Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST)

Congratulations to MEMP PhD student Kimberly Bennett for being selected to showcase her research photo in the MIT Koch Institute gallery!

Calling all alumni and friends! Today is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 24-Hour Challenge! Show your MIT pride by supporting Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) through giving.mit.edu/24hc-soe. Your support will create lasting change and a brighter future for us all. https://lnkd.in/djii5-px

J-WAFS is delighted to announce the recipients of the 2025 J-WAFS Water and Food Grand Challenge Grant! The J-WAFS Grand Challenge grant supports large, interdisciplinary projects that aim to solve the world’s pressing problems in water and/or food for human need. This year’s project, led by Professor Christopher Voigt of MIT Department of Biological Engineering, aims to genetically engineer more robust strains of microbes in the hopes of replacing harmful synthetic agrochemicals used in agriculture. Voigt will lead a team of collaborators from both MIT and Kenyatta University in Kenya to analyze nitrogen production of microbial communities in soil derived from farms in both the U.S. and Kenya.    The team of MIT researchers includes MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering Associate Professor David Des Marais, Associate Professor Tami Lieberman (MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES)), and Assistant Professor Darcy McRose, as well as MIT Sloan School of Management Professor of Applied Economics and co-chair of the Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative at Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) Tavneet Suri, and MIT EECS Assistant Professor Sixian You.    “As the world population grows, farming practices that are both more productive and more sustainable are needed to ensure we can feed the planet without harming the environment. This promising research aims to accomplish that goal.” – J-WAFS Executive Director Renee Robins ’83.    After a rigorous, multi-stage proposal process and intensive review, Voigt’s team was awarded $1.5 million in grant funding to carry out this work over the next three years. Read more about the project here: https://lnkd.in/eCczt7jH

I am excited to announce that this spring, I graduated Summa Cum Laude with Honors from the University of Michigan with a B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering and a minor in Computer Science. This fall, I will be joining Dr. Alex Meissner’s lab at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPI-MG) in Berlin, Germany, supported by a One-Year Research Grant for Doctoral Candidates from the DAAD German Academic Exchange Service. Subsequently, I will begin pursuing a PhD in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics through the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) Program beginning in Fall 2025. I am beyond excited to continue my research training through these opportunities! I am so grateful for all of the incredible people and experiences at the University of Michigan that enabled me to get to this point. A special thanks to Carlos Aguilar, Jacqueline Larouche, and the rest of the Aguilar lab for the most enriching undergraduate research experience I could have asked for. Forever Go Blue!

I’m excited to share some highlights from the beginning of my journey at Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST)! 📸 We kicked off with a class photo and the opportunity to meet my amazing peers in the PhD, MD, and MD-PhD tracks of the HST 2024 cohort! It’s truly inspiring to be surrounded by such a diverse and talented group of individuals, each bringing their unique perspectives to the table. 💻 At MIT, I’ve dived deep into computer science classes, while at HMS, I’ve started my medical classes, which have included some fascinating experiences—like attending an autopsy! 🌐 Outside of class, I’ve had the privilege of attending notable events, such as receptions as both a Harvard and MIT fellow, and even a wonderful evening at the French Consulate in Boston (thanks to Mustafa SOYKURT, Lili Vessereau and Loann Marquant). Harvard and MIT are one of these places where you might pass Nobel Prize winners on the street or see global CEOs walking by. I’ve even had the chance to meet with inspiring industry leaders like Stéphane Bancel and entrepreneurship leader Jinane Abounadi. These first few weeks have been both challenging and incredibly rewarding, and I can’t wait to see what’s next on this exciting journey!

Jane-Jane Chen worked with many HST students, and graduates, during her 45 years at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES). Read on for more about her remarkable career as an accomplished research scientist: https://bit.ly/3Y7Itcb

Spread the word! The MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is seeking a tenure track junior faculty candidate in health sciences. IMES is at the convergence of engineering, science and medicine, aiming to transform human health for all. IMES is the the home for the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) at MIT. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3TXpsYS

Come join the MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES)! We're hiring for a junior tenure-track faculty position in the area of health sciences. IMES is an inclusive community at the convergence of engineering, science, and medicine, to transform human health for all. Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT School of Engineering Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3N0IU3a

It is an honor to announce that I will join Brown University School of Engineering as an Assistant Professor in July 2026! I will join alongside several brilliant incoming faculty members (see below!!). My group will develop neurotechnology to study the mechanisms of psychiatric neuromodulation and discover safer, more effective ways to modulate brain function. I could not be more excited to build upon a long and inspiring history of neuroengineering at Brown! A big thank you to my mentors Polina Anikeeva, Emery N. Brown, Earl K. Miller, PhD, and Bijan Pesaran for their stellar career guidance, and my amazing departments University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST). Please reach out if you are interested in joining my group or collaborating! See you soon Brown University 🎉 

Recent Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) MEMP grad Maria Carmen Martin Alonso, PhD, awarded a provisional patent for her work on liquid biopsy “priming agents,” hopes to be the founding scientist of a start-up soon. MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES) Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3Y06Aen