January to June, 2008

James Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Genetics and Complex Diseases, Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases

Mitchell is focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms that help improve longevity through restricting calorie intake. He worked as a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, on telomerase RNA secondary structure and protein interactions. He comes to HSPH from Erasmus University, Rotterdam, where he worked as a postdoctoral fellow. There, he studied disorders that result from nucleotide excision DNA repair deficiency.

 

Charles Nelson, Professor in the HSPH Department of Society, Human Development and Health; Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research, Children's Hospital Boston; and Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

Nelson investigates a variety of problems in developmental cognitive neuroscience, including how memory develops, how infants recognize faces, and how infants recognize emotions in facial expressions. He also researches how experiences -- particularly adverse events -- influence brain development, and he has undertaken a study in Romania to study the effects of early institutionalization, such as time spent in orphanages, on brain and behavioral development. Nelson also is Research Director of the Developmental Medicine Center at Children's Hospital Boston.

 

 

Sara Singer, Assistant Professor of Health Care Management and Policy, Department of Health Policy and Management

Singer's research interests include state, national, and international health care system reform. She also studies the impact of financing, organization, and public and private policies on cost, quality, and health care access. Previously, she was a senior research scholar at the Center for Health Policy/Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research at Stanford. She has served as staff director of the California Managed Health Care Improvement Task Force. She has provided strategic and technical expertise to national and international policymakers and to health industry leaders.