Leder Program Gains Grant From Howard Hughes

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has awarded $800,000 to HMS’s new Leder Medical Sciences (LMS) program, a graduate program in translational research for the Quad’s basic science students.

The LMS program, led by Connie Cepko (pictured), HMS professor of genetics, uses coursework, medical conferences, and clinical rounds to familiarize PhD students in the basic sciences with both medical research and the environment in which it is conducted.

“I think this award shows that we put together a really good program,” said Cepko. “This is the result of the efforts of many people.”

The grant is one of 13 that HHMI awarded this month for graduate programs that combine science and medicine. Said HHMI president Thomas Cech, “At a time when science and medicine must work hand in hand to solve problems of human health and disease, we want to help change graduate education to increase the pool of scientists who are doing medically oriented research.”

For more on LMS, see Focus, Sept. 30, 2005.

Haber Named to Schwartz Professorship in Oncology

At the Feb. 2 celebration of the Laurel W. Schwartz Professorship in Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital president Peter Slavin praised the donor Laurel Schwartz for her continued generosity in funding cancer programs at the hospital with this, the second professorship she has supported. Daniel Haber (shown at right with Schwartz), director of the MGH Cancer Center, was named the first incumbent. Among the speakers at the event, Kurt Isselbacher, the Mallinckrodt distinguished professor of medicine at MGH, who directed the MGH Cancer Center prior to Haber, said in trying to think of a word that would relate to both Schwartz and Haber, he came up with gem since both “are truly remarkable and rare gems.” Laurel Schwartz, after receiving an inscribed Revere bowl from Raphael Dolin, HMS dean for academic and clinical programs, described her satisfaction at seeing her gifts help the progress of elucidating cancer. “I feel it’s been the plague of our century,” she said. In introducing Haber toward the end of the program, Bruce Chabner, HMS professor of medicine at MGH and clinical director of the MGH Cancer Center, said, “Daniel Haber has brought genetics to the bedside.” He characterized the incumbent as the “foremost example of the scientist-clinician.” Among his research achievements, Haber has identified molecular therapies for cancer that promise the ability to tailor treatments to individual patients (see Research Briefs). Haber expressed his gratitude for the appointment, giving particular thanks to his lab members for their hard work. “What makes it so exciting and rewarding,” he said, “is the feeling that we’re finally starting to make a difference.”

Academy Inaugurates Teaching Center

The Academy at HMS will celebrate the opening of its new Academy Center for Teaching and Learning on March 1. The mission of the center is to create, implement, and evaluate educational faculty development programs, as well as to assess faculty teaching and to support the faculty’s educational endeavors. At the celebration, Michael Sandel, the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass professor of government at Harvard University will deliver a keynote address on “The Art of Teaching.” A reception will be held from 5:00 until 6:00 p.m. in the Courtyard Café; the lecture will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the Armenise Building’s D Amphitheater.

Bristol–Myers Discovery Grants Honor Two Faculty Members

Two HMS investigators have been awarded 2006 Bristol–Myers Freedom to Discover grants. The $50,000 awards are part of a program to provide no-strings-attached support for innovative biomedical research and are presented in six categories. Margaret James Koziel, HMS associate professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, won the infectious diseases grant for her investigations of cellular immune responses to the hepatitis C virus. David Altshuler, HMS associate professor of genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital, won a grant in the metabolic diseases category for his efforts to characterize and explore the clinical application of genetic information to improve diagnosis and clinical management.

Diversity Town Forum to Be Held on Quad

A town forum on diversity will be held on March 8 in the TMEC amphitheater from 12:30 until 2:00 p.m. Vivian Pinn, director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health, will give the keynote address. Joseph Martin, HMS dean of the faculty of medicine; Evelynn Hammonds, senior vice provost for faculty development and diversity at Harvard University; and Joan Reede, HMS dean for diversity and community partnership, will also give remarks. The forum is co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean, the Office for Diversity and Community Partnership, and the Office of Faculty Affairs. RSVPs are requested by Monday, March 6; e-mail ann_price@hms.harvard.edu to attend.

Soros Fellows Named at Medical School

Three HMS students were among the 30 new Paul and Daisy Soros New American fellows for 2006. The fellowships, which provide $20,000 and half of tuition costs for up to two years, support graduate study by first- and second-generation Americans. The HMS recipients are Elizabeth Kwo (top), a first-year student and creator of the Nepal Clinical Internship at the Kanti Children’s Hospital in Nepal; Theodore Marentis (middle), a third-year HST student and co-inventor on a renal dialysis patent; and Antonio Perez, a first-year MD–MBA student and Howard Hughes research fellow who is helping to develop stem cell therapies for muscular dystrophy.

Applications Requested for Medical Education Fellowships

The Academy at HMS is currently requesting applications for the Academy Fellowships in Medical Education. HMS faculty members with appointments of five years or less and experience as teachers and educators are eligible to apply. Fellows will receive a stipend of $25,000 and commit at least 20 percent of their time to the fellowship. Applications are due on March 27; fellowship awards will be announced in May. The fellowships will be funded from July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007.

Information and applications can be found by going to http://ecommons.med.harvard.edu, searching for “academy,” and then clicking on “RFA for Academy Fellowships in Medical Education.” For more information, contact Emily Rickards at 617-432-5409 or emily_rickards@hms.harvard.edu.

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