The World Economic Forum has named Daniel Shapiro, HMS assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, a 2008 Young Global Leader. The honor recognizes leaders in a variety of fields from all over the world who are age 40 or younger for professional accomplishments, commitment to society, and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.
Shapiro was honored for his work in negotiation and conflict management. He is founder and director of the International Negotiation Initiative (INI) at Harvard and associate director of the Harvard Negotiation Project. His research focuses on the psychology of conflict, and he is currently studying the emotional and identity-based dimensions of regional conflict and terrorism. He has also trained key negotiators in the Middle East, China, the former Yugoslavia, and elsewhere. Through funding from the Soros Foundation, he developed a conflict management program that now reaches more than one million people across 30 countries.
New Facility IDs Innovative Translational TechnologyHSDM has established a program to bridge the “innovation gap” between academia and industry. The Laboratory for Innovative Translational Technologies (LITT) enables HSDM and HMS researchers to have access to new genomic and proteomic technologies in one central location. LITT’s mission is to facilitate collaborative research within the HSDM and HMS communities that may hasten the translation of new technologies into practical biomedical applications. LITT currently has local, national, and international collaborations in a wide variety of research areas, including biodefense, biomarker detection in a variety of cancer systems, craniofacial development, emerging infectious disease, stem cell research, and orthopedics.
The vendors who provide the equipment are also part of this collaborative effort. LITT performs comprehensive evaluations of new technologies against equipment that is currently (and most commonly) used and provides feedback to the companies. In turn, the vendors cosponsor seminars that combine a research presentation with a technical or application presentation. Winston Patrick Kuo, HSDM research associate in developmental biology and director of LITT, described the lab as “a clearinghouse for new and cutting-edge technology.” He and his colleagues have published papers in Nature Biotechnology and other journals evaluating new technologies and equipment, and the laboratory takes requests from both vendors and researchers to perform evaluations. In addition, LITT offers study design, training, and other services. The environment at LITT creates new venues for brainstorming about novel approaches to tackle or expand current research projects.
This collaborative, proof-of-principle approach is similar to that of the NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Centers (CTSCs), which will replace General Clinical Research Centers by 2010. With his vision of “interactions galore” and a central location for all technology, Kuo sees LITT as one potential model as researchers and administration begin to rethink the way translational research is conducted at HMS and its affiliated hospitals and institutes.
Ryan Fellows NamedEvery year the Division of Medical Sciences at HMS seeks faculty nominations of students for the Albert J. Ryan Fellowship. This award, established in 1967, recognizes “outstanding students who show promise of becoming research scholars and who show a capacity to contribute to the advancement of knowledge of medical science.” Fellows are selected from the three beneficiary institutions: Dartmouth College, the University of Cincinnati, and the Division of Medical Sciences at Harvard. This year, eight students from HMS were selected: Eiman Abdel-Azim, who is advised by Jeffrey Macklis, HMS professor of surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital; Jennifer Baltz, advised by Donald Coen, HMS professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology; Parizad Bilimoria, advised by Azad Bonni, HMS associate professor of pathology; Melanie Cornejo, under adviser Gary Gilliland, HMS professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Carlos Loya, who is advised by Davie Van Vactor, HMS professor of cell biology; William Pastor, advised by Anjana Rao, HMS professor of pathology; Santiago Rompani, advised by Connie Cepko, HMS professor of genetics; and Yue Yang, also advised by Azad Bonni.
Once Upon a TideThe Center for Health and the Global Environment released a 10-minute educational film called Once Upon a Tide at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History on March 20. The film, produced for aquariums and learning centers, tells the story of a spell that has been cast causing everyone to forget about the significance of the ocean, and how one little girl learns to break it. The film is part of the center’s Healthy Ocean, Healthy Humans project, which is aimed at helping people understand the human health connections to the marine environment. Its release coincides with the launch of an educational website, www.healthyocean.org, where the film is available for download, in addition to other information and resources.
HMS Again Tops U.S. News RankingsHMS placed number one in the research medical schools category of U.S. News and World Report’s annual graduate school rankings, while HSPH came in number two among schools of public health.
In specialty MD programs, HMS scored first in internal medicine, women’s health, and pediatrics; third in AIDS; fourth in drug/alcohol abuse; and sixth in geriatrics.
In the primary care category, HMS jumped into a tie for seventh, up from 13th last year.
In biological PhD programs, Harvard also made a strong showing, securing the top spot in biochemistry/biophysics/structural biology, cell biology, immunology/infectious disease, molecular biology, microbiology, and neuroscience/neurobiology; a tie for second in ecology/evolutionary biology; third in genetics/genomics/bioinformatics; and fourth in the biological sciences.
Harvard also tied for first among business schools, tied for second among law schools, and came in sixth for schools of education.
Students Strike Match, Illuminate Residency PathLike spotting the first robin of the season, Match Day is a sign that spring has arrived. Each March, fourth-year medical students across the country learn where they will spend their residencies, culminating a long application and interview process that begins in earnest in the fall of the fourth year. On the 56th annual Match Day, which took place March 20, 168 HMS students received the much-anticipated white envelopes.
Many family members came to celebrate with the matchers. Tiffany McNair, who was joined by her parents and grandfather, was one student who chose to go out of state—she will spend her residency at Johns Hopkins University, for OB–GYN.
“I think it is a strong program, and I’m really excited to serve the community that they serve,” she said. She intends to focus on infectious diseases in pregnancy, particularly HIV.
Faculty members also turned out to offer the fourth-years words of support and kudos.
“I want to congratulate you on making it through Harvard Medical School with grace and dedication,” said Dean for Students Nancy Oriol in her remarks to the gathering. “You have been awesome.”
David Cardozo, HMS assistant professor of neurobiology and associate dean for basic graduate studies, went a step further. A student in his lab, Ruchira Jha, had made a trip home to India, so Cardozo, who had originally planned to join her in person at Match Day, collected her envelope and delivered the news over the phone.
“They were just sitting down to supper,” he said. “It was nice; her mom and dad were there.” Jha matched in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Nearly half of the HMS fourth-years will be in Massachusetts for at least some part of their residencies, with 23 percent heading to California and seven percent going to New York City. The most popular specialty was internal medicine, with 27 percent of the class matching in this field. Pediatrics came in second.
—Emily Lieberman
Leadership Awards AnnouncedFive HMS staff members were named winners of the 2008 Recognition and Leadership Award. They are Carolyn Connelly, director of the Office of Research Subject Protection; Edward Coburn, publishing director of Harvard Health Publications; Colleen Graham, course manager in the Program for Medical Education–Curriculum Support; Astrid King, financial manager in the Department of Genetics; and Dennis Wall, director of the Computational Biology Initiative at the Countway Library. The winners, selected from 22 nominees, were announced at a celebration in the Courtyard Café on March 17.
Honors and Advances- Steven Flavell, a graduate student in neuroscience, is a recipient of the Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award from the Basic Sciences Division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He will participate in a symposium in May with the 12 other award winners.
- Martin Hirsch, HMS professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and HSPH professor of immunology and infectious diseases, has received the Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Recipients are selected for outstanding contributions to the understanding of infectious diseases or public health. Hirsch was honored for his study of the pathogenesis and treatment of viral infections, which includes pioneering the use of combination therapy in AIDS patients.
- William Austen Jr., HMS assistant professor of surgery, has been named chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. Austen joined the MGH Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in 2004. His research examines the regenerative properties of adult-derived stem cells in treating various injuries.
- The University of Marburg, in Germany, has presented Klaus Rajewsky with the Emil von Behring Prize, which includes a cash prize of €25,000, or approximately $38,458. Rajewsky, the Fred S. Rosen professor of pediatrics at HMS and Children’s Hospital Boston and HMS professor of pathology at the Immune Disease Institute, was honored for his contributions to the study of the molecular mechanisms of the immune system, particularly in Hodgkin lymphoma research.
