HMS dean Jeffrey Flier began the March 12 Faculty Council meeting with a brief update on the strategic planning process, saying that between 100 and 120 faculty have been involved and that white papers were being vetted and posted on the website. He said he has engaged in inspiring discussions with department chairs, spoken at the University council of deans, and, with his team, spoken at meetings around the country. Harvard president Drew Faust would attend the next strategic planning steering committee meeting.
Flier called on Stephen Harrison, the Giovanni Armenise–Harvard professor of basic biomedical science at HMS, to give a progress report from the strategic planning Tools and Technology Advisory Group. Harrison described the makeup of the group—approximately 20 faculty from the hospitals and the Quad, co-chaired by Elazer Edelman and himself. The group has focused on three areas: innovation, the development of applications, and service and training. Recommendations include investing in therapeutics, imaging and computational methods; creating an HMS-wide organizational structure; lowering the barriers to technology sharing; and leading the University in recruiting and retaining outstanding technology faculty and staff.
Patricia Donahoe, the Marshall K. Bartlett professor of surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and HMS, observed that lessons could be learned from the Broad Institute when it comes to translating tools and technology across cores, balancing independence with interdependence among the investigators who would use them, and helping end-users break out of their silos at the Medical School.
Flier then called on Thomas Michel, HMS professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to give a report on the recommendations from the Strategic Advisory Group on Education (SAGE). He described each of the following recommendations, which are to create and foster a culture of excellence in teaching; enhance the training of scholarly physicians; enhance training of biomedical scientists and educators by creating a Program in Graduate Education; foster a culture of excellence in the practice of clinical medicine and enhance clinical training; increase diversity in all aspects of HMS education; and provide a continuum of education across HMS, Harvard University, and the HMS-affiliated hospitals for training in basic, clinical, and translational research.
Michel spoke about the scholarly project requirement that was developed as part of medical education reform, in which students would choose from among three areas of concentration: biology in medicine, patient-oriented research, and medicine in society. He described the SAGE proposal for a broader base of in-depth experiences for students and for a New Pathway Investigator Program that could lead to the MSc degree for students who fulfill certain requirements. SAGE also proposed that the masters of the academic societies serve as chairs of the concentrations, with one master leading the New Pathway Investigator Program.
Michel also noted that SAGE recommended doubling the size of the MD–PhD Program, creating a task force on reducing student debt, and emphasizing new educational programs in the admissions process.
Environmental Leader Listed as One of World’s Most Influential PeopleEric Chivian, director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment and HMS assistant clinical professor of psychiatry (social medicine) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, has been named to the 2008 Time 100 list, which names the 100 most influential people in the world according to the magazine. He was recognized for his work on the center’s Scientists and Evangelicals Initiative, which brings together members of the scientific and evangelical communities on issues relating to protecting the environment. He shares the honor with Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs at the National Association of Evangelicals. In August, Chivian and Cizik co-led a group of scientists and evangelical leaders on a weeklong expedition to Alaska to observe the effects of climate change on the local people, land, vegetation, and wildlife. The trip was filmed by a crew from PBS’s NOW and the footage aired in October.
Chivian founded the Center for Health and the Global Environment in 1996. It is the first medical school–based center in the United States dedicated to expanding environmental education at medical schools. In addition to leading the Scientists and Evangelicals Initiative, the center also provides education and curriculum to teachers, policymakers, scientists, and the public.
As a founder of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Chivian was a co-recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.
Genetics Professor Takes Gairdner AwardGary Ruvkun, HMS professor of genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital, has recently received two awards for his role in the discovery of small RNAs that silence genes. Ruvkun was honored with a 2008 Gairdner Award for his role in the discovery of microRNAs, which caused a major shift in the understanding of gene regulation. Out of that work also came the discoveries that the mechanism of microRNA regulation of target mRNAs is post-transcriptional and that some microRNA genes are conserved across animal phyla. Ruvkun and his collaborators have also made computational discoveries of hundreds of microRNAs and the identification of a common core microRNA and RNA interference mechanism.
Ruvkun shares the award, which is presented by the Gairdner Foundation of Canada, with collaborator Victor Ambros of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The honor recognizes outstanding contributions by medical scientists whose work will significantly improve the quality of life.
The Ruvkun lab also investigates longevity and fat storage. He and his colleagues discovered that, like mammals, C. elegans uses an insulin-signaling pathway to control its metabolism and longevity, and they showed that insulin signaling in the nervous system is key to lifespan. Currently, his lab is investigating how approximately 100 other gene inactivations cause an increase in lifespan in C. elegans.
Ruvkun also won the 2008 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences for his microRNA discoveries, an honor he shares with colleagues Ambros and David Baulcombe of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
Board of Fellows Sees Change in LeadershipDean Jeffrey Flier named a new chair and vice chair of the HMS Board of Fellows at the April 11 meeting.
The new board chair, Beck Gilbert (far left), is also the chair of Megadata Corporation, a provider of air traffic software. Though he has had a long career in business, he audited classes at Cornell Medical School from 2000 to 2002 and was made an honorary member of the Class of 2004. Two years later, he earned his Master of Science degree in immunology at Rockefeller University and has completed the coursework toward a PhD.
New vice chair Joshua Boger (second from left) is founder, chair, president, and CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which has an HIV protease inhibitor on the market in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline. His company is developing treatments for Hepatitis C and cystic fibrosis and is collaborating with Merck on a cancer therapy.
Outgoing board chair Jack Connors (second from right) was recognized and thanked for his leadership of the Board of Fellows since 2004. The leaders of the board appear above with Flier (far right).
Excellence in MentoringThe Office for Diversity and Community Partnership will host the 2007–2008 Excellence in Mentoring Awards ceremony Tuesday, May 20, from 4–5:30 p.m. in the TMEC amphitheater. The William Silen Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award, the A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award, and the Young Mentor Award will be presented. A reception will follow. For more information or to RSVP, contact nancy_kaufman@hms.harvard.edu or 617-432-1037.
New Dean for Resource Development NamedSusan Rapple, who served as associate vice president of development at Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, has been named the new dean of the Office of Resource Development. She will join HMS on May 19.
At Dana–Farber, Rapple oversaw the implementation of a $1 billion fundraising campaign, the largest in the institute’s history, and managed an operation with more than 75 staff members in the Division of Development and the Jimmy Fund, which raises over $200 million each year. She previously worked in development at HSPH and Dartmouth Medical School. At HMS, she will lead the development effort that will help fulfill the objectives that are part of the strategic planning initiative, and she will collaborate with the University-wide fund-raising campaign.
She succeeds Richard Cosnotti, who has served as interim dean for the department since January 2007.
Armenise Foundation Funds Chairs in Neurology and Basic ResearchAcknowledging Count Giovanni Auletta Armenise, who established the Giovanni Armenise–Harvard Foundation, Dean Jeffrey Flier thanked him and the foundation for endowing two new chairs. Addressing the count, Flier praised the two “extraordinary scientists from HMS who will bear the chairs in your name.”
Stephen Harrison be-came the first incumbent of the Giovanni Armenise–Harvard Professorship in Basic Biomedical Sciences, and Verne Caviness the first incumbent of the Giovanni Armenise–Harvard Foundation Professorship in Neurology, in conjunction with Massachusetts General Hospital.
Introduced by Ed Harlow, the head of the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, as a man who is “really smart, totally driven, and has fantastic taste,” Harrison turned his attention to the count and his family and to former HMS dean Daniel Tosteson. He said the event celebrates these two for their vision in creating the foundation and its mission of supporting multidisciplinary research.
David Torchiana, chair and CEO of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, introduced Verne Caviness, calling him “a dual threat in research and clinical care.” Then Caviness expanded on Harrison’s remarks about the Armenise Foundation, offering that the foundation must compose in and of itself one of the remarkable chapters in the history of HMS.
Count Armenise closed the speaking program with some personal reflections and fond words for the Medical School and hospital and their devotion to science and patient care.
Associate Dean Named for Physical Planning and FacilitiesRick Shea, currently vice president for facilities at Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, will join HMS as associate dean for physical planning and facilities beginning May 19.
Shea will direct all administrative functions relating to campus facilities planning, maintenance, and management; capital budget preparation; and campus operations, including parking, security, and food service. He will also serve as an HMS representative on community and university planning groups.
During his tenure at Dana–Farber, Shea oversaw the design of the 275,000-square-foot Yawkey Center for Cancer Care; developed the concept for a multi-campus system, leasing over 400,000 square feet offsite and linking satellites with a new transportation service; and opened the Harbor Campus.
News Briefs- The American Medical Association has honored two HMS students with its 2008 Leadership Award, which provides medical students, residents, fellows, early career physicians, and established physicians with special training to develop their skills as future leaders in medicine and community affairs. Fourth-year student Taniqua Alexander was recognized for her leadership role in the Student National Medical Association, her participation on the main committee on admissions, and her work with HIV/AIDS orphans in Africa. Stephanie Hu, a third-year HMS student, was honored for her work with the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute to bring cancer screening and education to underserved populations in Boston. As a college student, she helped establish a traveling free clinic that serves poor communities in rural China.
- The Sleep Research Society has elected three HMS faculty members to the board. Clifford Saper, the James Jackson Putnam professor of neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, was named president-elect, and both Janet Mullington and Thomas Scammell, associate professors of neurology at BID, were named board members. Saper is also head of the Department of Neurology at BID.
- The HSPH Nutrition Round Table gave the second annual Healthy Cup Award to Kenneth Cooper, a fitness expert who is known as the “father of aerobics.” Thanks in part to the popularity of his 1968 book Aerobics, Cooper helped popularize the notion that exercise is important to the health and well-being of everyone, not just athletes. The Nutrition Round Table, which helps bridge the gap between scientific advancement and changes in food policy, practices, and products, presented the award at a lecture featuring talks by Cooper and HSPH nutrition chair Walter Willett.
- Mohamed Sayegh, the Warren Grupe–John P. Merrill professor of transplantation medicine at HMS and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, professor of pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Boston, and director of the Transplantation Research Center at BWH and CHB, has received the 2008 AST/Wyeth Mentoring Award from the American Society of Transplantation (AST). The AST Awards and Grants Committee selected Sayegh as the first recipient of this newly established award for providing outstanding mentorship in the field of transplantation and for his dedication to his trainees.
- JoAnn Manson, the Elizabeth F. Brigham professor of women’s health at HMS and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, was named the recipient of the Premio Benessere Stresa International Prize for Research and Innovation Related to Well-being. Manson was honored for her research in women’s health, including her work on hormone therapy and her insights into women’s well-being, particularly after menopause. The prize, sponsored by the Centro Benessere Stresa and the Giovanni Lorenzini Medical Foundation in Milan, Italy, was presented to Manson in February and included a $28,000 cash award.
