News
Broad on the GO
In addition to the Grand Opportunities (GO) grants based at the Quad and HMS-affiliated institutions (see Focus, Nov. 6), Medical School faculty members have garnered five GO awards based at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. These awards support gene sequencing in association with autism, cancer, cardiovascular disease, schizophrenia and other conditions, illuminating structural features of the genome and their effect in the human body. Projects also aim to improve genome sequence analysis and documentation and to develop novel therapeutics. Part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the GO grants look toward laying a foundation for new fields of scientific study.
HMS faculty members who are principal investigators on the Broad-based grants are David Altshuler, Todd Golub, Shaun Purcell, and Pamela Sklar. Other Broad and Harvard PI’s on the GO grants based at the Broad are Stacey Gabriel, Toby Bloom and Stuart Schreiber. Broad researchers are also collaborating on other GO grants.
The one-year total of the Broad-based awards is $17 million, with a second-year total expected to reach about the same amount.
Grant Translates Clinical Practice into Science Curriculum
HMS has received a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to enhance biomedical education for graduate students. The Med into Grad Initiative encourages graduate schools to integrate medical knowledge and an understanding of clinical practice into their biomedical PhD curricula. It is part of HHMI’s long-term effort to support translational research.
Connie Cepko, HMS professor of genetics, received the grant as co-director of the Leder Human Biology and Translational Medicine Program, along with co-director Thomas Michel and associate director Patricia D’Amore. The program provides students with a working knowledge of the fundamentals of human biology and disease, primarily through a series of courses to enrich their basic-science training and broaden their research interests. It also attempts to demystify the culture and practice of medicine, facilitating future collaborations with clinicians and physician-scientists. The full program runs for one and a half years, and students must apply to be accepted. The program has proven to be popular in its four years at HMS and has recently increased its available slots from nine students to 20.
Each Med into Grad program receives up to $700,000 over four years.
AAMC Recognizes Leader in HMS Medical Ed
The Association of American Medical Colleges has named Ronald Arky, the Charles S. Davidson distinguished professor of medicine at HMS and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a winner of the 2009 Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teaching Award.
Arky has played a central role in medical education at HMS for decades. As one of the principal architects of the New Pathway program, Arky’s work led to the significant restructuring of the School’s curriculum. Additionally, he designed, founded and has directed the Patient–Doctor courses at HMS, which introduce medical students to the fundamental clinical skills, ethics and professionalism that have become integral to the New Pathway curriculum. He helped formulate and design an integrated clinical experience that incorporates all clinical disciplines, emphasizes the longitudinal follow-up of patients and prominently features the basic sciences.
Arky is also master of the Peabody Society, which he co-founded, and professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. An endocrinologist by training, Arky has devoted much of his clinical career to diabetes. He has created diabetes education and training programs for health professionals and been active in diabetes advocacy organizations.
The Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award recognizes faculty members who have distinguished themselves in medical student education. Each awardee receives a grant of $10,000. The award is named for longtime AOA executive secretary Robert J. Glaser.
Diversity Awards Bespeak a Rich Culture
The Bray Room in the NRB was at full capacity for the 2009 Diversity Awards, which honored four faculty members and one staff member for their commitment to making HMS a more welcoming and inclusive place. Jessica Henderson Daniel, HMS associate professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Children’s Hospital Boston; Sanjay Gulati, instructor in psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance; Peter Slavin, president of Massachusetts General Hospital; and Jocelyn Spragg, lecturer on medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, each received the Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award. Ingrid Pabón, an administrative manager at Harvard Catalyst, received the Sharon P. Clayborne Staff Diversity Award.
“We know that this is not an easy task, but they have shown us that through creativity, innovation and commitment, we can create a culture that is respectful and welcoming,” said Winfred Williams, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and chair of the selection committee.
The day also included the presentation of the second annual Howard, Dorsey, Still Lecture, which is named after the first three African American graduates from HMS. This year’s speaker was Talmadge King, an HMS graduate and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. King gave a presentation on his specialty, interstitial lung disease. After his talk the audience was treated to an impromptu reminiscence about King’s medical school days by Alvin Poussaint, faculty associate dean for student affairs, who said that King was recruited by HMS in the early days of the School’s affirmative action program.
In her concluding remarks, Joan Reede, dean for diversity and community partnership, reflected on the varied accomplishments of the award winners. “Diversity is not just about race or ethnicity, and it’s not just about gender or sexual orientation or ability or disability or language or age,” she said. “It is about all of us … and it is the richness of what we all bring to the table that will strengthen us as a university, as a medical school and as teaching hospitals.”
“We know that this is not an easy task, but they have shown us that through creativity, innovation and commitment, we can create a culture that is respectful and welcoming,” said Winfred Williams, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and chair of the selection committee.
The day also included the presentation of the second annual Howard, Dorsey, Still Lecture, which is named after the first three African American graduates from HMS. This year’s speaker was Talmadge King, an HMS graduate and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. King gave a presentation on his specialty, interstitial lung disease. After his talk the audience was treated to an impromptu reminiscence about King’s medical school days by Alvin Poussaint, faculty associate dean for student affairs, who said that King was recruited by HMS in the early days of the School’s affirmative action program.
—Emily Lieberman
New Vitamin D and Omega-3 Study Could Include You
Millions of healthy people take various vitamins and other nutritional supplements, hoping to fortify themselves against chronic disease and cancer. So far, the enthusiasm has not withstood the test of science.
Rigorous study has not only withdrawn the promise of vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene, folic acid, selenium and other supplements as preventive tools for many diseases, but large-scale trials actually found some risks when people popped these pills at higher doses.
The latest popular supplements—vitamin D and marine omega-3 fatty acids—are about to be examined at the highest level. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital has just received funding to test how well moderate-to-high doses of vitamin D and omega-3s can prevent cancer, as well as heart disease and stroke.
Beginning in January 2010, the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (VITAL, at www.vitalstudy.org) will enroll 20,000 healthy women (older than 65) and men (older than 60) from all over the United States. Manson, the Elizabeth F. Brigham professor of women’s Health at HMS and BWH and professor in the Department of Epidemiology at HSPH, hopes about one quarter of participants will be African-Americans, who are often deficient in vitamin D, to shed light on the supplement’s ability to reduce health disparities in certain diseases.
The study may offer opportunities for Harvard medical faculty, Manson said—either to participate as volunteers or to collaborate scientifically, such as a proposed detailed assessment of 1,000 participants through Harvard Catalyst in Boston and three sister clinical and translational science centers in Chicago, Houston and San Francisco. These studies will test the nutrients for prevention of cognitive decline, depression, diabetes, hypertension, infections, autoimmune diseases, and other outcomes, in addition to cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Lots of smaller and more limited studies have looked at the two nutrients, providing the rationale for the $23 million Vital study, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Those results have fueled “increasing attention in the popular press and the medical field,” Manson said. The low-cost supplements have potential to reduce the burden of chronic disease, but “they need to be tested rigorously to understand the benefits and risks.”
Previous clinical trials of vitamin D have generally tested low doses, and omega-3s have been studied in high-risk populations. These supplements from the sun and sea have powerful anti-inflammatory effects and also work through multiple other pathways that may help prevent chronic disease. In cancer, vitamin D may intervene in the later stages of development, by blocking angiogenesis and promoting apoptosis, laboratory studies have suggested.
—Carol Cruzan Morton
Fellowships Lend a Helping Hand
On Nov. 18, HMS feted 81 new fellows in the Eleanor and Miles Shore 50th Anniversary Fellowship Program for Scholars in Medicine. Established in 1995 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the admission of women to HMS, the fellowships provide funding for junior faculty, researchers, and clinicians at a point in their careers when teaching, research, or seeing patients competes for time with increased family or other responsibilities. Each fellow receives between $25,000 and $50,000 for one year.
The celebration is open to family and friends, and the children who attend lend a cheerful air to the event. Above, Jean Lim, HMS instructor in dermatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and her son together accepted her certificate for the BID Department of Dermatology Fellowship from HMS dean Jeffrey Flier. Lim will use her Shore Fellowship funding to reduce her outpatient volume so she can concentrate on enhancing care for dermatology inpatients and improving the teaching of dermatology residents and medical students.
A complete list of Shore Fellowship recipients is below:
The Alice J. Adler Fellowship of the Schepens Eye Research Institute
Alexandra Bowers, Instructor in Ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute
The Loreen Arbus Fellowship in Neuroscience
Chenghua Gu, Assistant Professor of Neurobiology, HMS
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department of Anesthesia John Hedley-Whyte Research Fellowship
Sajid Shahul, Instructor in Anesthesia, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department of Anesthesia John Hedley-Whyte Research Fellowship
Achikam Oren-Grinberg, Instructor in Anesthesia, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department of Dermatology Fellowship
Jean Lim, Instructor in Dermatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department of Emergency Medicine Fellowship
Maureen Chase, Instructor in Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department of Emergency Medicine Fellowship
Christopher Fischer, Instructor in Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department of Pathology Fellowship
David Cohen, Instructor in Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department of Surgery Fellowship
Mohamed Simo Arredouani, Instructor in Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical
Center
Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine Faculty Development Fellowship
Morana Lasic, Instructor in Anesthesia, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine Faculty Development Fellowship
Assia Valovska, Instructor in Anesthesia, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Development Fellowship
Daniel Lindberg, Instructor in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital
The Brigham and Women's Hospital Fellowship
Wolfram Goessling, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Health Sciences and Technology, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Medicine Fellowship
Jacqueline Danik, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Brigham and Women's
Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital’s Minority Faculty Career Development Award
Nora Osman, Instructor in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital’s Minority Faculty Career Development Award
Audra Robertson, Instructor in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology Foundation Fellowship
Dwight Cordero, Instructor in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology,
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology Foundation Fellowship
Julianna Schantz-Dunn, Instructor in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Pathology Fellowship
Azra Ligon, Assistant Professor of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Radiology Fellowship
Fiona Fennessy, Assistant Professor of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Surgery Junior Fellowship in honor of Robert T. Osteen, M.D.
Daniel Ruan, Instructor in Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Asim Ahmed, Instructor in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston (2nd year)
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Deborah Chirnomas, Instructor in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Debora Duro, Instructor in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston (2nd year)
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Carlos Estrada Jr., Instructor in Surgery, Children's Hospital Boston (2nd year)
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Eric Fleegler, Instructor in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Arin K. Greene, M.D., M.M.Sc., Assistant Professor of Surgery, Children's Hospital Boston (2nd year)
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Inga Hofmann Zhang, Instructor in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Jonathan Kagan, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Jayoung Kim, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Lalit Kumar, Instructor in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston (2nd year)
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Richard S. Lee, Instructor in Surgery, Children's Hospital Boston (2nd year)
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Michiko Oyoshi, Instructor in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Sallie Permar, Instructor in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Rachel L. Rosen, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston (2nd year)
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Gregory Sawicki, Instructor in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Valerie Schumacher, Instructor in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Tanvi Sharma, Instructor in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital BostonChildren's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Laura E. Simons, Instructor in Psychology, Children's Hospital Boston (2nd year)
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Wen-Hann Tan, Instructor in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston (2nd year)
Children's Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Hiroko Wakimoto, Instructor in Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston (2nd year)
Children's Hospital Boston, Department of Neurology, Faculty Development Fellowship
Yoon-Jae Cho, Instructor in Neurology, Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Boston, Department of Neurology, Faculty Development Fellowship
Jonathan Lipton, Instructor in Neurology, Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Pathology Foundation Fellowship
Kyle Kurek, M.D., Instructor in Pathology, Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Postdoctoral Career Development Fellowship
Aruna Ramachandran, Research Fellow in Surgery, Children's Hospital Boston (2nd year)
Children's Hospital Postdoctoral Career Development Fellowship
Rita Teodoro, Research Fellow in Neurology, Children's Hospital Boston (2nd year)
CIMIT (Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology) Research Fellowship
Jeffrey Karp, Instructor in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award
Jodie Babitt, Instructor in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (2nd year)
Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award
Ingrid Bassett, M.D., Instructor in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award
Miriam Bredella, Assistant Professor of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital (2nd year)
Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award
Shannon Bromley, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award
Caroline E. Burns, Instructor in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (2nd year)
Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award
Giulia Fulci, Instructor in Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital
Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award
Stephanie Jones, Instructor in Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital (2nd year)
Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award
Xin Li, Instructor in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (2nd year)
Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award
Hua Lu, Instructor in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award
Amy Walker, Instructor in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award
Joy Wu, Instructor in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award
Jing-Ruey Yeh, Instructor in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (2nd year)
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Fellowship
Navid Madani, Instructor in Pathology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Robert H. Ebert, M.D. Fellowship established by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation
Connie Trinacty, Assistant Professor of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Forsyth Institute Fellowship
Flavia Teles, Staff Scientist, Forsyth Institute
Harvard Medical School Fellowship in honor of Priscilla Schaffer, Ph.D.
Guido Musch, Assistant Professor of Anesthesia, Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard School of Dental Medicine Fellowship in honor of Aina M. Auskaps, D.M.D.
Lin Xu, Instructor in Developmental Biology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine
James H. and Susan M. Jackson Academy Fellowship
Marc De Moya, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital
Amalie and Edward Kass Fellowship
Olivia Okereke, Instructor in Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Fellowship
Carolyn Kloek, Instructor in Opthamology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Anesthesia Fellowship
Yasuko Nagasaka, Instructor in Anesthesia, Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine Fellowship
Andrew Liteplo, Instructor in Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital Dermatology Service Faculty Career Development Fellowship
Daniela Kroshinsky, Instructor in Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Medicine Fellowship
Elizabeth Lawson, Instructor in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Radiology Fellowship
Ambrose Huang, Instructor in Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Surgery Faculty Development Fellowship
Sareh Parangi, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital
McLean Hospital Fellowship
Morgane Thomsen, Instructor in Psychiatry, McLean Hospital
Morgan-Zinsser Academy Fellowship in Medical Education
Jan Pruszak, Instructor in Psychiatry, McLean Hospital
The Mount Auburn Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Development
Fellowship
Jason Imperato, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Mount Auburn Hospital
Curtis Prout Academy Fellowship in Medical Education
Emma Eggleston, Instructor in Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Curtis Prout Academy Fellowship in Medical Education
Sunil Sabharwal, Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
Dorothy Rackemann Fellowship established by the Vincent Memorial Hospital/MassachusettsGeneral Hospital
Leslie Anne Garrett, Instructor in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. Lynne Reid/Drs. Eleanor and Miles Shore Fellowship
Ann Marie Zavacki, Instructor in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Harvard Catalyst Announces Second Round of Pilot Grants
Harvard Catalyst, the Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center, has recently awarded its second round of pilot grants. The awards support pilot studies leading toward sustainable, innovative and collaborative projects to improve human health. Examples of the 65 projects receiving awards include the development of a fruit fly–based screen for drugs against human leukemias and a molecular imaging test for understanding the biology of depressive symptoms.
The program aims to support multidisciplinary science, which is reflected in the wide swath of faculty involved in the funded projects. The 257 participating researchers come from HMS and its affiliated institutions, the Broad Institute, MIT, the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Business School, the Kennedy School of Government, HSPH, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
The program also focuses on career development, so junior faculty are encouraged to apply. In this year’s round of funding, junior faculty make up 75 percent of the principal investigators. Details on each project are available at http://catalyst.harvard.edu/news/news.html?p=1079.
The center is currently seeking proposals for the third round of pilot grant funding, with each grant providing $50,000 over one year. For more information and application instructions, visit http://catalyst.harvard.edu/pilotfunding/index.html. The deadline for the letter of intent is Feb. 1, 2010, and full applications are due March 1.
New Appointments to Full Professor
The faculty members below were appointed to a full professorship in July, September and October.
Larry Benowitz
Professor of Surgery
Children’s Hospital Boston
The Benowitz lab studies the molecular mechanisms that underlie the growth of nerve fibers (axons), together with strategies to promote the rewiring of neural connections after brain injury. His research focuses on the cell-signaling pathway through which trophic factors stimulate nerve cells to extend axons, regeneration of the optic nerve after injury, and rewiring of brain connections after stroke and spinal cord injury. He has also done research in the area of human neuropsychology and on the functional organization of the brain.
Randy Buckner
Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry
Massachusetts General Hospital
Buckner uses neuroimaging approaches to explore the neural basis of human cognition both in healthy adults and in individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders. His current work emphasizes the link between genetics and individual differences in brain function.
Grace Chang
Professor of Psychiatry
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Chang is a clinical and health services researcher. She has focused on the identification and treatment of alcohol and other substance use disorders in mainstream healthcare settings, such as general and specialty obstetric practices, general medical clinics and emergency rooms. She conducted the first randomized clinical trial of screening and brief intervention for risk of drinking during pregnancy. Her other areas of research have reflected her clinical responsibilities and include the psychiatric and neurocognitive aspects of adult hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, as well as the trajectories of health and adaptation in parents and children after pediatric stem cell transplantation. Chang is the director of the Partners Psychiatry and Mental Health Division of Health Services Research.
Lynda Chin
Professor of Dermatology
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Chin has made scientific discoveries spanning the fields of transcription, mouse models of human cancer and cancer biology. Her current research focuses on mining and translating complex multidimensional genomic data through comparative oncogenomics of mouse and human cancers and integration with functional genomics to identify novel cancer targets and diagnostic biomarkers, with particular interests in the metastatic process in various cancer types, particularly melanoma, glioblastoma and ovarian cancers. Chin is actively involved in the Cancer Genome Atlas project and serves as a member of the scientific steering committee of the International Cancer Genome Consortium. She also coleads the Melanoma Program at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and is the scientific director of the Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science, a strategic organization at Dana-Farber that aims to bridge academia and industry to accelerate cancer drug discovery.
Jay Fishman
Professor of Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Fishman is director of the Transplant Infectious Diseases and Compromised Host Program and associate director of the Transplant Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research is focused on the pathogenesis of infections in immunocompromised hosts and on viral infections in xenotransplantation. His major clinical interest is in infectious diseases of solid organs and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients.
Steven Freedman
Professor of Medicine
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Freedman is director of the Pancreas Center and chief of the Division of Translational Research at BID. He plays a leadership role in clinical translational research at BID and Harvard University in his role as associate dean for clinical and translational research at HMS and co-director of the NIH-funded Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center. Freedman’s clinical and research expertise is in exocrine pancreatic disease, where he is an internationally recognized leader in pancreatitis and cystic fibrosis in both adults and children, with an extensive translational research program that encompasses both basic science as well as clinical trials of new therapies.
Darren Higgins
Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
Harvard Medical School
Higgins’s research is focused on understanding fundamental host–pathogen interactions that lead to disease and the development of protective immunity to intracellular bacterial pathogens. A primary goal is to elucidate both the pathogen and host cell–specific mechanisms involved in the growth and spread of intracellular bacterial pathogens. Other areas of emphasis include determining the mechanisms of coordinate regulation of bacterial gene expression during infection and developing novel vaccine strategies for intracellular bacterial pathogens. Higgins’s research takes a multidisciplinary approach, employing molecular genetics, cell biology, high-resolution microscopy, structural biology, tissue culture and mouse infection models.
Mark Hornstein
Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Hornstein’s research has concentrated on two areas: the medical treatment of endometriosis and assisted reproductive technologies. His work on endometriosis has included several large clinical trials involving the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists to relieve endometriosis-associated pelvic pain. His research in the field of assisted reproduction has focused on predictors of in vitro fertilization success and clinical outcomes. He collaborates widely with a large number of investigators within HMS and around the country.
Andrew Lichtman
Professor of Pathology
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Lichtman’s research focuses on T cell–mediated immunity and immunopathology, including the contribution of T lymphocytes to atherosclerotic disease. His other research interests are T cell–endothelial interactions and the migration of T cell subsets into inflammatory sites. He is also active in immunology and pathology education, serving as a course director and teacher in the HMS Fundamentals of Medicine curriculum, and director of postgraduate immunology educational programs.
Leonard Lilly
Professor of Medicine
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Lilly, a cardiologist, is chief of the Brigham and Women’s-Faulkner cardiology section, and he is recognized as a teacher, clinician and mentor. He has been committed to medical education at HMS and BWH throughout his career, and his efforts have been met with multiple teaching citations. His textbooks, co-written with HMS students, cardiology fellows and HMS faculty serve as required or recommended reading in cardiovascular pathophysiology courses at many medical schools.
Lee Schwamm
Professor of Neurology
Massachusetts General Hospital
Schwamm’s research focuses on health services delivery and improving the quality of acute stroke care. He is leading the efforts within the major relevant city, state, federal and nonprofit health organizations to develop and implement national measures of stroke care performance and certification of stroke centers. He is a pioneer in the use of telemedicine and other technologies to support acute stroke care delivery. His clinical interests are in cerebrovascular diseases, intensive care medicine, brain imaging and applied healthcare technology. He is vice chair of the Department of Neurology at MGH.
Robert Odze
Professor of Pathology
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Odze’s research focuses on the biological characteristics, pathogenesis, natural history and treatment of preneoplastic disorders of the GI tract, particularly Barrett’s esophagus and inflammatory bowel disease. Odze serves as the principal consultant and collaborator for the largest prospective Barrett’s esophagus patient cohort in the world, based at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. The research involves studying biomarkers of progression in Barrett’s esophagus from the molecular point of view. Odze has recently published the second edition of the largest and most comprehensive textbook about GI, liver, and pancreatic pathology.
Neil Rofsky
Professor of Radiology
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Rofsky’s clinical and academic interests are connected through translational research efforts. With an emphasis on body magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and MR angiography, he collaborates with scientists to develop new MR imaging strategies to better evaluate and understand disease. An area of special interest is evaluating prostate cancer with a multiparametric approach emphasizing high spatial resolution 3-D techniques. This multidisciplinary effort involves mathematical analyses, image registration, image segmentation techniques, detailed radiology–pathology correlations and genomic–proteomic correlative work. One important outgrowth has been a newly realized ability to localize occult tumors and improve the positive biopsy yield in men with rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and repeated negative biopsies.
Steffie Woolhandler
Professor of Medicine
Cambridge Health Alliance
Woolhandler is a primary care doctor in Cambridge who also does research on health policy and finance issues, especially as they affect the prospects for universal, non-profit health insurance for the United States. She has published studies comparing the high administrative costs in U.S. medicine to the substantially lower costs in countries using a Medicare-for-all, single payer approach. She studies medical bankruptcy nationally, internationally and at the state level, in conjunction with other researchers at Harvard's Medical and Law Schools. In addition, she studies problems in financial access to care for various types of patients, such as immigrants, racial minorities, the uninsured and military veterans. She is co-director of Harvard's General Internal Medicine Faculty Development fellowship.
NotableFive members of the HMS community have received grants from the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, which fund investigations focusing on breast, prostate and ovarian cancers; neurofibromatosis; military health; and other specified areas. Awards are available to graduate students and postdocs as well as to more senior researchers and are meant to encourage innovation.
Graduate student Nina Ilic received a Predoctoral Traineeship Award in the Breast Cancer Research Program, for her project titled “Approaching Resistance to Targeted Inhibition of PI3K in Breast Cancer.”
Sarah Hill, an MD–PhD student, received a Predoctoral Traineeship Award in the Breast Cancer Research Program, for her project “BRCA1 Pathway Functionality in Basal-Like Breast Cancer.”
Amin Kass, HMS professor of radiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, received an Idea Development Award in the Prostate Cancer Research Program, for “Detection of Prostate Cancer Signatures in Blood.”
Stacey Kenfield, a research associate in the Department of Epidemiology at HSPH, received a Prostate Cancer Training Award for her project titled “Nutrition, Genetics and Prostate Cancer Survivorship.”
Graduate student Tina Yuan received a Predoctoral Traineeship Award in the Breast Cancer Research Program, for her project “The Role of Phosphoinositide 3–Kinase in Breast Cancer.”
The New Research Building at HMS has been named one of the recipients of the annual Merit Award for Design Excellence from the New England Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. It was one of 11 buildings to receive the honor this year. The NRB, which opened in 2003, was designed by Architectural Resources Cambridge (ARC), a national architectural design firm that specializes in institutional facilities. The layout of the labs and common areas is designed to encourage interaction among the researchers and staff who occupy the building. The NRB’s architects were also praised for successfully integrating the building into its urban setting. The building houses the School’s Pathology and Genetics Departments, labs from affiliated institutions, and the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center.
Sanjiv Chopra, HMS professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and faculty dean for continuing education, has been elected to mastership by the American College of Physicians. Mastership is given to physicians who embody the “ideal internist” and who have dedicated themselves to mentorship and education, clinical or basic research, advocacy for quality in medicine and social justice. Chopra will be presented with the mastership at a ceremony in April.
Daniel Deschler, HMS associate professor of otology and laryngology and director of the Division of Head and Neck Surgery at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, received the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Distinguished Service Award. The academy presents Distinguished Service Awards to medical professionals in recognition of service through the presentation of instructional courses, scientific papers, participation on a continuing education committee or for holding an academy leadership position.
Christopher Evans, the Maurice Edmond Mueller professor of orthopedic surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, has received the 2010 Arthur Steindler Award from the Orthopaedic Research Society. The award is given every other year to recognize senior scientists, clinicians and educators who have made significant contributions to the understanding of the musculoskeletal system and musculoskeletal diseases and injuries.
Hamish Fraser, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a member of the Harvard–MIT Health Sciences and Technology faculty, was one of 11 new fellows recently inducted into the American College of Medical Informatics (AMCI). ACMI is a professional society of elected fellows from the United States and abroad who have made significant and sustained contributions to the field of medical informatics. Fraser develops and implements medical informatics and telemedicine technologies for use in resource-poor countries.
Eva Guinan, HMS associate professor of pediatrics at Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund. The award honors Guinan’s leadership in advancing clinical care for Fanconi anemia patients, an inherited anemia that leads to bone marrow failure.
Shelley Hurwitz, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has been named the chair of the Committee on Professional Ethics of the American Statistical Association. Hurwitz, who is also the director of biostatistics at the hospital’s Center for Clinical Investigation, was selected for her dedication to the promotion of ethical statistical practice and responsibility among statisticians working in the biomedical sciences.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) presented Gordon Moore, HMS professor of population medicine, with the President’s International Medal at the organization’s annual conference in November. The medal recognizes RCGP fellows who uphold the college’s objective of establishing the highest possible standards of general medical practice or primary care. Moore also gave the keynote address, on the state of general practice in the UK.
Marsha Moses, HMS professor of surgery, has been named director of the Vascular Biology Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, succeeding its founder, the late Judah Folkman. She previously served as the program’s interim director. The Vascular Biology Program is dedicated, on both the basic and translational levels, to investigation of the vasculature and the medical conditions characterized by abnormal blood vessel growth. The Moses laboratory focuses on the biochemical and molecular mechanisms that control tumor growth and progression.
David Nathan, the Robert A. Stranahan Distinguished professor of pediatrics and president emeritus of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, has received the New York Academy of Medicine’s John Stearns Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Medicine. The honor, established in 1992, is awarded for extraordinary contributions during a professional lifetime. Nathan’s research has focused primarily on thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder in which the body makes an abnormal form of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen.
Leo Otterbein, HMS associate professor of surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, has received a $1.4 million, four-year EUREKA grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue his research on the biology underlying potential medical applications for carbon monoxide gas. The gas, usually thought of as lethal, may have clinical applications from treating cancer to fighting bacterial infections to helping kidney transplant patients avoid organ rejection. The EUREKA awards fund innovative research and the testing of new, unconventional ideas.
Columbia University presented the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize to Gary Ruvkun, HMS professor of genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital, along with his collaborator Victor Ambros, for his role in the discovery of microRNAs. MicroRNAs are critical to gene regulation and have recently become targets for research in diseases such as cancer and diabetes. The Horwitz Prize recognizes outstanding contributions to basic research, and recipients give a lecture on their award-winning research.
Adrian Salic, HMS assistant professor of cell biology, is the recipient of the 2010 R.R. Bensley Award in Cell Biology from the American Society of Anatomists. This award recognizes a cell biologist who has made a distinguished contribution to the advancement of anatomy through discovery, ingenuity and publications in the field of cell biology. The Salic laboratory studies biochemical and cellular mechanisms involved in signal transduction through the Hedgehog signaling pathway and also develops and applies new chemical technologies to investigate the cell biology of lipids.
In MemoriamKenneth Baughman, HMS professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, was killed in an accident on Nov. 16. He was 63.
Director of Brigham and Women’s Advanced Heart Disease Section in the Division of Cardiology, Baughman was known around the world for his research on myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle. In addition to helping patients through his investigations, he touched the lives of countless individuals as a compassionate clinician and mentor to generations of young cardiologists. He received the Laennec Master Clinician Award in 2008 from the American Heart Association’s Council of Clinical Cardiology in recognition of these achievements.
Baughman received his BA in chemistry from the University of Missouri in 1968 and his MD from the University of Missouri School of Medicine in 1972. He served as the director of the Division of Cardiology for 10 years before being recruited to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2002 by Peter Libby, the Mallinckrodt professor of medicine at BWH.
“Ken was an incredibly generous, loyal, and modest researcher and clinician who was always seeking to boost others,” said Libby. “He was the ultimate team player.”
Baughman is survived by his wife, Cheryl; sons, Matthew and Christopher; daughters-in-law, Michelle and Holly; and four grandchildren. Memorial services are being planned.
Paul Zamecnik, the Collis P. Huntington professor emeritus of oncologic medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, died on Oct. 27. He was 96 years old.
Zamecnik received his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in 1933 and his medical degree from HMS in 1936. He completed a residency in oncology at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Boston and a subsequent residency in medicine at the University Hospitals in Cleveland. His interest in protein synthesis grew out of an experience there with an obese patient who died abruptly. The autopsy showed an abundance of fat tissue and too little muscle and protein.
After spending time working in Carlsberg Laboratory in Copenhagen and at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York studying protein synthesis, he rejoined the HMS community in 1942 as an instructor in medicine at MGH, where he served until retiring in 1979 as the Collis P. Huntington professor emeritus of oncologic medicine.
In the 1950s, Zamencik helped unravel the mystery of how proteins are made, inventing the first cell-free system for studying protein synthesis and identifying transfer RNA. In 1956, along with colleagues Mahlon Hoagland and Mary Stephenson, he discovered a critical element of the protein synthesis pathway, a molecule called the ribosome that moves amino acids through the cell’s protein manufacturing process. Two decades later he pioneered antisense technology, a method of attacking harmful viruses and bacteria by blocking the expression of specific genes.
After retiring from HMS, he continued his research at the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research with Hoagland. When the foundation merged with the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1997, Zamecnik moved his laboratory to MGH, where he continued to work until several weeks before his death.
Zamecnik published more than 240 scientific papers during his career. He was the recipient of many distinguished awards, including the National Medal of Science in 1991 and the Lasker Award in 1996 for Special Achievement in Medical Science for a career “characterized by sheer scientific originality and brilliance.”
Zamecnik was predeceased in 2005 by his wife of 69 years, the former Mary Connor, who worked in his laboratory. He is survived by his two daughters, Karen Zamecnik Pierson of Cambridge, who also worked alongside him, and Elizabeth Coakley of Sedgewick, Maine; his son, John, of Argentina and Washington; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family would like donations sent to the The Foundation for Research in Cell Biology & Cancer, c/o Dr. Kurt J. Isselbacher, Post Office Box 290088, Charlestown, MA, 02129-0202.
