Harvard Medical School

The Medical School currently has six basic science departments: Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Neurobiology, Pathology; two social science departments: Health Care Policy and Social Medicine; and a clinical department: Ambulatory Care and Prevention. Harvard Medical School has 18 affiliates, where most of the clinical training for interns, residents, and medical students occurs. The affiliates include Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cambridge Hospital, Center for Blood Research, Children's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Joslin Diabetes Center, Judge Baker Children's Center, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, McLean Hospital, Mount Auburn Hospital, New England Regional Primate Center, Schepen's Eye Research Institute, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and Veterans Administration Medical Center.

For over two centuries Harvard Medical School has been a major participant in the effort to understand life, to cure and prevent disease, and to reduce the burden of human illness. The School is a place of 'firsts.' Since the introduction of the small pox vaccination to America in 1799 by Professor Waterhouse, Harvard Medical School faculty have discovered, innovated, and made giant steps toward improving human health and medical practice. The first introduction of insulin to the U.S. was made by Harvard Medical School researchers. The iron lung was invented for polio patients; then work on the polio virus, done at the Medical School, paved the way for vaccines against polio, and made the iron lung obsolete. Other innovations include mapping the visual system of the brain, development of the external cardiac pacemaker, development of artificial skin, the first successful kidney transplant, initial use of direct electric current to restore the rhythm of the heart, and discovery of the gene that causes Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

For more information, or to contact Harvard Medical School, see their website at: www.hms.harvard.edu

Innovative Efforts Target Epigenetics, Molecular Imaging
28 Jun 04 | The National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced it has awarded two new grants to establish Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science (CEGS) at Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins.

Largest Multi-National Mental Health Survey Shows Treatment Of Mentally Ill Woefully Inadequate
01 Jun 04 | The largest multi-national mental health survey of its kind ever undertaken has found that the challenge of treating those most severely affected by mental disorders is largely unmet.

Junk DNA Yields New Kind of Gene
01 Jun 04 | In a region of DNA long considered a genetic wasteland, Harvard Medical School researchers have discovered a new class of gene. Most genes carry out their tasks by making a product--a protein or enzyme.

Harvard Medical School Announces Center for Education and Research in Dubai
31 May 04 | Training and research programs at the HMSDC will be funded by the newly launched Harvard Medical School Foundation for Dubai. The Foundation will be administered through an endowment fund designed specifically to support the work of HMSDC.