A Metaphor for the Graduates continued on page 5 It always amazes me to look over the thesis topic of the graduating MD-PhD students, to see how diverse a group it is, and how their work resonates with what is the finest and most exciting stuff in biomedical science. I guess that is said partly out of a sense of pride, because a lot of the papers published by this particular group of graduating students are in fact among the finest work of the last few years. In the tremendous diversity of topics, some com- mon themes emerge, especially in the areas of development and regulatory control. For instance, we have Victoria Wang’s studies of how the transcription factor, Oct-1 controls so many diverse aspects of organ development, or David Miyamoto’s work on how kinesins function in the cell cycle. Or Sunny Haparvat’s studies of how the devel- opment of the retina is controlled by thyroid hormone, starting to put a developmental perspective on the widely known importance of thy- roid hormone to brain develop- ment. Some students might have considered collaborating, since Tom Deuel and Vassilios Bezzerides were both studying the elongation of axons in the developing brain, and Eric Osborn’s studies of actin dynamics in endothelial cells would prob- ably have given important information to both of them, and maybe Eric and Jason Commander had some interesting conversations, given Jason’s interest in the function of endothelial cells in the inflammatory response. The theme of regulatory control connects Emanuela Binello’s studies of immune regulation and cardiac rejection, and Jay Chyung’s studies of regulation of the proteins that cause Alzheimer’s disease, as well as Wes Ulm’s analysis of viral restriction and the retroviral proteins that cause this phenomenon. Arlo Miller also defined how the melanoma proteins are regulated by the microph- thalmai protein, David Berry focused on how glycosaminoglycans regulate so many diverse aspects of cellular func- tion, and Yonatan Grad took a bioinfor- matics approach to hunt through entire genomes to identify sequences that reg- 2 A YEAR OF BONDING 4 BREAD AND CIRCUS 5 MENTORING DINNER SERIES 6 PROGRAM NOTES 9 FOR THE RECORD Contents BY DR. CHRIS A. WALSH The MD-PhD Class of 2006 with Dr. Chris Walsh (far left) at the program’s annual spring dinner held on June 6, 2006. Front row (left) Emanuela Binello, Jay Chyung, David Miyamoto, Victoria Wang, Eric Osborn, Jacob Ulm; Back row (left) David Berry, Thomas Deuel, Vassilios Bezzerides, Yonatan Grad, Jason Camander. Not pictured: Sanjiv Harpavat and Arlo Miller. IN THIS EDITION, we celebrate the end of a busy and productive acade- mic year in which enrollment includes 148 MD-PhD students in various stages of training working towards completion of their dual degrees at Harvard and/or MIT. While we welcomed 12 new students last July (see page 2), we congratulated 13 graduates leaving the program this June with the 20th anni- versary celebratory dinner with special remarks by Dr. Chris Walsh and Dr. Vassilios Bezzerides speaking on behalf of his class. — Linda Burnley, editor MD-PhD Program HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL newsletter spring/summer 2006 ■ vol. 17 ■ no. 1 Director’s remarks to the graduates at the Annual Spring Dinner held on June 6, 2006 Relationships in Science as in Life
12
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Transcript
A Metaphor for the Graduates
continued on page 5
It always amazes me to look over the
thesis topic of the graduating MD-PhD
students, to see how diverse a group it
is, and how their work resonates with
what is the finest and most exciting
stuff in biomedical science. I guess that
is said partly out of a sense of pride,
because a lot of the papers published
by this particular group of graduating
students are in fact among the finest
work of the last few years. In
the tremendous diversity of topics, some com-
mon themes emerge, especially in the areas
of development and regulatory control.
For instance, we have Victoria Wang’s
studies of how the transcription factor,
Oct-1 controls so many diverse aspects
of organ development, or David
Miyamoto’s work on how kinesins
function in the cell cycle. Or Sunny
Haparvat’s studies of how the devel-
opment of the retina is controlled
by thyroid hormone, starting to put
a developmental perspective on the
widely known importance of thy-
roid hormone to brain develop-
ment. Some students might have
considered collaborating, since Tom
Deuel and Vassilios Bezzerides were
both studying the elongation of axons
in the developing brain, and Eric
Osborn’s studies of actin dynamics in endothelial cells would prob-
ably have given important information to both of them, and maybe
Eric and Jason Commander had some interesting conversations,
given Jason’s interest in the function of endothelial cells in the
inflammatory response.
The theme of regulatory control connects Emanuela Binello’s
studies of immune regulation and cardiac rejection, and Jay
Chyung’s studies of regulation of the
proteins that cause Alzheimer’s disease,
as well as Wes Ulm’s analysis of viral
restriction and the retroviral proteins
that cause this phenomenon. Arlo
Miller also defined how the melanoma
proteins are regulated by the microph-
thalmai protein, David Berry focused
on how glycosaminoglycans regulate so
many diverse aspects of cellular func-
tion, and Yonatan Grad took a bioinfor-
matics approach to hunt through entire
genomes to identify sequences that reg-
2A YEAR OF BONDING
4BREAD AND CIRCUS
5MENTORING DINNER SERIES
6PROGRAM NOTES
9FOR THE RECORD
Contents
BY DR. CHRIS A. WALSH
The MD-PhD Class of 2006 with Dr. Chris Walsh (far left) at the program’s annual spring dinner held on June 6, 2006. Frontrow (left) Emanuela Binello, Jay Chyung, David Miyamoto, Victoria Wang, Eric Osborn, Jacob Ulm; Back row (left) DavidBerry, Thomas Deuel, Vassilios Bezzerides, Yonatan Grad, Jason Camander. Not pictured: Sanjiv Harpavat and Arlo Miller.
IN THIS EDITION,
we celebrate the end of a
busy and productive acade-
mic year in which enrollment
includes 148 MD-PhD students
in various stages of training
working towards completion
of their dual degrees at Harvard
and/or MIT. While we welcomed
12 new students last July (see
page 2), we congratulated 13
graduates leaving the program
this June with the 20th anni-
versary celebratory dinner with
special remarks by Dr. Chris
Walsh and Dr. Vassilios
Bezzerides speaking on
behalf of his class.
— Linda Burnley, editor
MD-PhDProgramHARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
n e w s l e t t e rspring/summer 2006 ■ vol. 17 ■ no. 1
Director’s remarks to the graduates at the AnnualSpring Dinner held on June 6, 2006
Relationships in Science as in Life
2 HARVARD MD-PHD PROGRAM n e w s l e t t e r
Aseemingly disparate group of aspiring scientists and clini-cians, this year’s MD-PhD class brings with it a variety ofinterests, both academic and extracurricular. From the
moment our summer course began, there was excitement allaround. We quickly came together through Sunday night VanderbiltHall potlucks, daytrips around Boston, and late night treks for icecream. In the coming years, we expect this bond to grow strongerand to be a source of support within our group. Despite our variedobsession with the Red Sox or Yankees, 9 pm bedtimes versus mid-night Minipreps, and love for warm weather compared to the frigidchills of Boston, our group shares a strong common interest in thepursuit of free food and, of course, a little bit of research if time per-mits.
Below are short descriptions of each of the members of the first-year class. These blurbs highlight the diverse backgrounds of thegroup, and the tremendous contribution that such diversity is sureto make in our future development as physician-scientists.
Katrina Abuabara, a native of Northern California, stayed true toher roots and graduated from Stanford University in 2001 with a BAin human biology and a MA in sociology. She then migrated southto Mexico City, where she worked on reproductive health epidemi-ology in Latin America. She has since focused on disease modelingand decision analysis at UCSF and the Harvard School of PublicHealth, and is currently interested in infectious disease and interna-tional health policy. Even after two years in Boston, she still isn’t con-vinced that winter is a time to be indoors, and you may just find herbundled in down, biking along the Charles or jogging in Brookline.
Joseph Franses was born inWest Lafayette, Indiana, andattended Purdue University,where he earned bachelorsdegrees in chemistry and chemi-cal engineering in 2005. Aftercollege, he married his highschool and college sweetheart,Nicole Waples, before coming toHMS. In his spare time he enjoysplaying on the dominant HSTintramural basketball team,reading, trying to not forget howto play the piano, and findingmore things that need to be fixedin his new condo. Joseph’s pastresearch interests included inter-facial chemistry and engineer-ing, organometallic chemistry,and biochemical engineering;his current research interests
include cardiovascular drug delivery, biomaterials, and vascularbiology. He hopes to, in chronological order: own a dog, have somekids, and become a cardiologist and researcher. Joseph is very hon-ored to be part of such a fantastic group of colleagues.
Vijay Ganesh was born and raised in upstate New York. As he head-ed to Harvard to pursue a degree in biology, his prescient mothertold him that his good fortunes would follow him to Boston.Unfortunately, this has come to mean that in the six years since heleft his hometown, the N.Y. Yankees and N.Y. Giants have failed towin a single championship, while the historically inept Red Sox andPatriots have experienced unprecedented luck. Perhaps as a testa-ment to his emotional fortitude, Vijay decided to remain in Bostonfor his MD-PhD. He is excited to continue his research training inneuroscience. Though he knows that a career as a physician-scien-tist is difficult to craft, what he has witnessed in Boston and abroadtells him that anything is possible. This delusion keeps him moti-vated, and his first-rate classmates in HST keep him happy—bothin class, and on the tennis, basketball, and squash courts.
Marie Hollenhorst is from Saratoga, California. She attendedStanford University, where she studied biology and did research onthe molecular mechanism of T cell anergy. After graduating, shemade the strange choice to trade Palo Alto’s palm-tree-lined streetsfor the gray skies of Boston. Luckily, in Boston she found a group offriendly and smart MD/PhD students who proved to be just crazyenough to merit spending 7-8 years with. In the future, Marie hopesto combine her passions for chemistry, biology, and medicine into asuccessful career that will still allow her to have time for her favoriteactivity: sleeping!
Honor Hsin graduated from Harvard College in 2005 with a degreein biochemical sciences. She currently aspires to pursue her interestsin molecular neuroscience and forensic psychiatry at MIT and
First-Year MD-PhDs Now Ready for Next Step
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
A Year of Bonding
Erin Loeliger and Marie Hollenhorst at the first Joslin/MD-PhD Program poster symposium in August 2005.
EditorLinda Burnley
Assistant EditorJanelle McCluskey
DesignerKathleen Sayre
This newsletter is published twice a year since it was first published in 1990.
PHOTO CREDITS: LINDA BURNLEY, MOSHE JAKUBOWSKI, LIZA GREEN
3
Harvard, respectively. In her spare time sheenjoys running in the gym before class andreading books and articles on foreign affairsand defense policy.
Erin Loeliger was raised on the fair shores ofMaryland’s Chesapeake Bay and attendedthe University of Maryland BaltimoreCounty, graduating with a major in bio-chemistry and a minor in philosophy for anice balanced academic diet. During hertime at UMBC, Erin worked in a structuralbiochemistry lab studying viral proteins ofHIV. Her current research interests includevirology and stem cell biology. She spendsher free time pursuing her back-up career ofballroom dancing, pondering the meaningof life and other unanswerable questionsand trying to learn how to cook withoutburning her kitchen down. Erin feelsimmeasurably lucky to be a member of sucha fabulous class.
Athar Malik, a native of southeast Michigan,graduated from the Johns HopkinsUniversity in 2005 with a degree in biomed-ical engineering. Athar’s undergraduateexperiences investigating cartilage tissueengineering excited him about the therapeu-tic potential of stem cells and tissue engi-neering. However, he recently became evenmore excited by the field of neuroscience andis now planning on working in a cellular andmolecular neuroscience laboratory.Motivated principally by his faith as anAhmadi Muslim, Athar hopes to improveunderstanding of normal and pathologicprocesses in the human body through his
career as a physician-scientist. As an avidathlete, Athar regularly makes time to playpickup games of basketball and squash withhis colleagues.
Peter Miller is a “southern” lad from Atlanta,GA, but has been in Boston for the past fiveyears. As a 2005 graduate of MIT with a dualB.S. in chemical engineering and biology, heis most interested in cancer research,although he has also worked in biochemicalengineering and immunology in the past.Outside of class he enjoys sports, “straightchillin’ and illin’” with colleagues, and log-ging onto MyCourses. Other than that, Peterlooks forward to many, many, many years ofeducation and hopes to run a lab, practicepediatric oncology, and cure cancer by theage of thirty four.
Sidharth Puram is perhaps the only onewho considers Boston a spring break desti-nation. Born and raised in Minnesota, heviews Boston as a pleasant escape from theoccasional minus-30-degree wind chills ofhis home. As a former MIT student studyingbiology and neuroscience, he worked in thelab of Dr. Bob Langer on DNA delivery usingpolymer microspheres. However, in theupcoming years he hopes to “ditch the engi-neering,” and pick up some good old-fash-ioned biology, a.k.a. droning the days awaywith Western Blots. In his copious amountsof free time, Sid enjoys scuba diving, playingsquash, and participating in photo shootswith his HST colleagues. Although a neuro-science focused research career is his mostlikely aspiration, he feels confident that if all
else fails, he can fall back on a career of pro-fessional “car on frozen lake” driving andsnow football. You’ll know you’ve found himwhen you see the guy without a jacket in thedead of the Boston winter.
Xavier Rios-Villanueva used to live inPuerto Rico, where he did his undergradstudies in industrial biotechnology. Heenjoys explaining to people the “special”relationship between Puerto Rico and theUS, and how he is not really an internation-al student. In addition, he wishes to becomea better salsa dancer and spends a consider-able amount of his free time learning aboutthe Japanese culture and language via anime.Currently he is interested in applying sys-tems biology approaches to stem cells andhuman metabolism and, as a pastime, won-ders why people decided to build cities inplaces where winter lasts six months.
Takahiro Soda is a son of one of thoseJapanese “salarymen” who thought he wasbeing sent to the USA for 2 or 3 years andwould soon return to Japan and live an aver-age life. However, his family ended up stay-ing here for a long time. As a result, Takahirograduated from UCLA with a degree in neu-roscience. He has taken part in research onHuntington’s disease and is interested in psy-chiatric illnesses. When Takahiro is not inclass, he is sleeping, playing soccer, or eating,sometimes all at the same time. His drive inlife is to consume mass quantities of goodfood. He somehow plans to achieve this endthrough a career involving research and careof psychiatric illness.
HARVARD MD-PHD PROGRAM n e w s l e t t e r
From left to right: Katrina Abuabara, Vijay Ganesh, Athar Malik, Marie Hollenhorst, XavierRios, Erin Loeliger, Peter Miller, Honor Hsin, Joseph Franses, Taka Soda, and Sid Puram.
4
Since September, the first and second yearMD-PhD classes have gathered weeklyfor the free exchange of ideas, and, of
course, free food. Our goal was to create aforum for informalpeer adv is ing andsocial interaction; theresult was much cama-raderie and a fascinat-ing series of studentand guest presenta-tions. The topics variedwidely with our diverseinterests, encompass-ing everything fromthe conventional to theunconventional, andthen the even less con-ventional.
Cr a i g M e r m e lbegan the series with an ethical debate on theright of a pharmacist to refuse emergency
contraception. Ben Rapoport later managedto overcome his micrographia long enough topresent an analysis of crossword strategy usingan overhead projector. In October, first yearstudent Peter Miller stepped up to thelunchtable with a truly novel topic: medicine.Using the second years as an overzealous con-sult service for the first year class, we collec-tively cracked the case “A Five Day Old GirlWith Leukocytosis.”
Ben Rapoport set a new standard of enter-tainment with his presentation “ExoticMedical Images: Raw Food Diets,” a review ofstrange but true vignettes from the photo-graphic archives of the New England Journalthat will make you think twice before orderingsushi again.
Sol Schulman continued the foray intopseudo-science with a talk on “ExecutivePrivilege: A Matter Of Life And Death,” sur-veying the dark medical secrets of the US pres-idents. After hearing circumstantial evidencethat our potent leader George ‘The PotomacStallion’ Washington may not have been sopotent, that president Harding likely sufferedfrom mumps orchitis, and that FDR was into
digital clubbing, we successfully completed aquiz matching president with pathology.
Dr. Thomas Stossel, Professor of Medicineat Harvard Medical School and the Brighamand Women’s Hospital, engaged us in a livelytalk and subsequent discussion on the rela-tionship between publicly and privately fund-ed research. A strong believer in the benefits offostering a close relationship between acade-mia and industry, Dr. Stossel highlightedrecent government regulation of such interac-tion and how we would be impacted as futurephysician-scientists.
The weekly lunches also provide a meansby which to implement more formal advising.Distinguished guests have included Dr. Walsh,Dr. Blacklow, Dr. Rupnick, and Dr. Dienstag,collectively covering topics ranging from laband graduate program selection to summerclinical clerkship opportunities.
The ancient Romans knew the only trueway to placate an oppressed working class, andsome things never change. Our busy ways pullour classes in many directions, but we contin-ue to look forward each week to our very ownbread and circus.
We are happyto introduce the
inaugural MD-PhD
Newsletter cartoon
by Ben Rapoport,
MD-PhD student now
entering his third
year in the program.
Ben began drawing
cartoons for elemen-
tary school spelling
assignments and
eventually went on
to draw editorial
cartoons for the
Harvard Crimson.
Bread and CircusSome things never change
The author, Sol Schulman
HARVARD MD-PHD PROGRAM n e w s l e t t e r
HARVARD MD-PHD PROGRAM n e w s l e t t e r
MENTORS AND ROLE MODELS are important, as we’ve
been told all our lives. For many of us, that’s how we got
here (and why we wanted to) in the first place. However,
as we make our way through the MD-PhD Program, it may seem
hard to locate role models who are able to maintain a clinical practice
while successfully pursuing academic research. So, we worked with
Dr. David Hafler and our program director, Dr. Chris Walsh, to begin
a series of dinners this past June to help address this issue.
The plan was, we could have a small group of MD-PhD students in
their lab years of their MD-PhD visit the homes of faculty who would
open their living rooms and their lives to the students, invite a few fac-
ulty friends, and chat with us over Thai food about how to make this
career path work. No powerpoint, no chalk talks—just straightforward
advice about the things you think about, but are never quite sure who
to ask—how do you move from your residency into a lab of your
own? How do you make time to have kids? How does tenure work?
How can you do all this and be happy and fulfilled?
So far, we’ve had four dinners. We began in June, 2005, with
Dr. Chris Walsh and his wife Dr. Ming Hui Chen and their lovely
daughters who invited Dr. Maria Rupnick to join us for Thai food and
a discussion of the proposed changes to the medical curriculum at
HMS. A few months later, Dr. Hafler and his wife Dr. Janet Hafler, and
their son Brian, who is a member of the MD-PhD Program, and their
younger son Jason, hosted a dinner in September, inviting us and Dr.
Laurie Glimcher, Dr. David Fisher and Dr. Michael Brenner out to West
Newton to enjoy a lovely fall day and conversation. We had a Chinese
New Year-themed dinner with Dr. Cynthia Morton in January, which
led to a great set of discussions about tenure, applying to residency and
the realities of the two academic-track parent families.
In April we were hosted by the Provost of Harvard University, Dr.
Steven Hyman and his wife Dr. Barbara Bierer, VP for Research at
BWH. It was a great opportunity to chat and get advice from a couple
who both hold key administrative positions. We’re also scheduling
dinners with Dr. David Altshuler and Dr. Joel Hirschhorn—if you
have any suggestions for dinners or if you’d like to help out, please
let me know!
So, what do you want to be when you grow up?
So, what do you want to be when you grow up?
BY SARAH E. HENRICKSON
ulate all different kinds of genes regardless of their
function.
And so it seems everything these days in science is
about relationships. How one thing regulates or relates
to another. As though the outer boundary lines of bio-
medical science are becoming sketched in—after all,
we know how many base pairs of DNA there are in our
genome, how many genes there are (approximately),
and there are fewer and fewer proteins out there with-
out names or ascribable functions. Genome sequenc-
ing projects are done with the big players humans and
mice and are now down to sequencing the nine-toed
hedgehog and the armadillo—no kidding—or to fig-
uring out how to sequence your genome or mine, and
not just Craig Ventor’s DNA or the DNA of Craig
Ventor’s pet dog. This maturity has led some people to
suggest that certain fields—like developmental genet-
ics—are becoming mature, and that tomorrow’s
Nature and Cell papers will have to come from some-
where else. Increasingly this somewhere else involves
working with a finite group of parts and focusing on
how they relate, because even with a finite number of
elements, we know that their relationships will still be
almost infinite.
And I guess that’s a metaphor for where we are
tonight. Because even though we are a finite group of
people, our relationships are potentially infinite and
much more interesting: relationships to families, to
friends, to our science, and to the science that is done
by our colleagues. That is where the real interest lies,
the “Cell papers of our life-times” not inside ourselves
as one piece, but how we relate. This is something I
find I have always done a very bad job of remembering
myself, and that I have been thinking of this week as I
was at my old school—the University of Chicago—
helping to celebrate the career of one of my former
teachers, and catching up with some old fellow stu-
dents. So with that, congratulations, good luck, and
may you have successful relationships.
Dr. Walsh is the HMS Bullard Professor of Neurology;
Chief of Genetics and Professor of Pediatrics at Children’s
Hospital; Howard Hughes Investigator at BIDMC; and
the Director of the MD-PhD Program since 2003.
METAPHOR FOR GRADUATES
5
c o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 1
PROGRAM
Program Submits 5-Year Competitive Renewal to NIHThe Harvard MD-PhD Program submitted its five-year competitive
renewal of its training grant to the NIH last January.
The grant was composed of 1,531 pages containing a comprehensive
report on the program’s progress over the past five years, including sup-
porting data for the $17.1M budget
request. Carefully detailed data tables
and analysis of the program’s adminis-
tration, finances, faculty, alumni, cur-
rent students and applicant pools sup-
ported the program’s request.
The program faculty and staff
worked for over two months to com-
plete the project. While the number of
MSTP trainee positions in the current
grant is 44, the program director, Dr. Chris A. Walsh, felt strongly that the
grant justified a budget increase to 50 trainee slots. Review of the grant
was held at the NIH on June 20, 2006 and a council decision is anticipat-
ed in October. The funding requested for the next five-year period is
anticipated to begin on July 1, 2007.
The finished grant before it was shipped to the NIH.
6HARVARD MD-PHD PROGRAM n e w s l e t t e r
The Days of Molecular Medicine Conferencethis past May in Stockholm, Sweden focused on Chronic
Inflammation. Marlys Fassett and Sarah Henrickson (below)
both fourth years in the program, traveled across the Atlantic
to hear great lectures, including those from HMS professors
Laurie Glimcher and Diane Mathis, and chat with colleagues over
posters from across the world. The conference showcased fantas-
tic science, from basic mechanisms of NFkB and innate immuni
ty to the clinical trials for thera-
pies for rheumatoid arthritis and
other autoimmune disorders. A
panel on the regulatory challenges
in the US and Europe for new
drugs generated spirited discus-
sion, as did the banquet at the
Vasa Museum, home to a 17th
century Swedish ship that made it
less than half an hour out of the
harbor on its maiden voyage
before sinking, only to be resur-
rected in the 1950s from
Stockholm Harbor. A wonderful
trip! Next year, the DMM confer-
ence will be at MGH and will
focus on Emerging Technology
and Human Disease.
Dr. Alan M. Michelson, MD-PhD class of 1986, and member of
the program’s faculty committees for the past 10 years, has accepted
a position as Associate Director for Basic Research at the National
Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. In this capacity, Dr. Michelson will
work with the NHLBI Director, Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, on extramural
basic science policy and the development of new research initiatives.
Dr. Michelson will also continue his own laboratory research as a
Senior Investigator in the NHLBI Division of Intramural Research.
Dr. Chris Walsh recognized Dr. Michelson’s role in the Program—
citing his outstanding contributions as chair of the Committee of
Advisors and member of the Executive Committee and
Subcommittee on Admissions—with a plaque presented to him at
the program’s dinner in honor of the graduates on June 6, 2006.
Parenthetically, Dr. Michelson was one of 8 graduates of the pro-
gram honored at the program’s first annual graduation dinner 20
years ago in 1986.
In the fall of 2004, the Executive Council of the AAMC approved a
proposal to establish a new MD-PhD Section of the GraduateResearch Education and Training (GREAT) Group. Membership
in this body includes the faculty who serve as the institutional lead-
ers of MD-PhD programs (MSTP and others) at medical schools.
The mission of the MD-PhD Section is to advance the education,
training and career development of physician-scientists, with an
emphasis on training in the MD-PhD programs of LCME accredited
medical schools. Both Dr. Chris Walsh and Ms. Linda Burnley are
members of the new MD-PhD Section with Linda serving as a
founding member of the MD-PhD Section’s Executive Committee as
well as co-chair of the data analysis committee.
MD-PhD Alumnus Dr. Robert L. Satcher, Jr. (MIT ’93), (HMS ’94)
gave the Robert H. Ebert Lecture “From Harvard to NASA: An Alumni
Perspective on Space, Medicine, and Astronauts” on April 28, 2006 as
part of the Alliance Revisitation Weekend events. Dr. Satcher was select-
ed by NASA in May 2004 and completed Astronaut Candidate Training
this past February as part of preparation for future
flight assignments as a mission specialist. Prior
to NASA training, he was Assistant Professor at
the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern
University, in Orthopaedic Surgery where he also
held appointments as an Attending Physician at
Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago special-
izing in musculoskeletal oncology and an adjunct
appointment in the biomedical engineering
department at Northwestern University.
✓
✓
✓Noted
Annual MD-PhD Programand Joslin Diabetes Poster SymposiumLast August, Dr. Joel Hirschhorn,
assistant professor of pediatrics
and genetics, associate director of
graduate education, collaborated
with Dr. Diane J. Mathis, profes-
sor of medicine at Joslin Diabetes
Center, to co-sponsor the first
annual MD-PhD Poster Symposium for the first and second year
students to present research done during their summer labs. Other
MD-PhD and summer undergraduate students on campus were
invited to attend, as were investigators at the Joslin, who described
research opportunities in their labs. There was a great turnout and a
very enthusiastic response to this initial event. We look forward to
the 2nd annual poster session to be held on August 3, 2006.
Ashutosh Jadhav) gave oral presentations of their thesis research. A
joint poster session highlighted research results from 25 different
labs followed by a special guest lecture by Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD,
Director of National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute on “Genomic
Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease.” Retreat sponsors included by
Merck Research Laboratories, Chiron BioPharmaceuticals, Pfizer,
Inc, Abbott Laboratories, Genzyme Corporation, the NIH-MSTP
grant, and Harvard Medical School.
The program is now planning the next retreat to be held
October 13-15, 2006 at Waterville Valley. Cancer research pioneer
Dr. M. Judah Folkman, Julia Dyckman Andrus Professor of
Pediatric Surgery, has accepted our invitation to give the Eva Neer
Memorial Lecture. Save the date!
HARVARD MD-PHD PROGRAM n e w s l e t t e r7
Awards and Honors
Amma Agymang, Phillip Erwin, and Carlos Ponce each receivedindividual Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Services Awards sponsored by the National Institutues of Health following submissionof individual fellowship applications.
Hannah Chang was awarded the Ashford Fellowship as MD-PhDgraduate student in the Biophysics Program.
Marlys Fassett and Sarah Henrickson were awarded travel fellowships to present abstracts at the Days of Molecular MedicineConference "Inflammation in Chronic Disease" sponsored byMassachusetts General Hospital, Karolinska Institutet and NatureMedicine May 24-27, 2006, Stockholm, Sweden.
Sarah Henrickson received Outstanding Poster Award last fall at theCBR Institute for Biomedical Research Annual Retreat. Sarah also wasselected to present a plenary lecture at HMS Medical Education Daylast fall; promoted to “Instructor-G” status as teaching assistant.
Todd Herrington now finishing his thesis in the lab of John Assadwas named as a recipient of the Stuart H.Q. and Victoria QuanFellowship, an intra-Harvard fellowship for neuroscience graduate students.
The first recipient of this Harvard Stem Cell Institute’s MedicalScientist Training Fellowship is Ashutosh Jadhav, whose thesis work has been carried out in the lab of Professor Constance Cepkowhere he has been studying the development of the mammalian retina. The title of his thesis is “Regulation of vertebrate retinal development by the Notch signaling pathway.”
Ryan Lanning was awarded the Department of Defense Breast CancerResearch Program 2005 Predoctoral Traineeship Award. He was alsonamed an Athinoula A. Martinos Research Scholar for biomedicalimaging in 2005.
Arindel Maharaj was named an Albert J. Ryan Fellow in November,2005 and was awarded a European Commission travel award to attendthe Euroconference on Angiogenesis in France in May 2006.
Christina Mills received the Keystone Symposia scholarship ($1000 to help defray travel and lodging expenses associated with attendance)for the Advances in Influenza Research: From Birds to Bench toBedside conference held March 28 - April 2, 2006.
Benjamin Rapoport has been awarded the Hugh Hampton YoungMemorial Fellowship, a competitive graduate fellowship at MIT.
Sashank Reddy won a CUE teaching award last fall. The award recognized his work as a TF for Chem285 taught at Harvard.
Benjamin Sommers won the annual Academy Health DissertationAward. The Dissertation Award honors an outstanding scientific contri-bution from a doctoral thesis in health services research and the candi-date showing exceptional promise as a health services researcher. Thisyear's dissertation award will be featured in a special session at theAnnual Research Meeting on Tuesday, June 25, 2006.
8 HARVARD MD-PHD PROGRAM n e w s l e t t e r
Newest Class for 2006-07The MD-PhD Program received 477 applications (63% men;
37% women) from undergraduates applying for admission
and funding from the MSTP grant. About 17% were invited
for competitive interviews for MSTP funding offers. The new
MSTP class includes: Mr. Jonathan Abraham (Harvard), Ms.
Milena Andzelm (Harvard), Ms. Erin Chen (U-Chicago), Mr.
Mark Lee (Yale), Ms. Devarati Mitra (Stanford), Mr. Yin Ren
(MIT), Mr. Cameron Sadegh (MIT); and Ms. Yawei Yang
(UCLA); and 2 deferrals from 2005 applicant pool: Ms. Sarah
Hill (Harvard) and Ms. Karolina Maciag (Harvard); Mr.
David Konieczkowski (Princeton) deferred until 2007.
In August, Ms. Amy Saltzman (Princeton), also a deferral
from 2005, will join the program in the social sciences track
along with Mr. Stephen Huffaker (U-Wisconsin), a recipient
of the new NIH-Graduate Partners Program. The program
also welcomed Ms. Aurore Halkovich and Mr. Xavier Moisset,
visiting French MD-PhD students sponsored by INSERM,
who are participating in the summer course.
PROGRAM notes
Spring Dinner on June 6 honored the MD-PhD Class of 2006 and brought together, pictured from top:• Drs. Alan Michelson, Yonatan Grad, and
Ms. Linda Burnley• Dr. Vassilous Bezzerides, center, gave remarks
on behalf of his graduating class. Shown with him are his parents, Bandel and ElizabethBezzerides, and his wife, Ann Mitsakos.
• Graduate Thomas Deuel shown here with his mother Dr. Ruthmary K. Deuel.
• Getting together at the Spring Dinner.Above: Students gatherat the annual summerbarbeque in 2005 onHMS Quad.
Left: Jason Comanderat the Match Day onMarch 23, 2006.
Gallery
C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 7
9
For the RecordNew PublicationsGrossman D, Ellertson C, Abuabara K, Blanchard K, Rivas FT. Do Product Labeling and Practice
Guidelines Deter Contraceptive Use? Am J Public Health. 2006 Jan 31
Tonon G, Wong KK, Maulik G, Brennan C, Feng B, Zhang Y, Khatry DB, Protopopov A, You MJ,
Aguirre AJ, Martin ES, Yang Z, Ji H, Chin L, Depinho RA. High-resolution genomic profiles of
human lung cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Jul 5;102(27):9625-30.
Dougan SK, Salas A, Rava P, Agyemang A, Kaser A, Morrison J, Khurana A, Kronenberg M, Johnson
C, Exley M, Hussain MM, Blumberg RS. Microsomal triglyceride transfer protein lipidation and con-
trol of CD1d on antigen-presenting cells. J Exp Med. 2005 Aug 15;202(4):529-39.
Sarbassov dos D, Ali SM, Sengupta S, Sheen JH, Hsu PP, Bagley AF, Markhard AL, Sabatini DM. Prolonged
Chen IA, Salehi-Ashtiani K, Szostak JW. RNA catalysis in model protocell vesicles. J Am Chem Soc.
2005 Sep 28;127(38):13213-9.
Vining MS, Bradley PL, Comeaux CA, Andrew DJ. Organ positioning in Drosophila requires com-
plex tissue-tissue interactions. Dev Biol. 2005 Nov 1;287(1):19-34. Epub 2005 Sep 19.
Deuel TA, Liu JS, Corbo JC, Yoo SY, Rorke-Adams LB, Walsh CA. Genetic interactions between dou-
blecortin and doublecortin-like kinase in neuronal migration and axon outgrowth. Neuron. 2006 Jan
5;49(1):41-53.
Erwin PA, Mitchell DA, Sartoretto J, Marletta MA, Michel T. Subcellular targeting and differential S-
nitrosylation of endothelial nitric-oxide synthase. J Biol Chem. 2006 Jan 6;281(1):151-7.
Erwin PA, Lin AJ, Golan DE, Michel T. Receptor-regulated dynamic S-nitrosylation of endothelial
nitric-oxide synthase in vascular endothelial cells. J Biol Chem. 2005 May 20;280(20):19888-94.
Mitchell DA, Erwin PA, Michel T, Marletta MA. S-Nitrosation and regulation of inducible nitric
oxide synthase. Biochemistry. 2005 Mar 29;44(12):4636-47.
HARVARD MD-PHD PROGRAM n e w s l e t t e r
PhDs CompletedAndrew J. Aguirre, Health Sciences and Technology, BBS-Genetics (DMS) at Harvard University. [Ronald A. Depinho,M.D.] Genetic Determinants of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (9/05).
Siraj M. Ali, Health Sciences and Technology, Biophysics (GSAS) at Harvard University. [David Sabatini, M.D., Ph.D.] ATale of Two mTor Complexes (6/05).
Zarine R. Balsara, Health Sciences and Technology, Immunology (DMS) at Harvard University. [Michael N. Starnbach,Ph.D.] The interaction of Chlamydia trachomatis with mammalian host cells (5/06).
Jakob Begun, Health Sciences and Technology, BBS Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (DMS) at Harvard University.[Frederick M. Ausubel, Ph.D.] Investigating the host-pathogen interaction using a Staphylococcus-Caenorhabditis ele-gans model system (5/05).
Irene A. Chen, Health Sciences and Technology, Biophysics (GSAS) at Harvard University. [Jack W. Szostak, Ph.D.]Building a Protocell: Physical Aspects and Emergent Behaviors (9/05).
Savita V. Dandapani, Castle, BBS-Cell and Developmental Biology (DMS) at Harvard University. [Martin R. Pollak, M.D.]Role of alpha-actinin-4 in the kidney (7/06).
John P. Dekker, Cannon, Neuroscience (DMS) at Harvard University. [Gary I. Yellen, Ph.D.] Molecular Analysis of Gatingin Voltage - Dependent Ion Channels (5/06).
Phillip A. Erwin, Cannon, BBS-Cell and Developmental Biology (DMS) at Harvard University. [Thomas Michel, M.D.,Ph.D.] Dynamic S-Nitrosylation of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase in Vascular Endothelial Cells (9/05).
Anna F. Farago, Castle, BBS-Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (DMS) at Harvard University. [Susan Dymecki, M.D.,Ph.D.] Uncovering Molecular and Spatial Predictors of Brainstem Identity (6/06).
John R. Greenland, HST, Virology (DMS) at Harvard University. [Norman Letvin, M.D.] Vaccine antigen expression andimmune responses (6/06).
Robert S. Griffin, Health Sciences and Technology, Neuroscience (DMS) at Harvard University. [Clifford Woolf, Ph.D.]Gene expression associated with neuropathic pain (9/05).
Robert S. Hagan, Health Sciences and Technology, Biology at MIT. [Peter Sorger, Ph.D.] Regulation of the SpindleCheckpoint by Mad2 Binding Proteins (7/05).
David H. Jung, Castle, BBS-Genetics (DMS) at Harvard University. [Frederick W. Alt, Ph.D.] Cis-acting elements con-trolling antigen receptor gene assembly (6/05).
Junne Kamihara, Health Sciences and Technology, Biology at MIT. [David E. Houseman, Ph.D.] Studies at theHemochromatosis (HFE) Locus: Gene conversions, Haplotypes, and an Association Analysis (12/05).
Rita Khodosh, Health Sciences and Technology, Biology at MIT. [Paul A. Garrity, Ph.D.] Beach1 Functionally AntagonizesRab11 During Development and in Regulating Synaptic Morphology (7/05).
Christina E. Mills, Health Sciences and Technology, Infectious Disease at Harvard School of Public Health. [MarcLipsitch, D.Phil] Transmission and Control of Pandemic Influenza (3/06).
Bradley J. Molyneaux, Cannon, Neuroscience (DMS) at Harvard University. [Jeffrey D. Macklis, M.D.] MolecularDevelopment of Corticospinal Motor Neurons (9/05).
Carlos F. Paz, Cannon, BBS-Cell and Developmental Biology (DMS) at Harvard University [Charles J. Wietz, M.D.,Ph.D.] Circadian Clock Function in the Mammalian Retina (10/05).
Robert S. Ohgami, Health Sciences and Technology, BBS- Cell and Developmental Biology (DMS) at Harvard University.[Mark D. Fleming, M.D., D. Phil] Identification and characterization of the Steap family of metalloreductases (5/06).
James Rhee, Health Sciences and Technology, BBS-Genetics (DMS) at Harvard University [Bruce M. Spiegelman,Ph.D.] Partnership of HNF4a with the transcriptional coactivator PGC-1a in the regulation of hepatic glucose and lipidhomeostasis (9/05).
Douglas Rubinson, Health Sciences and Technology, Biology at MIT. [Frank B. Gertler, Ph.D.] Knocked Down andKnocked Out: A lentiviral system for RNAi transgenesis and the Ena/VASP triple-knockout uncovers functions inmouse development (5/05).
Safa A. Sadeghpour, Health Sciences and Technology, Brain & Cognitive Sciences at MIT. [Guosong Liu, M.D., Ph.D.]NMDA Normalization in Hippocampal Neurons: Activity-Dependent, Temporal, and Spatial Properties (8/05).
Patrick Safo, Cannon, Neuroscience (DMS) at Harvard University. [Wade G. Regehr, Ph.D.] The Role ofEndocannabinoids in Synaptic Plasticity as the Granule Cell to Purkinje Cell Synapse (6/06).
Jay A. Shendure, Peabody, BBS-Genetics (DMS) at Harvard University [George M. Church, Ph.D.] Multiplex GenomeSequencing and Analysis (8/05).
Bryan K-H. Sun, Holmes, BBS-Genetics (DMS) at Harvard University. [Jeannie T. Lee, M.D., Ph.D.] Mechanisms of Tsix-mediated repression of Xist (4/06).
David Y. Takeda, Health Sciences and Technology, Pathology (DMS) at Harvard University. [Anindya Dutta, Ph.D.]Regulation of Mammalian Replication Initiators During the Cell Cycle (6/05).
Cullen M. Taniguchi, Castle, BBS-Cell and Developmental Biology (DMS) at Harvard University [C. Ronald Kahn, M.D.,D.Sc.] The Dissection of Insulin Signaling Isoforms In Vivo: Molecular Mechanisms of Hepatic Insulin Action (11/05).
Vesselin T. Tomov, Health Sciences and Technology, BBS-Genetics (DMS) at Harvard University. [Brian Seed, Ph.D.]Codon-Optimized and Reporter-Packaging Strains of HIV-1 (6/06).
Griffin M. Weber, Health Sciences and Technology, Engineering & Applied Sciences (GSAS) at Harvard University. [LucilaOhno-Machado, M.D., Ph.D.] Data representation and algorithms for biomedical informatics applications (5/05).
Ernest N. Yeh, Health Sciences and Technology, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. [Daniel K.Sodickson, M.D., Ph.D.] Advanced Image Reconstruction in Parallel Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Constraints andSolutions (5/05).
Glenn C-W. Yiu, Health Sciences and Technology, Neuroscience (DMS) at Harvard University. [Zhigang He, Ph.D.,B.M.] Signaling Mechanisms Limiting Axon Regeneration in the Adult Central Nervous System (5/06).
GSAS = Graduate School of Arts and Sciences BBS = Biological and Biomedical Sciences DMS = Division of Medical Sciences
10 HARVARD MD-PHD PROGRAM n e w s l e t t e r
Farago AF, Awatramani RB, Dymecki SM. Assembly of the brainstem cochlear nuclear complex is revealed
by intersectional and subtractive genetic fate maps. Neuron. 2006 Apr 20;50(2):205-18.
Yonatan H. Grad, Internal Medicine, Brigham &Womens’ Hospital - Boston, MA.
Sanjiv Harpavat, Pediatrics, Baylor College ofMedicine - Houston, TX.
Arlo J. Miller, Transitional, Virginia Mason MedicalCenter - Seattle, WA; Dermatology, Mayo GraduateSchool of Medicine - Rochester, MN.
David T. Miyamoto, Preliminary Medicine -Brigham & Women’s Hospital - Boston, MA;Radiation Oncology, Harvard/ Brigham &Women’s/Massachusetts General Hospitals -Boston, MA.
Eric A. Osborn, Internal Medicine, Beth IsraelDeaconess Medical Center - Boston, MA.
Jacob W. Ulm, Pediatrics, UCLA Medical Center -Los Angeles, CA.
Victoria E. Wang, Preliminary Medicine-, StanfordUniversity Programs - Stanford, CA; RadiationOncology, Harvard/ Brigham &Women’s/Massachusetts General Hospitals -Boston, MA..
For the Record
v i s i t o u r w e b s i t e a t w w w. h m s . h a r v a rd . e d u / m d _ p h d