$350M gift to tackle public health challenges

Chan family’s gift to School of Public Health largest in Harvard’s history Subtitle Harvard University will announce today a $350 million gift — the largest in Harvard’s history — to support efforts at the School of Public Health(HSPH) to tackle the world’s toughest health challenges. The gift comes from Newton, Mass.-based The Morningside Foundation, established … Continue reading “$350M gift to tackle public health challenges”

Viral load as an anti-AIDS hammer

Harvard-backed Botswana project to test treatment-as-prevention on wide scale After decades on the front lines of the HIV pandemic, Max Essex has seen his share of both setbacks and victories. There have been far too many deaths, some among colleagues in Botswana, where the Harvard AIDS researcher does much of his work. There have been frustrating years … Continue reading “Viral load as an anti-AIDS hammer”

Support on the cutting edge: Bernard Lemos receives Star Family Challenge Award

“Jamie Star challenges and enables us to do something important, without being prescriptive about how it’s done,” Douglas Melton, the Xander University Professor and Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor in the Natural Sciences, said Tuesday about the Star Family Challenge for Promising Scientific Research. At the inaugural awards ceremony for the challenge, Melton, who chairs the … Continue reading “Support on the cutting edge: Bernard Lemos receives Star Family Challenge Award”

Why Public Health? Anthony Covarrubias

In our video series “Why Public Health?” we ask Harvard School of Public Health students and alumni to talk about what drew them to the field. Anthony Covarrubias, a doctoral student in the Biological Sciences in Public Health program, talks about growing up without health insurance, and his new determination to understand and make an … Continue reading “Why Public Health? Anthony Covarrubias”

A passion for science—and fighting malaria

Before Perrine Marcenac even enrolled at Harvard School of Public Health, the institution changed her life. During an interview for the PhD Program in Biological Sciences in Public Health, Marcenac found herself fascinated by her faculty interviewers’ work on the malaria vector and parasite, and by the time she said good-bye, she’d found her research … Continue reading “A passion for science—and fighting malaria”

Chagas Disease Cure for “Silent Killer” Remains Elusive

Barbara Burleigh, associate professor of immunology and infectious diseases, studies Chagas disease, a leading cause of infectious heart failure. The disease is a major health and economic burden in Latin America, where it’s endemic, with roughly 8 million people infected and another 100 million individuals at risk of infection, mostly in rural, resource-poor settings. How … Continue reading “Chagas Disease Cure for “Silent Killer” Remains Elusive”

Harvard hosts symposium to encourage more minority students to pursue Ph.D.s

2014 Ivy Plus Symposium The second Ivy Plus Symposium attracted 130 undergraduates and 19 program directors from across the country. The event was aimed at giving them the chance to get an up-close-and-personal view of graduate student life; to network with nearly 60 faculty members, including 20 Harvard faculty, alumni, and administrators; and to get … Continue reading “Harvard hosts symposium to encourage more minority students to pursue Ph.D.s”

Toward an AIDS-Free Generation

A group of HIV researchers and medical ethicists gathered for a session titled “Trials of HIV Treatment as Prevention: Ethics and Science”. In many cases, antiretroviral treatment has kept viral loads low enough to prevent infection of the HIV-negative partner. Despite those encouraging examples, Max Essex (left), who is conducting a trial in 30 communities … Continue reading “Toward an AIDS-Free Generation”

“Big data” driving scientific revolution

Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health – including BPH Associate Professor Curtis Huttenhower – are developing new and improved methods to harness this “big data.” An article in the March/April 2014 issue of Harvard Magazine highlighted some of their efforts.  Read Why “Big Data” Is a Big Deal.

TB, HIV targeted by student researchers

When people who have been cured of tuberculosis (TB) re-develop the disease, are they relapsing or fighting a new strain? How often should HIV/AIDS patients be tested to see if antiretroviral treatment is working? These questions are being explored by doctoral candidates Ellen “Ellie” Caniglia and Richa Gawande who are conducting infectious disease studies at … Continue reading “TB, HIV targeted by student researchers”