Microbiology:
Findings Recommend Herpes Vaccine for Human Trials
Immunology:
Genetic Battleground Marked Between HIV and Host
Biological Chemistry:
Disparate Proteins Structurally Identical
Neuroscience:
Brain Region Senses Setbacks, Redirects Action
Faculty Development:
First African-American Pediatrics Professor at HMS Asserts Value of Mentoring
Anti-angiogenesis Drug Improves Response To Radiation Therapy
Brain Wave Abnormalities May Explain Schizophrenic Hallucinations
Extended Shifts Raise Interns’ Risk of Having A Car Wreck
Cancer Institute Announces Awards to Speed Cancer Biomarker Discovery
MD-PhD Program Splits into Two Tracks
Faculty Applications Sought for Fellowship in Medical Education
Dale Named Dean for Research Integrity
News Brief
Honors and Advances
Baghdad to Boston and Back
Cancer Institute Announces Awards to Speed Cancer Biomarker Discovery
Two grants to accelerate cancer biomarker discoveries have been awarded by the National Cancer Institute, and one of the consortiums receiving the grants comprises four HMS faculty members. This group, led by Samir Hanash of the University of Michigan, includes Raju Kucherlapati, the Paul C. Cabot professor of genetics at HMS, and David Sarracino, both from the HMS–Partners Center for Genetics and Genomics; and Ronald DePinho, HMS professor of medicine (genetics), and Nabeel Bardeesy, HMS instructor in medicine, both from the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute. Through the NCI, SAIC-Frederick, Inc. (the operations and technical support contractor for the NCI) gave a $3.6 million, two-year grant for the collaborative effort, which will develop new approaches to the early detection and diagnosis of cancer. The teams will use transgenic mouse models to study proteomic technologies, compare results, and provide reference data sets and biological resources for use throughout the cancer research community. The long-term goal of the effort is to devise the first broad-based technological platform for the discovery and clinical validation of protein biomarkers for cancer. In total, 10 cancer research institutions and 17 researchers received funding through this grant.
 Allan Brandt Photo by Leah Gourley |
MD-PhD Program Splits into Two Tracks
To better accommodate students pursuing PhD work in the social sciences, the MD–PhD program at HMS has been divided into two tracks, one for the basic and one for the social sciences. Nancy Andrews, dean for basic sciences and graduate studies, an-nounced that Allan Brandt, the Amalie Moses Kass professor of the history of medicine in the Department of Social Medicine, has been appointed director of the social sciences track.
“I couldn’t be more pleased that Allan has agreed to take on this new role. He has been close to the MD–PhD Program for many years, has been a wonderful mentor for several of its students, and has exciting ideas for how to develop the new track,” Andrews said. “He splits his time between HMS and Cambridge, facilitating connections with social science departments on both sides of the river.”
Christopher A. Walsh, current director of the MD–PhD program and the Bullard professor of neurology at HMS and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, remains head of the basic sciences track. Linda Burnley, director of administration and finance, will continue to lead the administrative office supporting both tracks.
“Allan and Chris will be a terrific team, and I look forward to working with both of them,” Andrews said.
Faculty Applications Sought for Fellowship in Medical Education
The Rabkin Fellowship in Medical Education is requesting applications for a one-year fellowship from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006. The fellowship was established in 1998 to provide faculty with the opportunity to develop the expertise and skills needed to launch or advance academic careers in medical education or academic administration. Application is open to faculty based at all Harvard-affiliated clinical institutions. The goals of the program are to assist faculty in the development and further enhancement of their skills as clinician-educators; to provide the opportunity to conduct scholarly research in an area of interest and importance within medical education; to support the fellows as educational leaders and change agents within the academic medical center; and to create a community of clinician-educators who continually strive to improve clinical teaching and enrich the field of medical education overall. The deadline for receipt of applications is Feb. 4, 2005, at 5 p.m. Application materials may be downloaded from the Shapiro Institute for Education and Research website at http://bidmc.harvard.edu/rabkinfellowship. Inquiries may be directed to Lori Newman at 617-667-4742 or via e-mail at lnewman@bidmc.harvard.edu.
 Margaret Dale Photo by Rachel Meyer |
Dale Named Dean for Research Integrity
Margaret Dale, formerly associate dean for faculty affairs and director of the Office for Research Issues at HMS, has been appointed dean for faculty and research integrity. Dale’s areas of responsibility will include scientific misconduct and conflict of interest, human and animal research subject protection, research compliance, and other matters related to research integrity and faculty activities. In her position as dean, she will also provide leadership for the formulation of HMS policies addressing these issues.
Dale received an AB degree from Middlebury College and a JD from Boston University. Prior to coming to Harvard in 1991, she served as deputy general counsel for the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and as general counsel for the Massachusetts Department of Personnel Administration.
“Margaret Dale brings extensive experience and extraordinarily good judgment in dealing with the important responsibilities of her position,” said Raphael Dolin, dean for academic and clinical programs at HMS.
News Brief
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has renamed its Minority Medical Faculty Development Program in honor of Harold Amos, the late Maude and Lillian Presley professor emeritus of microbiology and molecular genetics at HMS. The program will now be known as the Amos Minority Medical Faculty Development Program, and its awardees will be known as Amos Scholars. Amos was the first director of the Minority Medical Faculty Program after his retirement.
Honors and Advances
Myron Belfer, HMS professor of psychiatry in the Department of Social Medicine, has been elected president of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions. The association is the umbrella organization for more than 60 national groups devoted to child mental health teaching, research, and practice.
Jonathan Borus, professor of psychiatry at HMS and chairman of the Brigham and Women’s and Faulkner hospitals Department of Psychiatry, was presented with the lifetime achievement award of the Association for Academic Psychiatry at the association’s annual meeting in Albuquerque in October. Borus also presented the meeting’s keynote address, titled, “Preparing, Becoming, and Being a Leader in Psychiatry.”
Louis Kunkel, Howard Hughes investigator and HMS professor of pediatrics and of genetics at Children’s Hospital Boston, has received the Allan Award, the highest honor given by the American Society of Human Genetics. Kunkel is also director of the Program in Genomics at Children’s and has concentrated his research on muscular dystrophy. The Allan Award recognizes substantial and far-reaching contributions to human genetics.
Marie McCormick, the Sumner and Esther Feldberg professor of maternal and child health at HSPH, received the David Rall Medal for her outstanding leadership of the Committee on Immunization Safety Review for the Institutes of Medicine. She received the award at the annual meeting. McCormick headed a group of health professionals to assess the validity of immunization safety concerns. The group produced five reports that informed federal policy and that are available online to the public free of charge. They include an investigation of a suggested link between autism and the measles–mumps–rubella vaccine.
Ralph Weissleder, HMS professor of radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, has been given the 20th annual J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in medicine by the Robarts Research Institute. Joseph Fontana, Canadian Minister of Labour and Housing, announced that a $2.3 million grant will fund a collaboration between Weissleder and Brian Rutt, head of the cardiovascular imaging research program at Robarts Research Institute in London. This grant is jointly funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Rutt and Weissleder will develop and apply methods in molecular imaging to measure the activity of a particular enzyme.
Nika Danial, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Stanley Korsmeyer, the Sidney Farber professor of pathology at HMS and Dana–Farber Cancer Center, has received a $500,000 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences to support her in making the transition to an independent investigator. Danial studies biochemical pathways that enable cells to ward off apoptosis.
Joslin Diabetes Center has awarded the first Mary K. Iacocca faculty fellowship to Ulrich von Andrian, HMS professor of pathology and senior investigator at the CBR Institute for Biomedical Research. The fellowship is a one-year sabbatical with a $100,000 stipend and was funded through the Iacocca Foundation endowment at Joslin. It is designed to attract senior scientists to Joslin to study broad areas of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and related complications. Von Andrian plans to set up a new microscopy model at Joslin to view the interaction between islet and immune cells to determine why islet cells malfunction and cause type 1 diabetes.
The Massachusetts Health Council Award has been given to JudyAnn Bigby, HMS associate professor of medicine at HMS and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Bigby is also the medical director of Community Health Programs at BWH and director of the HMS Center of Excellence in Women’s Health. She was recognized for her devotion to addressing the health care needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable populations.
Gerald Koocher, HMS lecturer on psychiatry at Children’s Hospital Boston and dean of the School for Health Studies at Simmons College, has been elected president of the American Psychological Association (APA) for 2006. Koocher has a combination of research, teaching, and clinical experience that focuses on the professional and ethical aspects of psychology practice and scientific research. The APA is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world’s largest association of psychologists.
HSPH dean Barry Bloom has been elected to the American Philosophical Society, the country’s first learned society, founded by Benjamin Frank-lin in 1743. The society has nearly 900 members worldwide, promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities, and sponsors five research grant and fellowship programs.
The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience has awarded a $1.8 million grant for research aimed at diagnosing, preventing, and treating injuries or diseases of the brain and spinal cord to Stefan Heller, HMS assistant professor of otology and laryngology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Heller shares the grant with John Brigande of Oregon Health and Science University. They will work on stem cell–based therapy for hereditary hearing loss.
Alvin Poussaint, HMS professor of psychiatry at Judge Baker Children’s Center and faculty associate dean for student affairs, was given a lifetime achievement award from the National Medical Fellowships (NMF). NMF is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health of underserved communities. Poussaint was commended for his expertise on race relations in America, the dynamics of prejudice, and issues of diversity in a multicultural society.
Andrew Warshaw, the W. Gerald Austen professor of surgery at HMS and head of the Department of Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, was inducted as first vice president of the American College of Surgeons Professional Association (ACSPA). The ACSPA is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice.