BBS Student Newsletter
Our News page highlights the energy and engagement of our Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) community. Here you’ll find updates on recent research discoveries, student and faculty achievements, and major program milestones, as well as information about upcoming events. This section serves as the central hub for staying connected to the latest scientific advances, career development opportunities, and community-building activities across our program.
BBS in the News
Discovery Challenges View of How Cells Communicate During Inflammation
When the immune system detects a threat, cells communicate with one another through signals that activate inflammation. Scientists have long understood that these signals are relayed through receptors: proteins on or inside cells that detect danger and...
11 Harvard Medical School Researchers, Educators Elected to National Academy of Medicine
BBS Faculty: Kathleen Burns, HMS professor of pathology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, for work on transposable elements in human disease. Her discoveries have highlighted long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE-1) activity as a source of heritable...
New Screening Platform Helps Identify Genes With Tissue-Rejuvenation Potential
Researchers have developed a new method for predicting tissue age and screening for genes that affect the aging process. Using these methods, the team — led by George Church , the Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard...
Harvard Medical School Researchers Win NIH Director’s New Innovator Awards
Four Harvard Medical School researchers have been awarded research grants by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of their High-Risk, High-Reward Research program . In this year’s round, the NIH will provide approximately $237.5 million in...
Find Your Center: From Bench to Bill
When people think about science policy, they might picture a one-way relationship: scientists make discoveries, and policymakers decide how to use them. But according to Antonia Kowalewski, co-president of the Harvard Griffin GSAS Science Policy Group...
Drug combination that reduces oxygen levels in tissues improves Parkinson’s symptoms in mice
Highlights Studies in mouse models have previously shown that continuously breathing low-oxygen air may be beneficial in Parkinson’s disease and rare diseases involving mitochondrial dysfunction, but this raises practical and safety issues. To address...
Susan Dymecki Named Next Chair of HMS Department of Genetics
Susan Dymecki , the George Fabyan Professor of Genetics in the Field of Comparative Pathology in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School, has been named the next chair of the HMS Department of Genetics, effective Jan. 2, 2027. She will become...
‘Molecular Movie’ Fills in Blanks of How Non-Enveloped Viruses Infect Cells
Researchers have answered a longstanding question about how certain non-enveloped viruses punch through the cell membrane to deliver their genetic material. The findings deepen understanding of virology and could aid the biotech industry’s search for ways...
Catalog of Mitochondria Across Tree of Life Unearths New Roles for the Cell’s Powerhouse
Researchers have built a catalog of mitochondrial proteins found in six eukaryotic organisms — five parasites and one plant — that, along with existing inventories of human and yeast mitochondria, reveals new insights into this essential organelle. By...
New Mechanism of Antiviral Immunity Discovered
Researchers have figured out a missing piece of the puzzle of how human cells detect invading viruses and mount an immune response within an hour. This new insight into the mechanics of the battle between viruses and hosts could provide important clues...
Imaging Lipid Droplets: Insights Into Health and Disease
Specialized imaging technology allows members of the Harper Lab to make new discoveries about how lipid droplets support human health but can also contribute to metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. Watch the video.
How Cancer Cells Decide Their Fate
For 16 hours at a time, Galit Lahav peered into the microscope, watching and waiting. It was the early 2000s, and Lahav, then a postdoctoral fellow in Israel, was captivated by a conundrum that had long frustrated cancer researchers. Two cancer cells...
