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
Bruce Yankner’s Alzheimer’s Research Journey
Bruce Yankner has had a busy few months. In August 2025, his team published a study in Nature showing that lithium is a natural, biologically important element in the brain that has the potential to prevent or even reverse Alzheimer’s disease. The...
2026 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize Awarded for Gene-Editing Therapies
The 2026 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize has been awarded to scientists for their work leading to curative genetic therapies for two major blood disorders: sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. These diseases affect millions of people around the world...
New Tool Helps Uncover Rare Genetic Mutations in Common Diseases, Including Parkinson’s
Studies of genetics conducted in yeast cells, human neurons, mice, or other model systems often reveal networks of genes that could contribute to complex diseases, such as breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease. But those findings don’t...
Carla Kim Receives Joseph B. Martin's Dean's Leadership Award for the Advancement of Women Faculty
The JCSW has been awarding Leaders in Advancing Women’s Careers since 1998, when the first Dean’s Award for Leadership in the Advancement of Women Faculty was established. Former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Joseph B. Martin, M.D., Ph.D., initiated...
As They Advance Critical Research, PhD Graduates Agree: ‘Science Is a Community Project’
Community and mentorship shone as prominent themes at the Harvard Medical School-Affiliated PhD Programs Hooding Ceremony on May 28 as scholars received their doctoral hoods after many years studying, collaborating, and stretching themselves as they...
First rule of a disease fighter: Be curious
It was DNA replication that first captured Isaac Witte’s scientific imagination as a high school student in Overland Park, Kansas. “It’s this orchestration of so many different proteins and molecules that come together to do this core element of life,” he...
Stem cell biologists win support for cancer research
Fei Chen and Ryan Flynn were honored for promising investigations into cellular mechanisms of the disease. Two Harvard stem cell biologists have been recognized for promising research into underlying disease mechanisms and potential therapies. Fei Chen...
Ultrasensitive Test Detects Biomarkers for Specific Form of Dementia
Dementia affects over 57 million people worldwide, a number expected to nearly double in the next 20 years. This permanent loss of cognitive abilities affects daily function and can be caused by multiple brain pathologies, including well known ones like...
Alan D'Andrea Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Three Harvard Medical School faculty members have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Class of 2026 for distinguished accomplishments in biological sciences and public policy. Established in 1780, the Academy recognizes accomplished...
6 From BBS Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Six BBS researchers (Steve Blacklow, Jon Clardy, Ben Ebert, Steve Liberles, Johannes Walter, and Yi Zhang) are among the 145 newly elected members of the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in...
Clinical trial of a prion disease drug candidate begins enrolling participants
A new drug candidate designed to slow the progression of prion disease is entering a phase 1 clinical trial, which will evaluate the potential medicine for safety and tolerability. Prion diseases are a class of neurodegenerative disorders that are caused...
Finding Cancer’s Weakness
Advances in treatment have transformed pediatric leukemia from a largely fatal diagnosis into one of the most curable childhood cancers—survival rates in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia now exceed 90 percent. But when cancer spreads to the brain, a...
