Genetics:
Protein Reverses Chromatin Engineering
Biological Chemistry:
Molecule Implicated in Transcription Termination
Structural Biology:
DNA Splicing Enzyme Observed in Action
Scientific Symposium:
Fashions Change in Modeling Disease
Chronic Periodontitis Differs at the Microbial Level in Populations Worldwide
Brain Structure for Reward and Punishment Smaller in Cocaine Addicts
Brigham Celebrates 50th Anniversary of First Human Organ Transplant
Beth Israel Assumes Academic Oversight of Mass. Mental Health Faculty
Joslin Names Conley Chairman of the Board
Academic Officer Tapped for HMI Dubai Project
Macklis Receives Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award
Global Citizen Award Goes to Bill Moyers
HMS Family Health Guide Published in Paperback
New Appointments to Full Professor
Honors and Advances
Community Celebrates a Child's First Laugh
Letter to The Editor
On behalf of 88 medical and dental students at Harvard University, I write to express our grave concern over recent actions by the Bush administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that emphasize "abstinence only" messages. These efforts have led to distorted sexual education information in the United States and misleading data on international HIV/AIDS research, funding, and public health. When ideology interferes with sound science, it perpetuates stigma and discrimination while weakening our ability to promote public health.The CDC has proposed changes to AIDS prevention campaigns that would emphasize the "lack of effectiveness" of condoms in public education materials while removing material that may be "offensive" to the general public. These messages, targeted at high-risk populations, will be useless when altered so drastically.
We have tools of prevention at hand--condoms, sexual education, and needle exchange programs--but our ability to use these tools is under attack. As medical and dental students, we have a professional obligation to protect the rights of our patients, including the right to accurate information and the most effective available resources. Sound science, not ideology, must drive public health policy worldwide.
Meera Kotagal
HMS '08
Cosigners:
D. Ying Wu
Lauren Goldstein
Katherine Kimbrell
Sarah Abbett
John Szumowki
Sarah Kempe-Mehl
Kanu Okike
Mina Le
Kathleen Oldread
Louis Rivera
Raquel Reyes
Riley Bove
Ziad Obermeyer
Caitlin Higgins
Jonathan Welch
Rebecca Joy Spencer
Jeffrey Ben Watson
Sang W. Kim
Stacy Truta
Lauren Dara Gold
Daniel Benjamin Horton
Sol Schulman
Elizabeth Morrison
Andrea Elise Spencer
Gloria Hou
Teresa Sora Kim
Zayed Muhammed Yasin
Omar Sultan Haque
James Solomon Davis
Zachary Scott Morris
Andrew Peter Dervan
Neo Millicent Tapela
Lauren Ashley Henderson
Matthew Zerden
Sona Chikarmane
Karen Bos
Kristy Rialon
Andrew Fuller
Ana Mata-Fink
Jennifer Jaggi
David Stark
Sharon Fox
Jamey Snell Kotagal
Luis Verduzco
Yehoshua Levine
James Rapley
David King Lee
Kimberly Collins
Jennifer Chen
Ramon Partida
Emily Pinto-Wong
Sarah Sterward
Jaqueline Hom
Mollie Lebowitz
Anosheh Afghahi
Melissa Coleman
Lisa Podgurski
Elise Cheng
Kelly Slack
Christine Pace
Ingrid Ganske
Ani Khondkaryan
Rob Meisner
Libby Schaefer
Peter Liang
Risha Irby
Daphney Frederique
Nathan Irvin
Aurora Quaye
Dan Steinhaus
Joshua Ng
Vivek Garg
Bryce Wolf
Atul Kamath
James Ross
Jennifer Lewey
Kelly Edwards
Genevieve Daftary
Sarah Psutka
Apurva Patel
Eric Feins
Lindsay Freud
Jennifer Erdrich
Beverly Du
Anya Lepp
Sunshine Dwojak
Dominika Seidman
Jennifer Stevens