MD-PhDProgram - Harvard Medical School - Harvard University

6
Noted
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 program
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 Graduate
Research Education and Training (GREAT) Group. Membership
in this body includes the faculty who serve as the institutional leaders
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 selected
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 specializing
in musculoskeletal oncology and an adjunct
appointment in the biomedical engineering
department at Northwestern University.
HARVARD MD-PHD PROGRAM newsletter
PROGRAM
Program Submits 5-Year Competitive Renewal to NIH
The 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 supporting
data for the $17.1M budget
request. Carefully detailed data tables
and analysis of the program’s administration,
finances, faculty, alumni, current
students and applicant pools supported
the program’s request.
The program faculty and staff
worked for over two months to complete
the project. While the number of
MSTP trainee positions in the current
The finished grant before it
was shipped to the NIH.
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 anticipated
in October. The funding requested for the next five-year period is
anticipated to begin on July 1, 2007.
The Days of Molecular Medicine Conference
this 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 fantastic
science, from basic mechanisms of NFkB and innate immuni
ty to the clinical trials for therapies
for rheumatoid arthritis and
other autoimmune disorders. A
panel on the regulatory challenges
in the US and Europe for new
drugs generated spirited discussion,
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 resurrected
in the 1950s from
Stockholm Harbor. A wonderful
trip! Next year, the DMM conference
will be at MGH and will
focus on Emerging Technology
and Human Disease.