The author writes about the link between medicine and music. According to the work of Harvard Medical School professor Allen Steere, over 70 percent of doctors have received musical training. Physician musicians Leonard Zon, professor of stem cell and regenerative biology at Boston Children’s Hospital; Lisa Wong, assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital; and Terry Buchmiller, assistant professor of surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital, are highlighted.
For decades an ordinary picnic cooler has been the best way to transport donated organs. One entrepreneur thinks we can do much better — and save more lives. Francis Delmonico, clinical professor of surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, is quoted.
After nearly a year of campaigning to ban a procedure favored by the medical community and dealing with his wife’s life-threatening cancer diagnosis, Hooman Noorchashm, lecturer on surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said he finally feels his family is on solid ground again. Noorchashm, a cardio-thoracic surgeon, and his wife Amy Reed, a certified-anesthesiologist, spearheaded a campaign last fall to ban the practice of using laparoscopic power morcellation in the removal of uterine fibroids or the uterus due to possible cancer risks.
According to new research, three-quarters of astronauts in a 10-year study reported using sleeping pills such as zolpidem and zaleplon during nights in space, a worrisome finding because the medications can jeopardize the ability to quickly wake up and respond to emergencies, the researchers said. Laura K. Barger, instructor in medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is the lead author.
Analysis of gut bacteria in stool samples improved detection of colon cancer or precancerous polyps by fives times compared with a standard fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and risk factors, investigators reported. Andrew T. Chan, associate professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, is quoted.
Research showing that graduate students in psychology learn little about military medical ethics and international human rights laws is featured in this piece on the connection between ethics education and torture. J. Wesley Boyd, lead author of the study and an HMS assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance, is quoted.
A computer program run by epidemiologists in Boston had already alerted key agencies of the U.S. government about West Africa’s Ebola outbreak four days before the World Health Organization first announced it. John Brownstein, associate professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, is a cofounder of Healthmap.org, a group that scours social media and online news sources for early signs of disease outbreaks.
Harvard researchers have gleaned a clue as to how one of the most devastating and mysterious neurodegenerative diseases eventually causes patients to lose control of the ability to walk, speak, and breathe – suggesting a possible new approach for developing drugs. Kevin Eggan, professor of stem cell and regenerative biology at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, led the research.
Sheila Nutt, director of educational outreach in the Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership, authored this post about mentoring. She features the work of Joan Y. Reede, dean for Diversity and Community Partnership, who launched the Minority Faculty Development Program to increase diversity among the HMS faculty and Project Success, which aims to increase awareness about and exposure to careers in the biomedical sciences for students from under-represented groups and disadvantaged backgrounds who reside in Boston and Cambridge. Edward K. Brown Jr, who graduated from HSDM, is also featured.
Annie Brewster, instructor in medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, authored this post and produced the audio about a patient who shared her story about navigating infertility.
