
Adapted from NAS materials.
Studies by two HMS researchers have been recognized by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) as Top Research Achievements of 2025. The list highlights discoveries by BBRF grantees, prize winners, and scientific council members that advance the understanding and treatment of mental illness.
The two HMS researchers recognized by BBRF are:
- William Carlezon, HMS professor of psychiatry at McLean Hospital, for his study, “Modified LSD Molecule Retains Therapeutic Effects While Limiting Hallucinations,” published in PNAS.
- Christian Webb, HMS associate professor of psychology at McLean, for two studies: “AI and Smartphone Sensors Successfully Track Symptoms in Adolescents with Depression,” published in Digital Psychiatry and Neuroscience; and “Smartphone Sensors + ChatGPT Successfully Tracked & Predicted Symptoms in Adolescents with Anhedonia,” published in NPP — Digital Psychiatry and Neuroscience.
Adapted from BBRF materials.
