ConnectorFall2007 (1) by The Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology

The Connector

Fall 2007

newsletter for graduates, students, faculty and friends of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology

Cohen appointed director of HST to working together with the HST faculty and students on educational and research programs at the rapidly developing interface between medicine and technology.” In 1987, Cohen received an MD from HST and a PhD in physiology and biophysics from Harvard University. He then completed both his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at BWH. He was appointed to the HMS faculty in 1995. In 1997, he moved to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he held joint appointments in the Departments of Medicine and Biochemistry as a member of the Marion Bessin Liver Research Center. Cohen returned to BWH, HMS and HST in 2004. An example of the type of physician-scientists HST attracts and educates, Cohen is widely known for his work on cholesterol homeostasis. “I am personally grateful to David for his willingness to assume this important leadership position at a time when interdisciplinary research and education are in the spotlight,” Martin said in his letter. “He brings great vision and energy to HST.”

Justin Knight

In late June, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Joseph B. Martin, MD, PhD, wrote to the HMS community and named the successor to outgoing HST Director Joseph V. Bonventre, MD, PhD. “I am pleased to let you know that David E. Cohen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine at HMS and Associate Professor in HST, has been named Co-Director of HST, effective July 1, 2007. David is also the Director of Hepatology in the Gastroenterology Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is a faculty member of the graduate program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences and affiliate faculty of the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology.” Bonventre has been co-director since 1998. Cohen will share responsibility for directing HST with Martha L. Gray, PhD, the Edward Hood Taplin Professor of Medical Engineering at HST and of Electrical Engineering at MIT. Of the new position, Cohen said, “After a long association with HST, it is a privilege to assume this leadership role. I look forward

David E. Cohen

Folkman urges graduates to keep seeking mentors and to become mentors themselves

(continues on page 5)

Justin Knight

The 33rd HST Graduation Exercises took place June 6 at the Harvard Club in Boston. As master of ceremonies, Richard N. Mitchell, MD PhD, Associate Director of HST, introduced HST Directors Martha L. Gray, PhD, and Joseph V. Bonventre, MD, PhD, and the guests of honor representing HMS and MIT. These included HST’s Program Directors Ernie Berndt, Fred Bowman, Louis Braida, Richard Cohen, Lee Gehrke, Julie Greenberg, Anthony Hollenberg, and Robert Rubin, as well as Nancy Andrews, HMS Dean for Basic Sciences and Graduate Studies; Jules Dienstag, HMS Dean for Medical Education; Philip Clay, MIT Chancellor; Isaac Colbert, MIT Dean for Graduate Students; and Rafael Reif, MIT Provost. Gray and Bonventre presented the certificates of graduation and — where appropriate — hoods to 12 new MD-PhDs, 29 MDs, 24 PhDs and 21 master’s degree recipients. (See the Spring 2007 issue of The Connector for the full list of graduates.) The Directors also announced the graduates’ most notable experiences and future plans. The extracurricular activities cited were most impresProud 2007 HST graduates on the grand stairwell at the Harvard Club in Boston.

hst news Flier named HMS dean

Frosch to head HST MD admissions

Michelle Forrestall Lee / MGH Path Photo

Jon Chase/Harvard University News Ofﬁce

Matthew Frosch, MD ’87, PhD, is the new chairman of the HST MD Admissions Committee, of which he has been a member for four years. He is Associate Professor of Pathology at HMS and Director of Neuropathology Service at MGH. A member of HST’s affiliated faculty, he teaches the neuroanatomy block of HST 130: Introduction to Neurosciences. Frosch describes the Committee’s plans for the next admissions cycle: Recruiting and

selecting students for the HST MD program from the pool of talented applicants depend on the effort of many faculty and students. As has been the case for several years, applicants will be interviewed by a panel of two faculty and one student. Following the model from last year, all interviewed candidates will be discussed in one of three subcommittees, to be chaired by Tom Byrne, Stan Finkelstein and Stuart Forman. The subcommittee, following a discussion of candidates, will vote to advance the most competitive ones to the main committee. This committee — composed of the subcommittee chairs, the chair of the admissions committee, the HMS liaison (Darrell Smith), the MD-PhD liaison (Collin Stultz), several other senior faculty (continues on page 3)

Matthew Frosch Jeffrey S. Flier

HST affiliated faculty Jeffrey S. Flier, MD became the new Dean of the Faculty of Medicine on September 1. He has been a part of HST since 1978, and has served as chief academic officer and Harvard dean for faculty programs at BIDMC. Flier has been the George C. Reisman Professor of Medicine at HMS and BIDMC. He replaces Joseph B. Martin, MD, PhD, who has served as dean of the medical school since 1997. In announcing his appointment on July 11, Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust wrote to the Harvard medical community: “Jeff has long experience within the Harvard medical community — as a skilled academic leader and seasoned manager, an eminent investigator known for his work on diabetes and obesity, and a dedicated educator who has overseen the teaching efforts of the BIDMC. In addition to guiding the biomedical research enterprise at the BIDMC, Jeff has also emerged as a valued contributor in discussions of the future of Harvardwide science, most recently as a founding member of the Harvard University Science and Engineering Committee. His outlook and experience will position him well to sustain and enhance the excellence of our medical school, to strengthen collaborations within the broader Harvard medical community, to pursue important new opportunities for fruitful connections with other parts of the University, and to speak more broadly to medical and health issues of national and international concern.” 2

Fall 2007

HST alumnus to lead MD-PhD program Having served as interim director of HMS’s MD-PhD Program since February, Stephen C. Blacklow, MD ’91, PhD, formally became Director of Basic Sciences in the MD-PhD Program in July. A graduate of the HMS MD-PhD program and of HST, Blacklow received his PhD in Chemistry from Harvard University. After a few years on the faculty at Stanford University, Blacklow returned to Boston, where he now serves as an Associate Professor of Pathology at HMS and BWH. He is a member of the HST affiliated faculty. Blacklow’s commitment to the MD-PhD program is evident. He serves as the the MDPhD Program Director, also serving as chair of the MD-PhD Program’s executive, faculty standing and admissions committees. He has

The Connector Editor Walter H. Abelmann, MD Managing Editor/Designer Becky Sun Editorial Assistant Dominique Altarejos Contact Information Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology 77 Massachusetts Ave., E25-519 Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 P: (617) 253-4418 F: (617) 253-7498 E: hst@mit.edu http://hst.mit.edu

assumed other leadership roles in education, directing significant attention and time to teaching both medical and graduate students as a lecturer, course co-organizer, course director, and discussion leader. He was involved in the HMS Medical Education Reform Stephen C. Blacklow Initiative as a member of the In-Depth Educational Experience Working Group. Backlow’s research focuses on structural biology of proteins for notch signaling and lipoprotein receptor recognition.

Volume 21 • Number 4 Editorial Board

Pavan Cheruvu (MD ’09) Patricia A. Cunningham Elizabeth Dougherty Lisa E. Freed, MD, PhD ’88 Robert S. Lees, MD Pamela McGill Catherine Modica Arvind Ravi (MD ’10) Konstantina Stankovic, PhD ’98, MD ’99 Steven M. Stufﬂebeam, MD ’94 James C. Weaver, PhD Peter I-Kung Wu (MEMP)

Ex ofﬁcio

David E. Cohen, MD ’87, PhD Martha L. Gray, PhD ’86

The Connector is a quarterly publication of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. The staff and board of The Connector would like to thank the HST alumni, faculty, staff, and students who contributed to this issue. Please send reports of your recent activities and personal news to the above address or email. Previous issues of The Connector can be found at http://hst.mit.edu.

hst news HST students receive fellowships MEMP student Luis N.G. Castro is one of six graduate students selected as 2007-08 Boston Schweitzer Fellows, honoring the legacy of Albert Schweitzer. Castro will devote more than 200 hours of service to the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, serving as medical interpreter for Hispanic patients. SHBT student Joey Feingold, also a previous winner, has been granted an extension of the Zakhartchenko Fellowship, an award for students doing research in which time figures prominently. Feingold’s project concerns how the brain creates sequences of internally timed movements, and involves mapping the brain’s processing of tasks that require pre-planning such as speech and music performance. MEMP student Lisa Treat, a previous winner of the Whitaker Health Sciences Fund Fellowship for doctoral students in the life sciences or engineering, has been awarded a renewal of this award for a second year. Lisa works in the Focused Ultrasound Laboratory of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and is developing an image-guided device designed to allow noninvasive, targeted drug delivery to cancerous areas in the brain. MEMP student Danilo Scepanovic is one of an elite group of 17 U.S. students selected to receive the Department of Energy’s Computer Science Graduate Fellowship for FY 2007-2008. DOE Fellows receive up to four years of fellowship support, including tuition and fees, a yearly stipend, and the opportunity to complete a practicum at a national DOE laboratory.

HMS faculty mentoring awards

ceremony on July 27. Langer was honored for pioneering several new medical technologies such as transdermal delivery systems, which can be used to administer drugs through the skin without the use of needles or other invasive methods. He has also contributed significantly to advances in tissue engineering.

Khademhosseini named one of top Young Innovators MIT’s Technology Review magazine included Ali Khademhosseini, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Health Sciences and Technology at HMS and BWH, among the 35 young innovators under 35. He was selected from more than 300 nominees. He is being recognized for the development of novel approaches to tissue engineering and cell culture.

HST alumni receive inaugural Burroughs Wellcome awards The Burroughs Wellcome Fund recently awarded 20 career development grants to physician-scientists across the U.S. in a new program called the Career Awards for Medical Scientists (CAMS). Three of the four Boston-area awardees have HST connections: James (Jay) Bradner and Eric Morrow, MD ’01, who each received a master’s degree from the Clinical Investigator Training Program, and Benjamin Ebert, MD ’99. The inaugural recipients of the CAMS awards will receive $700,000 in bridging funds to be disbursed over five years as the awardees make the transition from postdoctoral fellow to junior faculty.

GEMS student wins award for Robopsy

Michael A. Moskowitz, MD, HST affiliated faculty and Professor of Neurology at MGH, received the William Silen Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award. John V. Frangioni, MD, PhD ’94, Associate Professor of Medicine at BIDMC, and Raghu Kalluri, PhD, HST affiliated faculty and Associate Professor of Medicine at BIDMC, received the Young Mentor Award.

Conor J. Walsh, a student in the Graduate Education in Medical Sciences (GEMS) Program, received one of two MIT $100K Awards this year. The Robopsy team invented a robotic device to assist radiologists performing tumor biopsies. The team secured $30,000 to apply toward building a business. Team members also got to ring the New York Stock Exchange’s opening bell with CEO John Thain on May 17.

Suresh is new engineering dean at MIT

NSBRI team receives Stellar Award in support of space exploration

Subra Suresh, ScD, HST affiliated faculty and the Ford Professor of Engineering at MIT, has been appointed Dean of the School of Engineering. From 2000 to 2006, he served as Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. His own research focuses on experimental and computational studies of mechanical responses of single biological cells and molecules and their implications for human health and diseases.

Langer receives national science medal Robert S. Langer, ScD, Professor of HST and Institute Professor at MIT, is one of 13 winners of the 2006 National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest scientific honor. President George W. Bush presented the medals at a White House

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) Education and Outreach Team received a Stellar Award from the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation for “performance as a nationally recognized, top-tier program that is pioneering new models for exemplary teaching, training and public outreach in support of the Vision for Space Exploration.” The team honored with this award includes HST’s Bioastronautics Training Program, led by Professor Larry Young.

Sasisekharan appointed to MIT chair Ram Sasisekharan, PhD, Professor of Health Sciences and Technology, has been appointed to the Underwood-Prescott Professorship

in Biological Engineering at MIT. The Underwood-Prescott chair was instituted in 1972. Sasisekharan is the fourth professor at MIT to hold this chair. Sasisekharan uses multidisciplinary strategies to develop and integrate technologies to further study complex sugars that are important to a host of diseases. A central goal is to develop novel therapeutic approaches to alleviate suffering from disease and promote overall human health. One such accomplishment from his lab is an experimental anti-cancer smart bomb, a cancer drug designed to burrow into a tumor, seal the exits and detonate a lethal dose of anti-cancer toxins, all while leaving healthy cells unscathed.

Bergeron named acting director of MGH’s clinical investigation program Bryan Bergeron, MD, has been appointed Acting Director of MGH’s Graduate Program in Clinical Investigation, part of an independent graduate school affiliated with the Partners Health Care System. Bergeron is HST affiliated faculty and research affiliate, Assistant Professor of Anesthesia at HMS and MGH, and Assistant Professor of Radiology at HMS, He is also President of Archetype Technologies, Inc., a company in Brookline, Mass., that provides technology and consulting to business and academia. In addition, he is Assistant Director of the HST-affiliated Decisions Systems Group at BWH.

Blaya recognized for work in Peru MEMP student Joaquin A. Blaya received the Hugh Hampton Young Memorial Fund Fellowship awarded to “candidates with exceptional personal and character strengths.” Working with Partners in Health, Blaya has been conducting research in Peru that is designed to improve diagnosis and appropriate treatment planning and follow-up for patients with multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis. (Read more about Blaya’s work in South America on page 7.)

Frosch (continued from page 2)

and two senior students — will further assess these applicants by reviewing their application and subcommittee reports. The committee will then vote and rank the most competitive applicants. Over the past several years, the number of applications has been slowly increasing, towards 700. From this pool, the expectation is that 120 to 140 applicants will be offered interviews. The subcommittees will be asked to move roughly half of the candidates forward, so that the main committee will review 60-70 candidates.

The Connector

hst graduation photos by Justin Knight

(this page, clockwise from top left) Judah Folkman gives the keynote speech; HST Directors Martha Gray and Joseph Bonventre; Viviany Taqueti, MD ’07, receives the HST Multicultural Student Award; Joseph Bonventre congratulates James Rhee, MD ’07. (facing page) HST Associate Director Lee Gehrke; Sophie Currier, an MD student who will graduate in November, holds Lea (ﬁve weeks old at graduation); Richard Mitchell and Lee Gehrke hood Brinda Balakrishnan, PhD ’07, who later gave the student address.

Recipients of the MD Degree with Honors magna cum laude Payal Kohli Viviany R. Taqueti cum laude Haley B. Naik Steven N. Bailey Anna Szary Eugene Y. Chan Scott B. Vafai Sang D. Kim

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hst graduation

Graduation (continued from page 1)

sive, comprising music, ballet, writing, poetry, local and international community service, team and individual sports (including marathons), to mention just a few. The audience comprised 34 members of the faculty and 220 guests. After a reception and luncheon, Judah Folkman, MD, gave the graduation address. Folkman is the Andrus Professor of Pediatric Surgery and Professor of Cell Biology at HMS; Director of Vascular Biology Program and Chief of Surgery, Emeritus, of Children’s Hospital Boston; and the founder of the field of angiogenesis research, which led to the development of angiogenesis inhibitors as therapeutic agents in the therapy of neoplastic diseases. Drawing on his clinical experiences, he stressed the value of having a background in rigorous scientific thinking and laboratory research in the practice of medicine. Most studies of errors in medical diagnoses set these at 10 percent. Folkamn said that this rate can be lowered to 5 percent with intelligence combined with discipline and experience. He also gave examples of how even the most knowledgeable

and trained physicians may still cause problems by what they tell or do not tell patients. Thus, Folkman advised graduates to continue to seek out mentors and experienced colleagues as sources for advice, and also become mentors themselves. “Be generous with your expertise,” Folkman exhorted the graduates. Following the keynote speech were the three teaching awards: Christopher A. Shera, PhD, Associate Professor of Otology and Laryngology at HMS and MEEI, received the Irving M. London Teaching Award. Christopher Bergevin, PhD ’07, who had worked in Shera’s laboratory for four years, described the awardee’s remarkable breadth and depth of knowledge as well as the dedication he displayed in three courses — teaching rigorous reasoning and analyses as well as facts. The Thomas A. McMahon Mentoring Award was presented to Robert H. Rubin, MD, the Gordon and Marjorie Osborne Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Director of the Clinical Investigators Training Program. In presenting the award, Steven Isakoff, MS, MD,

PhD, and James E. Bradner, MS, MD, cited Rubin’s dedication to his students’ progress and general welfare, his personal guidance and supervision of their work. The Biomedical Enterprise Program (BEP) Teaching Award, presented by Rehan Khan, went to Richard N. Mitchell, MD, PhD, for his teaching of Human Pathology, which “is a comprehensive Medicine 101 with the addition of the latest and greatest ‘frontiers’ of medical research.” Mitchell bestowed the Multicultural Student Award to Viviany Taqueti, MD ’07. Finally, Brinda Balakrishnan, PhD ’07, who is now a candidate for the MD degree, gave the student address. She reviewed the HST program through the MEMP curriculum, stressing the strength of the program which — like the Massachusetts Avenue bridge across which the shuttle bus regularly carries students — bridges MIT to HMS and engineering to biology and medicine. She also emphasized the important relationships between students in the different HST pathways, and expressed the student body’s thanks and appreciation to the HST faculty and their families. The Connector

hst news MD curriculum retreat focuses on clinical experience and additional year HST and HMS Faculty, students and administrators convened June 27 for the annual HST Curriculum Retreat. Deliberations from the Retreat groups each year help focus and drive subsequent discussions in the MD Curriculum Committee. Two weighty topics were the subject of animated discussion this year: integrating HST MD students into the newly developed third-year 12month core Principal Clinical Experience (PCE) in the teaching hospitals, and revisiting whether HST and its students would be best served by an obligatory five-year curriculum. Separate sub-committees chaired by Richard Mitchell (HST and the PCE) and David Cohen (five-year curriculum) met in advance of the retreat, arriving at specific recommendations for discussion in the larger group. HST and the PCE Effective May 1, 2008, newly minted third year clinical clerks will take all their core rotations (medicine, surgery, obstetrics and pediatrics, neurology, radiology, and psychiatry) as a 12-month longitudinal block at one of four institutions (MGH, BWH, BIDMC, or Cambridge City Hospital). This differs from the previous thirdyear experience where students took separate core rotations at different sites, and could also occasionally intersperse elective rotations to explore career options. The benefits of the 12-month PCE will be ongoing mentorship, integrated on-site longitudinal patient-doctor experiences, and the efficiencies that come from having extended time in one hospital and getting to understand the basic functioning of the departments and information technology systems. Due to scheduling logistics, an immediate issue is that HST students will not be part of the PCE in 2008. The Curriculum Retreat group was therefore charged with developing comparable (or better) mentorship experiences for HST students who would be in traditional clinical rotations. Based on the recommendations of the Subcommittee, it was decided to develop an HST-specific Patient-Doctor III-like curriculum with HST faculty that would meet at HMS every other week in timing synchrony with the PCE longitudinal experience. By this mechanism, HST students would not be at a disadvantage with regard to time away from service, and they would have the opportunity to develop close relationships with a small cadre of fellow students and HST clinical mentors. Although given an option to continue in the 6

Fall 2007

traditional clerkship model after 2008, the group elected to eventually fold into the PCE, arguing that the clinical curriculum was very likely to evolve into a longitudinal experience that could not be easily captured in separate outside discussion groups. This engenders another logistical snarl in that the PCE begins roughly on May 1 each year, while the HST curriculum continues through June, and students could not start the PCE block until July 1. Consequently, to accommodate: 1) the HST pre-clinical schedule, 2) the desire to integrate with their HMS colleagues in the PCE longitudinal experience, and 3) the need to maintain optimal flexibility for exploring career options, a compromise solution for HST students was developed. While completing their second-year spring courses, HST students will participate in the week-long introduction to PCE as well as the once-weekly afternoon group meetings in the various hospital sites. When they start the PCE, HST clerks will have one-month blocks consisting of neurology, psychiatry or radiology, followed by three three-month blocks of medicine, surgery and

(RAs). The possibility of an HST masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree has also been discussed to make the additional year more attractive. The obvious concern is the effect such a requirement would have on admissions; when polled, students have unanimously asserted that they would not have applied to HST if there had been an obligatory five-year enrollment. Despite the fact that only roughly 15% of students actually graduate in four years, the vast majority enter with that expectation. Only after sampling the heady atmosphere of HST do they elect to stay longer. The final recommendation of the assembled Retreaters was not to require a five-year curriculum, but to do a better job during the admissions season (and after matriculation) of extolling the virtues and benefits of the extended plan. There was also a general sentiment that extended time in a lab (e.g., an extra year) not be a rigorous criterion for awarding paid research assistantships. Rather, Faculty and students would be encouraged to have a more frank and open discussion of expectations and realities prior to instituting an RA opportunity.

When polled, students have unanimously asserted that they would not have applied to HST if there had been an obligatory five-year enrollment. OB-peds rotations. The HST PCE would conclude April 30, aligned with the standard HMS PCE, although the HST students would still need to pick up the remaining two one-month core blocks prior to graduation, presumably as independent clerkships. The compromise proposal allows the hospitals to mount just one PCE experience per year, but also allows maximal flexibility for entry onto wards without compromising the advantages of the longitudinal PCE curriculum. HST students would also have 5 months of elective time prior to submitting their residency applications. Obligatory 5-year HST Curriculum To accommodate expanding pre-clinical demands, permit easy on-schedule (May 1) entry into the PCE, and enhance the quality of HST research theses, a mandatory five-year curriculum has been proposed. By allowing extended time for research, a five-year plan would also be favorably viewed by PIs, who would in turn be more inclined to sponsor HST research assistantships

As an outcome of the discussions, the group did agree that a survey of faculty and students (current and graduated) would be extremely useful to accurately capture the sentiments regarding the existing RA experience. For example, do five-year RAs really provide a better research product than four-year RAs? Are PIs happier when students sign on for a more extended research opportunity? What is the satisfaction rate overall for RAs? The Retreat concluded with the observation that regardless of the time spent in a lab, the RA program would materially benefit from improved funding. PIs would be able to take on any student interested in working with them, and the students would not feel the intense obligation to spend long hours in the lab, potentially at the jeopardy of their MD education. Until such time as the RA program develops financial independence, there will always be a certain tension of expectations between the PI and student. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Richard N. Mitchell, HST Associate Director and Chair of the MD Curriculum Committee

HST in the world Blaya brings med tech to South America Betty Palma

My life has changed dramatically since I completed my master’s degree on robotics and prosthetics in 2000. Before starting my PhD, I spent a year working in Chile, where a significant segment of the population has little or no access to even simple technical advances in modern healthcare. It was there that I realized the fulfillment in my professional — and personal — life required a paradigm shift. Rather than pursuing a field of study because of a specific technology, technical skill, or even what was currently being funded, happiness for me would come by providing modern medical care to those who would not get it otherwise. My time in Chile showed me the need for this type of work, and HST provided me — and really all of us — with the tools to make it happen. That’s how my PhD was born. I am now doing my thesis work with two amazing organizations: Partners In Health, a non-profit started by several HMS students about 20 years ago; and the Division of Social Medicine & Health Inequalities at BWH. These organizations represent a growing professional community focusing on the issues of the world’s poor. Specifically, I’m working with Drs. Hamish Fraser and Sonya Shin to implement and evaluate a web-based information system called e-Chasqui. It’s named after the Chasquis, who were the agile and highly-trained runners that delivered messages, royal delicacies and other objects throughout the Inca Empire. E-Chasqui connects tuberculosis laboratories to health institutions throughout Lima, Peru. Right now, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients in Peru must wait, on average, six months to start appropriate treatment. Meanwhile, they are getting more ill, infecting others and perhaps even paying for the wrong medication. Even once they do start treatment, patients may not be monitored appropriately due to an overburdened laboratory system, delays in communication of results, and missing or errorprone laboratory data. To alleviate these problems

MEMP student Joaquin Blaya shows medical personnel at a Lima health center how to use the webbased laboratory information system developed for his PhD. They are using a $200 internet access point developed by Baobab Health Partnership and imported for this project.

and provide faster, tailored treatment to MDRTB patients, e-Chasqui has been implemented in over 30 health centers. This network serves over 3 million people in Lima, and public health officials have requested its continued expansion. Perhaps more importantly, the controlled trial that we are performing will quantify the impact and costs of this type of system in resource-poor settings. With this information, we will learn how and where web-based systems can help improve patient care and how to implement the systems on a global scale. Our group has also helped to found a multi-national collaboration to create an opensource medical record framework, which allows any health institution to implement its own medical record system without needing advanced programmers. This framework, OpenMRS, has been implemented in eight countries and is still growing.

This open source collaborative is just one example of the growing community of people involved in global health. In addition to the two organizations I work with, many other communities — including the HMS Department of Social Medicine; the MIT International Development Initiative led by Amy Smith; and a collaboration of CIMIT, the nonprofit group Design that Matters and Boston University — are now involved in this amazing enterprise. HST was created to bridge the clinical and engineering worlds. I believe that this vision needs to be further expanded into resource-poor settings, where HST can impact the lives of millions of people worldwide. MEMP student Joaquin Andres Blaya was born in Chile. He is working on his PhD with Partners in Health and Hamish Fraser, Assistant Professor of Medicine at BWH.

Medical missions beneﬁt both Vietnam and the U.S. Dennis Orgill, MD ’85, PhD ’83, reports that as a plastic surgeon and Director of the Burn Unit at BWH, he has been privileged to work with Operation Smile International over the last 10 years, bringing microsurgical technology and hope to patients in Vietnam. Orgill writes, “Microsurgical procedures allow surgeons to transplant tissue from one area of the body to another with the aid of a surgical microscope to connect small arteries, veins and nerves. These procedures offer hope to patients with deformities due to trauma, burns, congenital defects, severe infections and cancer. The results of these efforts were recently published in the

Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in April 2007. “When the Vietnam War ended, it became clear to both the U.S. and Vietnamese governments that re-establishment of good political relationships would be valuable. One area of common ground was the need to improve health care, particularly for children. Operation Smile carries out many cleft lip and palate missions in developing countries. “In early discussions, military surgeons in Vietnam requested help with microsurgical skills. In 1990 the first microsurgical mission went to Vietnam. On a typical two-week mission, there

are approximately 20 team members — including six surgeons, six anesthetists, six nurses and two support staff — who work directly with their counterparts in Vietnam. “Over a 15-year period, there were 11 missions to Vietnam, which allowed the country’s surgeons to become very proficient in microsurgical procedures. Experts in the areas of facial re-animation, perforator flaps and pre-fabricated flaps joined the missions to teach advanced techniques. Surgeons from Vietnam visited centers in the U.S. and also began formal training in Taiwan at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. (continues on page 16)

The Connector

the london society The Irving M. London Society was launched in the fall of 2000 to honor the founder of HST and to provide a new way for members of the HST community to contribute unrestricted ﬁnancial support for the Division. The response to the Society has been outstanding. It is with great appreciation that we recognize the following contributions of $100 or more to the Society, made between July 1, 2006, and June 30, 2007. Those who are charter members of the Society are indicated with an asterisk.

The Director’s Circle ($5,000+) Boston Foundation/Richard I. Anders Edward J. Cheal, PhD ’86 *Joseph A. Ciffolillo Codman, a Johnson & Johnson company Robert F. Higgins IMRIS J. Robert Scott/William Holodnak Lemberg Foundation/John Usdan Les Laboratoires Servier/ Laurent Perret *Norman C. Payson Revocable Trust Philippe Foundation/Alain Philippe Martin R. Prince, MD ’85, PhD ’88 *M. Joshua Tolkoff *Jerrold Zindler *Daniel C. Shannon, MD

The 1970 Society ($2,500-$4,999) John Abele *Walter H. Abelmann, MD H. Frederick Bowman, PhD *Catherine Ford Corrigan, PhD ’96 Peter C. Farrell, PhD, DSc *Peter Feinstein Gershon Kekst *Irving M. London, MD Joseph R. Madsen, MD ’81 David F. Pincus, MD ’81 John F. Romanelli, MD ’87 Musket Research Associates/ David B. Musket and Richard G. Wehby, PhD, BEP ’04 Westﬁeld Capital Management/Matthew W. Strobeck, PhD, BEP ’04

Fall 2007

The PhysicianScientist Association ($1,000-2,499) Tenley E. Albright, MD Claudia M. Alleyne, MD ’81 R. Rox Anderson, MD ’84 Thomas E. Andreoli, MD, MACP *Michael T. Bailin, MD ’84 Jeffrey T. Barnes Marie-José Bélanger, PhD ’00 Evrett and Cheryl Benton Ernst R. Berndt, PhD Sandy Bodner *Joseph V. Bonventre, MD ’76, PhD and Kristina B. Cannon-Bonventre Ching-Yen Joseph Chang, MD ’89 Dennis W. Choi, MD ’78, PhD E. Scott Conner, MD ’77 Cyberonics Natacha DePaola, PhD ’91 Chrysoula Dosiou, MD ’97 *Martha L. Gray, PhD ’86 Scott D. Greenwald, PhD ’90 *Harley A. Haynes, MD *Pedro L. Huertas, MD ’93, PhD Ljubomir Miodraga Ilic, MD ’99 *Howard W. Johnson Debra R. Judelson, MD ’76 and AJ Willmer William M. Kettyle, MD Richard J. Kitz, MD Helicos Biosciences Corporation/Stanley N. Lapidus *Elaine Lee, PhD ’95 *Judy Lieberman, MD ’81, PhD Udaya K. Liyanage, MD ’99 Joseph L. Loscalzo, MD, PhD *Mathai Mammen, MD ’98 Medtronic/Lawrence Marsh Swee Lian Tan, MD ’88 and Jonathan Weil, PhD James B. Tananbaum, MD ’89 Jack W-L Tsao, MD ’97, DPhil Robert N. Wilson Kang Zhang, MD ’95 Ruilin Zhao, PhD ’02

Supporters ($100-$999) R. Gregory Allen *Warren H. Anderson, MD ’83 *Marvin L. Appel, MD ’91, PhD ’92 W. Gerald Austen, MD Jodie Lynn Babitt, MD ’99 *Kamran Badizadegan, MD ’93 Mario Baldassarri Margaret H. Baron, MD ’83, PhD Hanne T. Beck *Camille L. Bedrosian, MD ’83 Jeffrey S. Behrens, BEP ’07 Ronald D. Berger, MD ’87 Scott I. Berkenblit, MD ’96, PhD ’96 *Howard Bernstein, MD ’89, PhD *Paul S. Bernstein, MD ’88, PhD David A. Berry, MD ’06, PhD Sangeeta N. Bhatia, MD ’99, PhD ’97 and Jagesh V. Shah, PhD ’99 Peter M. Black, MD, PhD Jonathan G. Bliss, PhD ’91 Jerrold L. Boxerman, MD ’96, PhD ’95 Charles R. Bridges, MD ’81 Kenneth R. Bridges, MD ’76 and Maria AlexanderBridges, MD ’80, PhD *Gilbert Brodsky, MD ’77 Gregory A. Brown, MD ’92, PhD ’90 Stephen K. Burley, MD ’87, DPhil Deborah Burstein, PhD ’86 Thomas N. Byrne, MD Dean E. Calcagni, MD *Stephen B. Calderwood, MD ’75 Carol A. Campbell *Martin C. Carey, MD, DSc Sharon B. Chang, MD ’00 *Bart Chernow, MD Naomi Claire Chesler, PhD ’96 Hovig V. Chitilian, MD ’00 Gilbert Chu, MD ’80, PhD

John Chuo, MD, MI-SM ’04 Paul Citron David Clem David E. Cohen, MD ’87, PhD Columbia Technical Services Chester H. Conrad, MD ’77, PhD Jeffrey B. Cooper, PhD Douglas A. Cotanche, PhD Shaun R. Coughlin, MD ’82, PhD Merit E. Cudkowicz, MD ’90, CITP-MS ’96 *George Q. Daley, MD ’91, PhD Prajnan Das, MD ’99 Lawrence I. Deckelbaum, MD ’79 Daihung Vu Do, MD ’00 *Joanne M. Donovan, MD ’84, PhD ’84 Jeffrey M. Drazen, MD Thomas J. Engellenner Bernadette C. Fendrock Toren Finkel, MD ’86 Dan J. Fintel, MD ’79 Alice W. Flaherty, MD ’94, PhD Laurel Fleming *M. Judah Folkman, MD Stuart A. Forman, MD ’89, PhD Majid Fotuhi, MD ’97, PhD Lawrence H. Frame, MD ’75 *Lisa E. Freed, MD ’88, PhD *Dennis M. Freeman, PhD Matthew P. Frosch, MD ’87, PhD Anna M. Galea Mark C. Gebhardt, MD *Lee Gehrke, PhD Mark A. Goldberg, MD ’81 James Goldie *Gilad S. Gordon, MD ’83 Amir Goren, BEP Student *Oren Grad, MD ’84 James B. Graham, MBA, SM, BEP ’05 Julie E. Greenberg, PhD ’94 and Ronald D. Chaney, PhD Harvey A. Greisman, MD ’98, PhD Leonard C. Groopman, MD ’81, PhD John J. Guinan, Jr., PhD

Theresa A. Hadlock, MD ’94 J. Elizabeth Harris Gerald B. Healy, MD Michael N. Helmus, PhD *John F. Hiehle, Jr., MD ’87 John M. Higgins, MD ’04, SM-MD ’07 Arthur J. Hiller Lewis B. Holmes, MD Irene Huang Anne C. Hurlbert, MD ’90, PhD *Donald E. Ingber, MD, PhD *Norman A. Jacobs *Brian E. Jaski, MD ’79 Argeris N. Karabelas Young-Jo Kim, MD ’94, PhD June Kinoshita *Isaac S. Kohane, MD, PhD Michael J. Koren, MD ’85 Zvi Ladin, PhD ’85 Harry M. Lasker Rebecca Leong, MD ’88 Leann M. Lesperance, MD ’95, PhD ’93 *Nancy U. Lin, MD ’99 *Alexander Ling, Jr., MD ’81 *James C. Lisak, MD ’81 Mark A. Lovich, MD ’99, PhD ’97 Ming Lu, MD ’99, PhD Jeffrey D. Macklis, MD ’84 Joshua Makower, MD Stephen E. Malawista, MD *Frederick L. Mansﬁeld, MD ’76 Pamela K. McGill Lawrence M. McGlynn, MD ’96 John P. McHugh, MD ’95 *Robert C. McKinstry, III, MD ’92, PhD Antonio J. Miller, SM-HST ’06 McCurdy C.B. Miller *Richard N. Mitchell, MD, PhD Mark E. Mullins, MD ’97, PhD Ganesh Nair, BEP ’06 *Ira S. Nash, MD ’84 Robert S. Negrin, MD ’84 Robert L. Nussbaum, MD ’75 and Jennifer M. Puck, MD ’75 Keiko F. Oh

gifts & endowments Kevin L. Ohashi, BEP ’07 *Annabelle A. Okada, MD ’88 Paula J. Olsiewski *Stephen T. Onesti, MD ’86 Scott D. Packard, PhD ’02 David C. Page, MD ’84 Jane R. Parnes, MD ’76 Mark S. Pasternack, MD ’75 Stephen J. Pﬁster, MD ’76 Mark D. Price, MD ’03, PhD ’01 Evan R. Reiter, MD ’93 Daniel Rippy, BEP Student *Dwight R. Robinson, MD Rachel S. Rohde, MD ’99 Rodman & Rodman, P.C. Ivan C. Rokos, MD ’92 Mrs. Walter A. Rosenblith Adam D. Rosenthal, PhD ’07 Carl E. Rosow, MD, PhD David A. Roth, MD ’87 Robert L. Sah, MD ’91, PhD ’90, ScD and Valerie P. Tan-Sah Scott D. Sarazen Neal R. Satten, MD ’75 *Bo E.H. Saxberg, MD ’88, PhD Robert H. Schapiro, MD Jeremiah M. Scharf, MD ’01, PhD Jeffrey E. Sell, MD ’80 Charles N. Serhan, PhD Arnold Hoo Seto, MD ’01 Timothy D. Shafman, MD ’89 and Ms. Mary Donlon *Elaine L. Shiang, MD *Anthony F. Shields, MD ’79, PhD Barry P. Sleckman, MD ’89 Stelios M. Smirnakis, MD ’97, PhD Eliot R. Spindel, MD ’82, PhD Robert A. Star, MD ’80 *Charles W. Stearns, PhD ’90 Susan F. Steinberg, MD ’76 and Elliot J. Riegelhaupt, MD David M. Steinhaus, MD ’77 and Meredith D. Steinhaus *Eric H. Stern, MD ’76 *Kenneth N. Stevens, ScD Alan H. Stolpen, MD ’88, PhD Steven M. Stufﬂebeam, MD ’94 Lizhe Sun, BEP Student Cynthia Sung, PhD ’89 *Jeffrey P. Sutton, MD, PhD Herbert Tabor, MD H. George Tanaka, MD ’92 *Betsy Tarlin

Nii Ashitey Tetteh, MD ’02 Jacqueline Villars Kevin F. Walsh James C. Weaver, PhD Jesse L. Wei, MD ’01 Mark E. Whipple, MD, MI-SM ’01 Anthony D. Whittemore Anthony Williams Elizabeth F. Wise, MD ’78 George R. Wodicka, PhD ’89 John S. Yu, MD ’90 *Greg Zaharchuk, MD ’00, PhD ’99 Thomas E. Zewert, MD ’97, PhD

HST Staff H. Frederick Bowman, PhD Patricia Cunningham and Samuel W. Kennedy, PhD Irene Huang Pamela K. McGill Catherine A. Modica Nina F. Restuccia Georgia K. Santander James C. Weaver, PhD

Designated Gifts We are deeply grateful to the following contributors, who provided support of $100 or more for speciﬁc purposes within the Division between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007. Tenley E. Albright, MD American Heart Association Inc. Arthur J. Bauernfeind Revocable Living Trust Jeffrey S. Behrens, BEP ’07 Robert M. Berry Tim Collins Cooley’s Anemia Foundation C.R. Bard Foundation Paul D. Edelman, PhD David A. Fleming Marilyn Gehrke The Fleming Foundation David E. Goodman, MD ’93 Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Lawrence A. Krakauer Jan and Ruby Krouwer Stanley N. Lapidus Paul LaViolette and Lucille Rossignol John Lehmann Les Laboratoires Servier/ Laurent Perret LifeCELL Corporation Joshua Makower, MD *Roger G. Mark, MD, PhD Jane Ann McMaster NeuroMetrix, Inc/Shai N. Gozani, MD ’94, PhD

Northeast Management Company Brian J. G. Pereira, MD Pervasis Therapeutics Philippe Foundation/Alain Philippe Tim Ring *Daniel C. Shannon, MD Diana Thomas Rene and Ann Thomas William Thomas John Weiland Jewish Community Foundation/Suzanne Whitman Anthony Williams

Student Giving Fund

Matching Gifts Amgen Becton Dickison Company General Electric Foundation Johnson & Johnson Merck Partnership for Giving Philips Wyeth

This program gives graduating students a chance to support HST while formally honoring an individual who has had a positive impact on them during their time at HST. Jeffrey S. Behrens, BEP ’07 Eugene Kyujin Cha, MD ’07 Euiheon Chung, PhD ’07 in honor of Cathy Modica Jairam R. Eswara, MD ’07 John M. Higgins, MD ’04, SM-MD ’07 in honor of Patty Cunningham Blanca E. Himes, PhD ’07 in honor of Cathy Modica Antonio J. Miller, SM-HST ’06 in honor of Andrew Oxenham

Ganesh Nair, BEP ’06 Francisca P. Leite, PhD ’07 in honor of Roger Mark

Viviany R. Taqueti, MD ’07 in honor of Andrew H. Lichtman

James Rhee, MD ’07, PhD in honor of Rick Mitchell

Neelaksh K. Varshney, MD ’07 in honor of Patty Cunningham

Adam D. Rosenthal, PhD ’07 in honor of Roger Mark and Cathy Modica

Neda Vukmirovic, PhD ’07 in honor of Roger Mark

Douglas A. Rubinson, MD ’07, PhD in honor of Patty Cunningham

Vincent C. Cheung, PhD ’07 in honor of Hannah Diller

We regret if we have inadvertently omitted any names from this list. If you note any omissions or corrections, please contact Pamela McGill at hst-giving@mit.edu or (617) 253-4418. The Connector

research news New Approach to Synthesizing Small Molecules Martin D. Burke, PhD, MD ’05, is the senior author of “A simple and modular strategy for small molecule synthesis: iterative Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of B-protected haloboronic acid building blocks.” This report describes a simple strategy for the synthesis of small molecules using one reaction over and over again to assemble a collection of bifunctional building blocks. This method led to the first total synthesis of the natural product ratanhine (EP Gillis et al., J Am Chem Soc 2007; 129: 6716-7). Burke is Assistant Professor of Chemistry at University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Physiological Correlates of Electroconvulsive Therapy Stephan Heckers, MD, CITP ’00, is co-author of “Electroconvulsive Seizures Stimulate Glial Proliferation and Reduce Expression of Sprouty2 within the Prefrontal Cortex of Rats.” The authors tested the hypothesis that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) stimulates cellular proliferation in the prefrontal cortex, involved in mood disorders, which are associated with a reduction in the number of glial cells. In rats which had received 10 days of ECT and injections of bromodeoxyuridine injections, the proliferation of new cells in the prefrontal cortex was increased dramatically, an effect which persisted for four weeks. This treatment also decreased the expression of Sprouty2, an inhibitor of cell proliferation, in the same region. This study suggests that alterations in Sprouty2 activity in the adult brain might contribute to the therapeutic effects of ECT in patients by regulating cellular proliferation. (D Ongur et al., Biol Psychiatry 2007; 62:505-12.) Heckers, formerly Associate Professor of Psychiatry at HMS and Director of McLean Hospitals’ Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Program, where this work was done, is Chair of Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

A Thought Experiment with Ethical Implications Under the title “Reestablishing the Researcher-Patient Compact,” Isaac S. Kohane, MD, PhD; Kenneth D. Mandl, MD, and Daniel J. Nigrin, MD, address the limitations and even negative effects of certain federal regulations which protect privacy, upon optimal health care and preventive medicine. Institutional review boards prohibit communicating results of clinical investigations back to subjects involved in the research, even if such information might benefit their health. (IS Kohane et al., Science 2007; 316: 836-37.) To remedy this situation, the authors propose a collaborative clinical research regime they call “Informed Cohort” (IC), overseen by an independent IC Oversight Board (ICOB) responsible for communicating study information 10

Fall 2007

back to patients. Pilot programs are in planning at Children’s Hospital Boston. Kohane is the Lawrence J. Henderson Associate Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Director of HST’s Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics Training Program. Mandl, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at HMS and CHB, and Nigrin, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at HMS and CHB. are members of the HST affiliated faculty.

preeclampsia. Whereas levels of sFIt1 and sEng in the two groups did not differ significantly during the first trimester, both levels were elevated significantly in the second trimester in the group that later developed preeclampsia. The researchers concluded that sequential changes in serum antiangiogenic factors during early pregnancy may be predictive of preterm preeclampsia. (RS Karumanchi et al., Hypertension 2007; 50:137-42.)

Demonstration of Common Regulation of Embryonic and Adult Stem Cells

Mehmet Toner, PhD ’89, HST Faculty and Professor of Surgery at HMS and MGH, is co-author of “Multifunctional encoded particles for high-throughput biomolecule analysis.” Current approaches for multiplexed analysis are complicated and expensive. This report presents a method based upon continuous flow lithography that combines particle synthesis and encoding and probe incorporation into a single process to generate particles bearing over a million codes. This system, suitable for genetic analyses as well as clinical diagnostics, is sensitive, reproducible and cost effective. (DC Pregibon et al., Science 2007; 315: 1393-6.)

Leonid A. Mirny, PhD, is co-author of “Zfx controls the self-renewal of embryonic and hematopoetic stem cells.” Working with mouse cells, this research found that the self-removal of pluripotent embryonic stem cells and of tissuespecific adult stem cells, namely hematopoetic stem cells, is controlled by a common mechanism involving the transcription factor Zfx. (JM GalanCaridad et al., Cell 2007; 129: 345-57.) Mirny is the Samuel A. Goldblith Development Associate Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and also Associate Professor of Physics at MIT.

Urinary Biomarkers for Classifying Renal Disease Robert A. Star, MD ’80, Chief of the Renal Diagnostics and Therapeutics Unit, Kidney Disease Section, NIDDK, NIH, is senior author of “Rapid isolation of urinary exosomal biomarkers using a nanomembrane ultrafiltration concentrator.” Membrane and cytosolic proteins (exosomes), excreted into urine by patients with renal disease, are biomarkers and may serve to diagnose, classify and monitor renal disease. However, the standard ultracentrifugation method is slow and cumbersome. The authors report the use of a nanomembrane concentrator which simplifies and accelerates the concentration of exosomal proteins from clinical samples of urine, and also permits the storage and shipping of samples. This new method accelerates the translation of urinary exosomal biomarkers from bench to bedside. (A Cheruvanky et al., Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 2007; 292: F1657-61.)

Predicting Preterm Preeclampsia HST affiliated faculty Ravi Thadhani, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at HMS, and MGH and Co-Director of the Clinical Research Center at MIT, is senior author of “Sequential Changes in Antiangiogenesis Factors in Early Pregnancy and Risk of Developing Preeclampsia.” This study tested the prognostic value of elevated blood levels of the antiangiogenesis factors tyrosine kinase 1 (sFIt1) and endoglin (sEng) during pregnancy. Serum was collected from 186 pregnant women at 11-13 weeks of gestation and again at 17-20 weeks. Thirty-nine women developed

New Method to Screen for Biomolecules

Zone-Specific Cells in Engineered Cartilage Jennifer H. Elisseeff, PhD ’99, is senior author of “Designing zonal organization into tissue-engineered cartilage.” Superficial and deep zone chondrocytes from bovine articular cartilage were cultured and studied by histology, mechanical testing and biochemical analysis. Deep cells produced more collagen and proteoglycan than superficial cells, resulting in cartilage tissue with stratified, heterogeneous properties. The bilayered constructs demonstrated that interactions between zone-specific chondrocytes affect the biological and mechanical properties of engineered cartilage. (B Sharma et al., Tissue Eng 2007; 13: 405-14.) Elisseeff is Assistant Professor and Principal Investigator in the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, at Johns Hopkins University.

Role of Thioredoxin Interacting Protein (TXNIP) in Glucose Homeostatis Vamsi K. Mootha, MD ’98, is senior author of “TXNIP regulates peripheral glucose metabolism in humans.” By combining human insulin/glucose clamp physiological studies with genome-wide expression profiling, researchers identified TXNIP as a gene whose expression is powerfully suppressed by insulin yet stimulated by glucose. Whereas its expression in healthy individuals inversely correlated with glucose uptake, forced expression of TXNIP in cultured adipocytes reduced glucose uptake significantly, while silencing with RNA interference in adipocytes and in skeletal muscle enhanced glucose uptake. Thus, TXNIP is a regulator of glucose uptake. These data suggest that TXNIP may play a key

research news role in defective glucose homeostasis preceding overt Type 2 diabetes mellitus. (H Parikh et al., PLoS Med 2007; 4: e158.) Mootha is a member of the HST affiliated faculty, Assistant Professor of Systems Biology at HMS and MGH, and faculty at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Molecular Basis of Abeta-Induced Neouronal Dysfunction

Molecular Monitoring to Guide Treatment Decisions George Q. Daley, MD ’91, and George M. Church, PhD, are senior author and co-author, respectively, of “Quantitative monitoring by polymerase colony assay of known mutations resistant to ABL kinase inhibitors.” Patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), although generally responding to imatinib, may develop resistance to the drug in their chronic phase. Here, the polymerase colony (polony) method is used to identify and quantify known point mutations in the BCRABL oncogene in patients with CML. Analyses of blood samples from three patients undergoing therapy with ABL kinase inhibitors revealed that

Antiangiogenic Therapy of Glioblastoma Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, is senior author, and A. Gregory Sorensen, MD ’89, is co-author of “AZD2171, a pan-VEGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, normalizes tumor vasculature and alleviates edema in glioblastoma patients.” The structural and functional abnormalities of tumor vessels impair effective delivery of drugs to the tumor and reduce the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy. The potent oral, pan-VEGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor was administered to 16 glioblastoma patients who had failed conventional therapy. Vessel size and permeability, tumor contrast enhancement and edema were assessed by MRI and changes were correlated with biomarkers of vascular response. In recurrent glioblastoma vascular normalization was observed within 24 hours, accompanied by reduction of edema, and lasted at least 28 days. This response permitted a cycle of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. (TT Batchelor et al., Cancer Cell 2007; 11: 83-95.) Jain is an affiliated HST faculty member

and the A. Werk Cook Professor of Radiation Oncology at HMS and MGH. Sorensen is an HST faculty member, Associate Professor of Radiology at HMS and MGH, and Associate Director of the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging.

New Model for Diabetic Nephropathy Raghu Kalluri, PhD, is senior author of “Renal Fibrosis and Glomerulosclerosis in a New Mouse Model of Diabetic Nephropathy and Its Regression by Bone Morphogenic Protein-7 and Advanced Glycation End Product Inhibitors.” Diabetic nephropathy is the most common course of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the U.S., Europe and Japan. There is no specific therapy to inhibit or reverse progression of advanced diabetic nephropathy. A new model of diabetic nephropathy is presented, induced in CDI mice by means of a single injection of streptozotocin. Within three months, these mice develop ESRD associated with tubulointerstitial nephritis and fibrosis and die after 6-7 months. The histopathology closely resembles human diabetic nephropathy. A series of injections of bone morphogenic protein-7 (BMP-7) effectively inhibited tubular inflammation and tubulointerstitial fibrosis in these mice. Combination of an inhibitor of advanced glycation end products with BMP-7 provided synergistic effects. (H. Sugimoto et al., Diabetes 2007; 56: 1825-1833.) Kalluri is a member of the HST affiliated faculty, Associate Professor of Medicine at HMS and BIDMC, and Chief of the Division of Matrix Biology at BIDMC.

New approach to engineering cartilage Lisa E. Freed, MD, PhD ’88, is coauthor of “A biomimetic three-dimensional woven composite scaffold for functional tissue engineering of cartilage.” In collaboration with researchers from Duke University, a micro-woven scaffold was developed to facilitate the repair of large areas of damaged articular cartilage. The scaffold had mechanical properties similar to those of native cartilage a priori, to enable its implantation immediately after seeding with cells instead of after protracted in vitro culture. Also, the scaffold exhibited multidirectional mechanical behaviors mimicking the anisotropy of native cartilage. (FT Moutos et al., Nat Mater 2007; 6:162-167 and editorial 6:89-90.) Freed is a Principal Research Scientist at HST and MIT.

F. Moutos and F. Guilak / Duke University

Bernardo L. Sabatini, MD, PhD ’99, Associate Professor of Neurobiology at HMS, is senior author of “Natural oligomers of the Alzheimer amyloid-beta protein induce reversible synapse loss by modulating an NMDA-type glutamate receptor-dependent signaling pathway.” Authors’ Abstract: “Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by decreased synapse density in hippocampus and neocortex, and synapse loss is the strongest anatomical correlate of the degree of clinical impairment. Although considerable evidence supports a causal role for the amyloid-beta protein (Abeta) in AD, a direct link between a specific form of Abeta and synapse loss has not been established. We demonstrate that physiological concentrations of naturally secreted Abeta dimers and trimers, but not monomers, induce progressive loss of hippocampal synapses. Pyramidal neurons in rat organotypic slices had markedly decreased density of dendritic spines and numbers of electrophysiologically active synapses after exposure to picomolar levels of soluble oligomers. Spine loss was reversible and was prevented by Abeta-specific antibodies or a small-molecule modulator of Abeta aggregation. Mechanistically, Abeta-mediated spine loss required activity of NMDA-type glutamate receptors (NMDARs) and occurred through a pathway involving cofilin and calcineurin. Furthermore, NMDAR-mediated calcium influx into active spines was reduced by Abeta oligomers. Partial blockade of NMDARs by pharmacological antagonists was sufficient to trigger spine loss. We conclude that soluble, low-n oligomers of human Abeta trigger synapse loss that can be reversed by therapeutic agents.” (GM Shankar et al., J Neurosci 2007; 27: 2866-75.)

the patients’ response to therapy correlated with molecular monitoring. Emerging mutations were detected before clinical relapse, demonstrating the utility of early detection of mutations in patient-specific treatment decisions. (V. Nardi et al., Oncogene 2007; August 6 [Epub ahead of print].) Both authors are members of the HST affiliated faculty, Daley is Associate Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at HMS and CHB; Church is Professor of Genetics at HMS.

Fiber architecture of a 3-D orthogonally woven structure: 3-D structures were woven by interlocking multiple layers of two perpendicularly oriented sets of in-plane ﬁbers (in the x- and y-directions) with a third set of ﬁbers in the z-direction.

The Connector

hst matriculants Medical Science

Andriana Petrova Nikolova Grinnell College Biochemistry

Harry Jenq Princeton University Biology

Gopal S. Ramachandran, PhD U. Washington, Seattle Biochemistry

Cathal John Kearney Trinity College, Dublin Mathematics; Mechanical Engineering

Elizabeth Rossin University of Pennsylvania Mechanical Engineering

Sarah Brianne Lumpkins University of Oklahoma Engineering Physics

Diane Shao Rice University Biochemistry; Statistics

Agustin Humberto Mohedas Texas A&M University Biomedical Engineering

Jonathan Evan Shoag University of Pennsylvania Biology

YongKeun Park Seoul National University Mechanical Engineering

Alexander Orest Subtelny Harvard University Chemistry

Suraj J. Patel Cornell University Mechanical Engineering

Gaurav Das Gaiha, PhD University of Illinois, Chicago Biochemistry; Economics

Andrew Mehrdad Vahabzadeh-Hagh Arizona State University Biomedical Engineering

Mark Andrew Scott, MEng Cambridge University Electrical Engineering

Xin Gao Stanford University Biological Sciences

Erin X. Wei MIT Chemistry

Wesley Hatch Greenblatt Yale University Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Michael Xiang MIT Biology

Ian Andre Buchanan Williams College Biology Xi Chen, PhD Peking University Physiology and Biophysics Yicheng Chen Harvard University Biochemical Sciences Evelyn Joyce Cheung CalTech Biology Gregory Louis Cvetanovich Northwestern University Biological Sciences; Chemistry Wataru Ebina Stanford University Chemical Engineering

Sravisht Iyer Johns Hopkins University Biomedical Engineering

Amy Xu Harvard University Biomedical Sciences and Engineering

Xiaoming Jia, MEng MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Vijay Yanamadala, MA Harvard University Biochemical Sciences

Shilpa Makarand Joshi MIT Chemical Engineering

Medical Engineering and Medical Physics

Amar Upadhyaya Kishan University of California, Berkeley Molecular and Cell Biology; Public Health

Ovid Charles Amadi MIT Mechanical Engineering

Seth J. Kleinerman Harvard University Mathematics Robert Mawunyo Kofﬁe Indiana University, Bloomington Biochemistry; Physics Natalie Luanne Leong Columbia University, New York Biomedical Engineering Michael Anthony Mohan Yale University Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology

Daniel Burje Chonde MIT Physics Alal Eran Ben Gurion University Computer Science Joseph Wang Franses Purdue University Chemical Engineering; Chemistry Kay Dee Furman MIT Materials Science and Engineering

Tafadzwa Muguwe Swarthmore College Biology; Economics

Bryan Robert Gorman Vanderbilt University Biomedical Engineering; Mathematics

Lydia Won Ying Ng CalTech Chemistry

Alison Lynn Hill Queen’s University Physics

Fall 2007

Jing Shan Columbia University Biomedical Engineering Renee Chivon Smith University of North Carolina Chemistry Zachary David Wissner-Gross MIT Biology; Physics

Speech & Hearing Bioscience and Technology Leah Christine Acker* Grove City College Electrical Engineering; Political Science Naomi Faulkner Bramhall, AuD McGill University / U. Washington, Seattle Biology/Speech and Hearing Bennett Charles Bullock Brown University Foreign Languages & Literature Shanqing Cai Tsinghua University Biomedical Engineering Matthew Victor Crema Boston University Biomedical Engineering Ann E. Hickox Arizona State University French Christine Lih Hsieh* Rutgers University Cell Biology and Neuroscience; Physics Annalisa Marie Pawlosky* Virginia Tech Physics

Andrew H. Schwartz* Boston University Computer Systems Engineering Lara A. Thompson University of Massachusetts, Lowell Mechanical Engineering * June 2007 matriculant

Biomedical Enterprise Master’s Program Joanne Chang MIT Electrical Science and Engineering Most recent position: Senior Consultant, PRTM, Inc. Soo Jin Chun, PhD Kyung Hee University Food Processing Most recent position: Science Communication Specialist, Korean Consulate, Boston Lindsay Anna Johnston Bates College Psychology Most recent position: Clinical Research Associate, Dyax Corp. Ridhi Tariyal Georgia Tech Industrial and Systems Engineering Most recent position: Project Analyst, Bristol Myers Squibb Adam Weinstein Brandeis University Computer Science Most recent position: Software Architect, Cardinal Health, Pyxis Products Daniel William Wolf Bowdoin College Economics Most recent position: Health Care Investment Banking Analyst, Piper Jaffray & Co.

Biomedical Informatics Master’s Program Julia Braverman, PhD** Northeastern University Psychology Ivar Sigurjon Helgason, MD University of Iceland Medicine Ludwig Christian Giuseppe Hinske, MD Ludwig Maximilians University Medicine

Michael Claude Jernigan, MD** University of Tennessee, Memphis Medicine Elisabeth Lee Scheufele, MD** Georgetown University Medicine Christopher C. Tsai, MD** Columbia University Medicine ** February 2007 matriculant

Clinical Investigator Training Program Adam Bass, MD Duke University Medical Oncology Paola Blanco, MD Universidad Mayor De San Andres Gastroenterology Brian Brennan, MD University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Psychiatry Daniel B Costa, MD University of São Paulo (Brazil) Hematology / Oncology Stephan Danik, MD New Jersey Medical School Electrophysiology Jody Dushay, MD Harvard Medical School Endocrinology Shi Yin Foo, MD, PhD Stanford University School of Medicine Heart Failure / Transplant Brent Forester, MD Dartmouth Medical School Geriatric Psychiatry Diana Gallagher, MD Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Pulmonary and Critical Care Rakesh Karmacharya, MD, PhD Albert Einstein College of Medicine Psychiatry Trudy Pang, MD McMaster University School of Medicine Neurology Athe Tsibris, MD University of South Florida Infectious Disease

alumnus profile

Guided by Patrick Bibbins / CHB

HST’s ﬁrst principles by Patricia A. Cunnigham

oseph Russell Madsen, MD ’81, found his way to HST via Esquire magazine. This Utah native, about to graduate magna sum laude from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, was exploring medical schools. He came across a mention of HST through a profile in Esquire of George Thorne, Chief of Medicine at Boston’s Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (which later became BWH) who was active in the planning of HST. Madsen thought that the Program Thorne described — a joint effort between Harvard and MIT — made more sense than any other medical school for a physical and organic chemistry major. Madsen’s instincts paid off. He said he loved all the courses he took in the HST curriculum. He still remembers details from his anatomy course, especially the first lecture by the late Thomas McMahon, Professor of Applied Mechanics and Professor of Biology at Harvard University. He was fascinated that one could model parts of the human body with electrical circuits. McMahon’s lecture was clear and clever, and captured Madsen’s imagination. Madsen was intrigued by the outsiders’ views of biology; while faculty like McMahon had no medical background, per se, they taught medical students on the basis of basic understandings. These early HST faculty members — including McMahon, Felix Villars, Farish Jenkins, Tom Weiss, Roger Mark, and Walter Abelmann — struck him as cross-trained, capable of working at unique frontiers of the field. They inspired Madsen to use his quantitative background to ask new questions and develop new ways to look at clinical problems. He graduated from the HST MD program in 1981 with another magna cum laude. After an internship and fellowship in surgery at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, he completed a residency in neurosurgery at MGH in 1989. He is currently Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at HMS

and Director of the Neurosurgical Clinic and Neurodynamics Lab, both at CHB, and performs epilepsy surgery at BWH. While a medical student, Madsen became interested in a paradox involving normal pressure hydrocephalus that fellow HST student Eli Farhi, MD ’82, mentioned to him during Farhi’s clerkship in medicine. Madsen developed brain models based on McMahon’s models of the heart and blood vessels, which helped pave his way for a career in neurosurgery. His post-graduate research interests focused on the application of signal processing and biophysical modeling to the understanding of epilepsy and hydrocephalus. His current clinical interests focus on surgical treatment of epilepsy in children and adults, and a wide range of pediatric neurosurgical problems include antenatal interventions for congenital malformations, neurosurgical devices, and surgical approaches to restoration of function. When asked what percent of time he spent on research compared to clinical medicine, Madsen replied that this was not a black-and-white question for him. His clinical time informs his research, and vice versa, and he believes that surgeons who continue to do research beyond their training often experience this ambiguity. Madsen spent a year with physics-centered neuroscientists as a visiting scholar at the Volen National Center for Complex Systems at Brandeis University. Their work on the collection of intracranial electrical data resulted in a publication in Nature, and led to Madsen’s development of the Neurodynamics Lab at Children’s Hospital in 2000. There, Madsen and colleagues combined clinical research with basic research involving data from human subjects. His current research focuses on the computer modeling, signal analysis and device design to improve the treatment for hydrocephalus. He explained that there is a lot about this condition that researchers do not yet understand. To discuss

the history, current understanding and future treatment of this condition, the Neurodynamics Lab sponsored a symposium in March to bring together experts in the field. Madsen’s other research interests include neurosurgical robots, simple technologies to replace neurosurgical intervention, and neurosurgical education. With engineer (and MIT alum) Jim Goldie he leads a multidisciplinary team of general, cardiac and urological surgeons to develop a new type of computer-enhanced surgery for the Department of Defense. In addition to his research and clinical work, Madsen is proud to be President of the HST Alumni Association and an HST MD academic advisor. With his many positive memories of his HST education, Madsen has enjoyed the chance to reunite with students and the HST organization as a whole. He does what he does bringing together physics and medicine — because HST showed him that it was possible. Madsen noted that the spirit of HST students today is unchanged from 30 years ago. He has been gratified to hear current students repeat what he and his classmates have said: “What we learn in HST is to go to first principles.” Madsen was happy to report that the HST product was strong, stable and out there — making a mark! Madsen’s extracurricular moments are happily spent with his family. His wife, Ilonna Rimm, received both her MD and PhD from Harvard. She was trained as a pediatric oncologist and also ran a lab at DFCI, but now Rimm specializes in finance related to healthcare, from venture capital to investment banking. They have three children: Miriam (“Mish”) is a student at MIT in Course 6, Ben is in high school, and Abraham(“Avi”) is 7 years old. When not driving the children to various activities, Madsen enjoys running, which probably accounts for how he can keep up with the (continues on page 15)

The Connector

Jill Evans / RPI

alumna profile

L eading a

department and lab

HST style by Elizabeth Dougherty

n avid HST alumna and member of the HST Advisory Council, Natacha DePaola, PhD ’91, was notably missing at the HST Forum this year. In fact, the last time she was at an HST event was for the 35th anniversary celebration in 2005. For an alumna who normally gets back to HST twice a year, this was indeed an oddity, albeit one with an understandable explanation. “At the 35th celebration, I was eight months pregnant,” DePaola said. Though it was a bit of a risk to travel so late in her pregnancy, she said, “I figured, if I have to go to the hospital, there’s no better place than Boston to have this baby.” Since then, DePaola has been busy. Between caring for Lukas, who is now almost two years old, keeping up with her 15-year-old son George, and continuing her fruitful research into how fluid dynamics influences cellular behavior as the head of the department of biomedical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., she said, “I have little time for myself.” And though HST has been far away distancewise, it hasn’t been far from DePaola’s mind these past few years as she’s worked to shape and define her department. She often finds herself challenged to differentiate biomedical engineering from biology, chemistry and other more traditional engineering programs that have also begun to take an interest in biotechnology. To her, the difference is one of focus. Her biomedical engineering department focuses on applying basic science and engineering to solve health related problems. “It’s very HST,” said DePaola. “We do basic science, but we keep in mind how to bring our discoveries from the bench to the clinic.” DePaola has made lots of progress in defining 14

Fall 2007

her department, which now has a newly revised undergraduate curriculum, a fast growing graduate program, and several new faculty members. But her work isn’t done. She has plans to collaborate with local medical centers to provide undergraduate and graduate students in biomedical engineering with more opportunities to visit clinical settings. Because the clinical training she received as an HST student doing research at MGH (for her master’s degree) and at BWH (for her doctoral degree) encouraged her to always be thinking in realistic terms of how her work could help the patient, she believes it can make a very big difference in the way students think. During her doctoral work, DePaola focused on the study of cell function relevant to the understanding of vascular disease. With her training as a mechanical engineer, she approached this problem from the point of view of fluid dynamics. She looked at how disturbed flows of blood affect the behavior of the endothelial cells that line the walls of the arteries. What she found is a key connection between disturbed flows and the early stages of atherosclerosis. The buildup of plaque that contributes to the disease tends to be found in specific locations: at sharp curves and branches that cause the flow of blood to deviate from its regular pattern and form vortices. By reproducing these disturbed flows and vortices in vitro, DePaola observed that cells exposed to these flows showed biological responses consistent with those linked to early atherosclerotic lesions, an initial stage of a long and involved process that eventually can lead to atherosclerosis. “We found demonstrative evidence that fluid dynamics plays an important role in early atherosclerosis. It may not be the main role

— cholesterol levels, blood pressure and other factors matter — but it does play an important role,” she said. DePaola’s work in this area provided the first convincing correlations between shear stress gradients and endothelial dysfunction in vitro. Those findings not only provided new clues into the understanding of vascular disease, but also generated many open questions about the mechanisms of flow regulation of cellular function. She has continued to pursue this line of research to find a mechanism behind these changes in cellular behavior. These investigations, which integrate engineering with basic biological research and a high level of quantification, zero in on the intercellular channels through which cells communicate up and down the vasculature. In fact, DePaola directs the only laboratory currently investigating the effect of disturbed flows in endothelial intercellular communication in vitro. In a 1999 study, she found that the way cells regulate these channels changes in the presence of disturbed flows. Her most recent work is looking in particular at how different channels respond to different flow patterns. All the while, what DePaola has in mind is therapies. For instance, she sees the potential for using these intercellular channels as biomarkers. By detecting the activation of channels that are triggered by disturbed flows, clinicians could determine whether atherosclerosis has begun. “This is very early diagnosis,” DePaola said. With so many demands on her time, DePaola probably wouldn’t have much time to spend with her husband, Aleksandar Ostrogorsky, who is also a professor at RPI, if she weren’t also collaborating (continues on page 15)

alumni news 1970s Stephen B. Calderwood, MD ’75, is the first incumbent of the new Morton N. Swartz MD Academy Professorship of Medicine (Microbiology and Molecular Genetics) at HMS and MGH. This chair honors Morton Swartz, professor of medicine since 1970. Calderwood is Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at MGH. Allan Detsky, MD, PhD ’78, and his wife, Rena, proudly announce their son Michael’s graduation from the University of Toronto Medical School this June. Michael has started his residency in internal medicine in Toronto. His younger brother Jeffrey graduated from Ryerson last year and has started a career in television screenwriting. Detsky is the Physician-in-Chief at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and Professor of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto.

1980s Theodore E. Dushane, MD ’82, PhD, previously practicing anesthesiology and cardiology in Ann Arbor, Mich., has returned to the Boston area as Instructor in Anaesthesia at HMS and BWH. He resides in Brookline, Mass. Joseph M. Smith, PhD ’86, MD ’87, formerly Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Guidant (later Boston Scientific), has been appointed Vice President of Microelectronic Technologies at Cordis Corporation (Warren, N.J.) He will lead the company’s efforts to develop microelectronic technologies in the management of cardiovascular disease. Robert Sege, MD, PhD ’88, formerly Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine and Chief of the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at the New England Medical Center, is now Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine and Director of the Division of Ambulatory Pediatrics. His research focuses on violence involving children and adolescents, and he has developed programs to reduce the risk of youth violence and child abuse.

1990s Eric A. Pierce, MD ’90, writes: “I was promoted to Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine this year. This promotion comes with tenure at Penn, and thus seems like a milestone. “As for what I am doing these days, I spend the majority of my time in the lab. The goals of my research program are to improve our understanding of the molecular basis of inherited retinal

degenerations and related cilia disorders so that rational therapies can be developed to prevent vision loss from these blinding disorders. We are especially interested in the biology of photoreceptor sensory cilia, which are disrupted in many forms of retinal degeneration. An example of our research is the recent publication of a detailed proteomic analysis of mouse photoreceptor sensory cilia. This is the first proteome of a mammalian sensory or primary cilium to be reported. We are now working to identify novel proteins from the proteome that are required for cilia formation and function. “I am also a pediatric ophthalmologist, and I see patients at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. My particular interest is caring for children with inherited retinal degenerations. We are poised to start a clinical trial of gene therapy for one form of early onset retinal degeneration called Leber congenital amaurosis.” David Huang, MD, PhD ’93, Medical Director of the Doheny Laser Vision Center at the Doheny Eye Institute at USC, has been appointed as the first holder of the Charles C. Manger III MD Chair in Corneal Laser Surgery.

2000s Steve H. Fung, MD ’00, has return to the Boston area from the National Institutes of Health. He is a neuroradiology fellow at MGH. Bryan B. Graham, MD ’04, was married in May to Dingli Chen, who works in asset management. They live in Denver, where he is starting a fellowship in pulmonary-critical care medicine at

the University of Colorado. Hao Zhu, MD ’05, writes, “I have moved from San Francisco to Cambridge, Mass. I finished residency and am now pursuing oncology training in Boston.” He welcomes visitors and can be reached at (617) 308-2120. Zhu is a Clinical Fellow in Medicine at HMS, BWH and DFCI. MIT’s Technology Review magazine has named David A. Berry, MD ’06, PhD, the 2007 Innovator of the Year for his work on genetically engineering microbes to create renewable petroleum and thus creating a new vision for biofuels. His innovations in energy form the conceptual basis of LS9, a California-based renewable petroleum company that has received $5 million in venture funding from Flagship and Khosla Ventures in California. Neil Hattangadi, MD ’06, writes, “I left McKinsey [management consulting firm] a few months ago to join one of my clients — a cardiovascular device company called FoxHollow Technologies. We make a catheter that excises plaque from arteries, as an alternative to stents and balloons. I’m building a division in the company (Molecular Programs) and tasked with developing drugs to be delivered locally after the plaque is removed to prevent restenosis of the artery. It’s a lot of fun, and pulls from much of what I learned in HST.” Amy E. Kerdok, PhD ’06, has joined Intuitive Surgical, Inc., in Sunnyvale, Calif., as Clinical Development Engineer. The company makes devices for robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery like the da Vinci Surgical System.

Madsen

DePaola

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kids. When an hour-long live webcast of him operating on a brain tumor last October won a Webby award and became downloadable on iTunes, he felt he reached a new level with his family. “Brain surgery doesn’t impress the kids very much,” he says. iTunes, that impresses them!” Madsen is the recipient of many honors and awards. This summer, he was awarded the “Champion in Healthcare: Innovation” award from the Boston Business Journal. These “Champion” awards, to the “best and brightest in the New England healthcare scene” recognized his work, his seven issued patents, and his desire to develop novel ideas and devices to improve the lives of children with neurological problems. Madsen is proud of the way his career has combined engineering, science, medicine and business. It’s the “HST way.”

with him on a new project. The two met at MIT, where she studied mechanical engineering before joining HST and he was a postdoc in materials science after earning his doctorate at MIT in mechanical engineering. Together they are looking at the effect of electromagnetism on cellular systems. She is contributing her expertise in biology and biophysics while he is contributing his expertise in applying electromagnetic systems to problems in materials processing. Given their previous collaborations — patent pending work on the design of novel bioreactors and technology for the engineering of new functional tissues — this new one should be quite productive. “It’s going to be exciting, because the application of the tools we’re using to biology is new,” said DePaola, followed jokingly with the caveat, “Just as long as we can put up with one another!” The Connector

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Medical Missions

Karp joins HST faculty

Fall 2007

Suzie Vanceton

Jeffrey M. Karp, PhD, is HST’s newest faculty member. On July 1 he joined as Instructor of Medicine in Health Sciences and Technology and Director of the Laboratory for Advanced Biomaterials and Stem-Cell-Based Therapeutics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Prior to joining HST, Karp was a postdoctoral fellow in HST affiliate and Institute Professor Robert Langer’s lab at MIT. Karp completed his PhD in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto in 2004. K a r p’s research will focus on applying a variety of technologies to regenerative medicine, such as devising novel approaches to repairing bone defects and investigating potential therapies based on stem cells.

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“Missions provide team members with a wonderful opportunity to visit the beautiful country of Vietnam and also learn from surgeons from around the globe. Surgeons from many countries — including Russia, Australia, Columbia and Taiwan — have taken part in these missions. Each trip is supplemented with an educational symposium, where both visiting and incountry surgeons can present their work. “Of the hundreds of charitable surgical mission trips each year, very few were actually written up for peer-reviewed journals. I worked with Craig Merrell, MD, the team leader and a plastic surgeon from Virginia Beach, to obtain data from the 11 mission trips to Vietnam and the cases that the Vietnamese surgeons performed independently during the same time period. The published report showed that the Vietnamese surgeons now possess a high degree of skill in carrying out microsurgical procedures. Another major advantage of the trip is that visiting surgeons see disease processes that are extremely rare in developed countries. For example, we have seen several cases of noma (Cancrum oris), an infectious disease that destroys facial structures in malnourished patients. Vietnamese surgeons educated their foreign colleagues on the conventional treatment measures for this disease. “During the course of the missions, Vietnam simultaneously underwent dramatic political and economic changes. Private enterprise is now encouraged and has resulted in substantial economic growth at around eight percent per year. Consequently, the Vietnamese have more disposable income and access to better health care. Many developing countries would benefit from access to the technologically advanced areas of medicine that developed nations are so fortunate to have. Nowadays, it is very easy for physicians in the U.S. to get involved in these programs with the Internet and efficient global transportations systems. Hopefully, technology will not only lead to cures, but will also be within the reach of the millions of needy people throughout the world.”