Students and faculty gather at the annual HST Forum. From left David Cohen, Veena Venkatachalam, Martha Gray, Rishi Puram, Irving London and Jonathan Herman. Image: Karen Shaner.
Students and faculty gather at the annual HST Forum. From left David Cohen, Veena Venkatachalam, Martha Gray, Rishi Puram, Irving London and Jonathan Herman. Image: Karen Shaner.
Once a student, now a professor, George Q. Daley is co-director of HST-140, Molecular Medicine, a course in the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program in which he was enrolled 34 years ago.
The Harvard Medical School professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology says that even though the HST curriculum has evolved since he was a student, the London Society remains on the cutting edge of discovery, where the core philosophical strengths of the program are still the same.
“Teaching in the program has provided me with an opportunity to pay back the many mentors who have helped shaped my career. It combines the excitement of pursuit and discovery with the satisfaction of interpersonal relationships and mentorships,” said Daley.
Currently the director of the Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, Daley credits some of his own zeal for and success in science and medicine to the fact that he’s been able to teach alongside society founder Irving London, professor of medicine in Harvard University and in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, emeritus.
London, a renowned hematologist and geneticist, founded the society in 1970 after having been asked by Jerome Wiesner, then provost of MIT, and Robert Ebert, then dean of HMS, to serve as a consultant to help form a new program joining the two institutions.
London served as HST’s director until 1985, and remains a professor.
“This is a society where conversations truly extend out of the classroom. It is remarkable how classmates remain wonderful sources of inspiration and support for one another" - Alex Bick '16
Students of the HST program have been pushing boundaries since the society’s inception. Now celebrating its 41st anniversary, the program is the longest-surviving collaboration between Harvard and MIT.
With alumni such as David Ho ’78, Time magazine Man of the Year in 1996 for his pioneering research in AIDS and HIV, and David Page ’82, current director of the Whitehead Institute, the HST program has a tradition of cultivating leaders in science and medicine.
Research and Clinical work
Unique within the HMS community, the HST program offers a curriculum that combines both a rich research experience with clinical work to provide the knowledge and tools for students to excel as physician-scientists. Although it leads to an MD degree, it is tailored to students who have a strong interest in biomedical research careers, particularly in academic medicine.
What enhances the experience for many, however, is the camaraderie among students, faculty and alumni of the program.
Bradford Diephuis, ’16, noted that HST’s diverse but close community has a positive impact on student success.
“Because the students of my cohort all came from different experiences, we have all learned from each other as much as from our classes,” said Diephuis.
The program has two directors, both in the class of 1987, David Cohen director of HST at HMS, and Emery Brown director of HST at MIT. Cohen said that a key change within the society over the decades has been increased growth in enrollment from a variety of undergraduate institutions.
With their different educational backgrounds, he noted, it is common for students to encounter challenges within the breadth of subject matter that is presented in the HST curriculum. The strong support that students receive from each other and the faculty, however, plays a critical role in their success.
Cohen also noted another key change in program faculty since its inception—greater cross-institutional collaborations.
“Originally, HST was made up of a small group of very dedicated professors from Harvard and MIT. But as the years have gone by, more and more are alumni and hospital-based faculty teaching in the program.”
Strong Ties
HST’s tight-knit community and its unique learning environment are additional reasons why alumni maintain such strong ties to the program.
Former students remain committed even after they become alumni, many dedicating themselves to mentorship. They often attend a semi-annual dinner that aims to connect current and former students. Alex Bick ’16, said he feels this tradition of mentorship is a defining aspect of the HST program.
“This is a society where conversations truly extend out of the classroom. It is remarkable how classmates remain wonderful sources of inspiration and support for one another,” said Bick.
For students like Sana Raoof, a fourth-year MD-PhD student who is committed to combating tobacco-related diseases, the overwhelming support of faculty has been critical.
“As an HST student, you are showered with resources and a lot of people who are confident in you and your work,” said Raoof.
Faculty remain inspired by each cohort of students.
“I am constantly surprised, pleasantly amused and just awestruck by the quality of students who represent the program,” Daley said.
Former students remain committed even after they become alumni, many dedicating themselves to mentorship.
As the London Society has evolved over the years, Cohen said that every change has been made with a focus on optimizing student learning experiences.
“One of the nice things about HST is we listen very carefully after every course, and after every year, to what students tell us about their experiences. Often they can be very helpful in identifying how we can change the program to best suit their evolving styles of learning and educational needs,” he said.
Cohen said that a challenge for HST in the coming years will be to more fully leverage state-of-the-art teaching techniques and to foster collaborative approaches to learning.
“Whether it be online, supplemental exercises or labs, I think the program five years from now will look different in the way that the classroom is structured, and in the way students take a new ownership of their education,” he added.
Through these changes, and an ever-evolving curriculum, one thing is sure to remain the same. Students, faculty and alumni believe the London Society will remain the tight-knit and collaborative community that has successfully nurtured so many successful physician-scientists over the years.
