MD-PhDProgram - Harvard Medical School - Harvard University

PROGRAMNotedDr. Alan M. Michelson, MD-PhD class of 1986, and member ofthe program’s faculty committees for the past 10 years, has accepteda position as Associate Director for Basic Research at the NationalHeart, Lung and Blood Institute. In this capacity, Dr. Michelson willwork with the NHLBI Director, Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, on extramuralbasic science policy and the development of new research initiatives.Dr. Michelson will also continue his own laboratory research as aSenior 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 ofAdvisors and member of the Executive Committee andSubcommittee on Admissions—with a plaque presented to him atthe program’s dinner in honor of the graduates on June 6, 2006.Parenthetically, Dr. Michelson was one of 8 graduates of the programhonored at the program’s first annual graduation dinner 20years ago in 1986.✓✓In the fall of 2004, the Executive Council of the AAMC approved aproposal to establish a new MD-PhD Section of the GraduateResearch Education and Training (GREAT) Group. Membershipin this body includes the faculty who serve as the institutional leadersof 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 anemphasis on training in the MD-PhD programs of LCME accreditedmedical schools. Both Dr. Chris Walsh and Ms. Linda Burnley aremembers of the new MD-PhD Section with Linda serving as afounding member of the MD-PhD Section’s Executive Committee aswell 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 AlumniPerspective on Space, Medicine, and Astronauts” on April 28, 2006 aspart of the Alliance Revisitation Weekend events. Dr. Satcher was selectedby NASA in May 2004 and completed Astronaut Candidate Trainingthis past February as part of preparation for futureflight assignments as a mission specialist. Priorto NASA training, he was Assistant Professor atthe Feinberg School of Medicine, NorthwesternUniversity, in Orthopaedic Surgery where he alsoheld appointments as an Attending Physician atChildren’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago specializingin musculoskeletal oncology and an adjunctappointment in the biomedical engineeringdepartment at Northwestern University.Program Submits 5-Year Competitive Renewal to NIHThe Harvard MD-PhD Program submitted its five-year competitiverenewal of its training grant to the NIH last January.The grant was composed of 1,531 pages containing a comprehensivereport on the program’s progress over the past five years, including supportingdata for the $17.1M budgetrequest. Carefully detailed data tablesand analysis of the program’s administration,finances, faculty, alumni, currentstudents and applicant pools supportedthe program’s request.The program faculty and staffworked for over two months to completethe project. While the number ofMSTP trainee positions in the currentThe finished grant before itwas shipped to the NIH.grant is 44, the program director, Dr. Chris A. Walsh, felt strongly that thegrant justified a budget increase to 50 trainee slots. Review of the grantwas held at the NIH on June 20, 2006 and a council decision is anticipatedin October. The funding requested for the next five-year period isanticipated to begin on July 1, 2007.The Days of Molecular Medicine Conferencethis past May in Stockholm, Sweden focused on ChronicInflammation. Marlys Fassett and Sarah Henrickson (below)both fourth years in the program, traveled across the Atlanticto hear great lectures, including those from HMS professorsLaurie Glimcher and Diane Mathis, and chat with colleagues overposters from across the world. The conference showcased fantasticscience, from basic mechanisms of NFkB and innate immunity to the clinical trials for therapiesfor rheumatoid arthritis andother autoimmune disorders. Apanel on the regulatory challengesin the US and Europe for newdrugs generated spirited discussion,as did the banquet at theVasa Museum, home to a 17thcentury Swedish ship that made itless than half an hour out of theharbor on its maiden voyagebefore sinking, only to be resurrectedin the 1950s fromStockholm Harbor. A wonderfultrip! Next year, the DMM conferencewill be at MGH and willfocus on Emerging Technologyand Human Disease.6HARVARD MD-PHD PROGRAM newsletter