At a November conference in Dubai, sponsored by the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research, Barbara McNeil gives the keynote address, discussing population sciences and issues such as the error of applying clinical trial data too generally; McNeil is the chair of the HMS Department of Health Care Policy. Photo by Jasmin Mehovic, DHFMR.The end of autumn brought a harvest from international science collaborations, one between HMS and Dubai and another between the School and Portugal. Both programs held conferences overseas that presented fruits of the kind of research they support.

The November “Partners in Research” conference, held in Dubai, was the fourth annual conference sponsored by the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research. The event has become one of the most recognized among scientists in the Middle East, particularly for its genetics research.

In December, the Harvard Medical School–Portugal Program, dedicated to translational investigations across medical schools and research labs in Portugal—and to health information—held its first annual symposium. The event, in Lisbon, delineated many important areas of interest: aging, cancer, viral infection, the role of adipose tissue, brain disorders, malaria, and others.

Further coverage of the two conferences:


The Harvard Medical School–Portugal Program held its first annual symposium in December. At the event in Lisbon are (from left) Tom Kirchhausen, program director at HMS; Maria Carmo Fonseca, program director in Portugal; and Mariano Gago, the Portuguese minister of science, technology and higher education. Photo by David Clifford.