The National Football League players union, alarmed that its members die nearly 20 years earlier on average than other American men, has selected Harvard University to oversee a $100 million accelerated research initiative aimed at treating and ultimately preventing the broad-ranging health problems plaguing the athletes.
The author profiles parents from Wisconsin who had a baby born with a rare disorder in which part of the brain was exposed, covered in skin, outside the head. The baby underwent groundbreaking surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital. John Meara and Mark Proctor, both HMS associate professors of surgery, led the team to operate on the baby boy who is now on the road to recovery.
For the millions of Baby Boomers coming up on retirement, making investments in exercising, having fun, making new friends and continuing to learn are the closest thing to finding the fountain of youth, according to Harvard researchers. Robert Waldinger, HMS associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, is the director of the study.
Robert Stickgold, HMS associate professor of psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, participated in a Q&A with CommonHealth about the role that sleep plays in consolidating memories.
Researchers are working on understanding “superbugs,” which are extraordinarily resilient bacteria that tend to infect hospital patients, and even kill those who are extremely ill.Robert Moellering, the Shields Warren-Mallinckrodt Professor of Medical Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is one of the scientists studying this issue.
The paradox of modern medicine is that the increasing specialization that has revolutionized care has also depersonalized it. When a mistake is suspected, it may be unclear who from a team must step in to take responsibility. A recent study by Harvard researchers about medical liability costs is cited.
The chief executive officer of an HCA-owned hospital recently went undercover, wearing a two-day-old beard and a baseball cap to pose as a patient entering his hospital. His goal: spot service flaws and get them fixed. Steffie Woolhandler, a visiting professor of medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance and Kenneth Sands, HMS associate professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, are quoted.
