Four HMS faculty members have been included in STAT’s 2024 STATUS List. The STATUS List recognizes influential individuals from the fields of biotech, medicine, health care, policy, and health tech.
The HMS faculty recognized by STAT are:
- Laurie Glimcher, the HMS Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine and president and CEO of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who was recognized for her leadership of Dana-Farber.
- Alex Keuroghlian, HMS associate professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, who was recognized for leading educational efforts on gender-affirming care for physicians.
- Michelle Morse, HMS part-time assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, who was recognized for her work as New York City chief medical officer to end racist algorithms in clinical medicine.
- Stuart Orkin, the HMS David G. Nathan Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, for his research into sickle cell disease that has led to new therapies.
Two HMS researchers are among the 65 new fellows elected to the American Academy of Microbiology’s class of 2024. Fellows are elected annually through a highly selective peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology.
The two new fellows from HMS are James Kirby, HMS professor of pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Hao Wu, the HMS Asa and Patricia Springer Professor of Structural Biology at Boston Children’s Hospital and professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS.
Nine researchers from HMS have been elected 2024 fellows of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy.
AACR Academy fellows are recognized for their scientific contributions that have promoted innovation and progress against cancer. Fellows are nominated and elected through a peer review process. Only individuals whose work has had a significant and enduring impact on cancer research are considered for election into the AACR Academy.
The nine new AACR fellows from HMS are:
- Frederick Alt, the HMS Charles A. Janeway Professor of Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, who was recognized for revolutionizing how genomic rearrangements occur and their role in cancer development and progression.
- Benjamin Ebert, the HMS George P. Canellos, MD, and Jean S. Canellos Professor of Medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who was recognized for contributions to elucidating the mechanism of action of thalidomide analogs in multiple myeloma and providing critical insights into targeted protein degradation as a therapeutic strategy.
- Richard Gelber, HMS professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s, who was recognized for contributions to improving patient care through his development of innovative biostatistical methodologies and his leadership of biostatistical collaborations on practice-changing clinical trials in breast cancer, pediatric leukemia and pediatric AIDS.
- Gad Getz, HMS professor of pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital, who was recognized for fundamental contributions to cancer genomics, including developing analytical tools for somatic mutation detection.
- Todd Golub, HMS professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s, who was recognized for research contributions that have revolutionized cancer biology and treatment.
- Pasi Jänne, HMS professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, who was recognized for contributions to elucidating the significance of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in lung cancer etiology and treatment.
- Matthew Meyerson, HMS professor of genetics at Dana-Farber, who was recognized for contributions to cancer research, including discovering key lung cancer driver mutations, and pioneering novel gene sequencing-based therapeutic strategies.
- David Pellman, the HMS Margaret M. Dyson Professor of Pediatric Oncology and Professor of Cell Biology at Dana-Farber, who was recognized for contributions to the understanding of cell division, developing novel technologies, and for identifying mechanisms driving the rapid evolution of cancer genomes.
- Steven Piantadosi, HMS professor in residence of surgery at Brigham and Women’s, who was recognized for large-scale and cross-disciplinary initiatives resulting in the establishment and optimization of innovative biostatistical, translational oncology, and early clinical trial methodologies.
Newly elected fellows will be recognized during the AACR annual meeting in April.
Catherine Wu, HMS professor of medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, has been awarded the 2024 Sjöberg Prize by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and The Sjöberg Foundation. The award, worth $1 million, recognizes the potential of Wu’s research to lead to personalized vaccines for cancer treatment.
Wu's research focuses on activating and stimulating the body's immune system to fight cancer, exploring the role of small mutations in cancer cells — known as tumor neoantigens — that can trigger an immune response. Wu sequenced DNA from healthy cells and cancer cells to identify a patient's unique tumor neoantigens. She then produced synthetic copies of these neoantigens, which were given as a type of vaccine. In some cases, this approach activated immune cells that then targeted a patient’s tumor cells.
Wu’s results in an initial trial involving six melanoma patients were first published in 2017.
The award citation highlighted Wu's significant contributions to advancing cancer research and her pivotal role in enabling clinical trials of cancer vaccines for melanoma, pancreatic cancer, and lung cancer.
The Sjöberg Prize is awarded to individuals who have made critical contributions to cancer research. It includes a personal prize of $100,000 and $900,000 in research funding.
Adapted from The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences press materials.
