computational biology phd harvard

Biomedical Informatics

Share this page.

Biomedical Informatics is an area of study within the Division of Medical Sciences. Prospective students apply through the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS). In the online application, select  “Division of Medical Sciences” as your program choice and select "Biomedical Informatics" in the area of study menu.

Biomedical Informatics​ is one of the programs in the Harvard Integrated Life Sciences, which facilitates collaboration and cross-disciplinary research. Visit HILS for additional  application instructions .

This program trains you to be future leaders in the growing fields of bioinformatics and genomics via the Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics (BIG) PhD track or in AI in Medicine via the Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIM) PhD track. In BIG, you will receive rigorous training in computational methods and biological principles to conduct original research in developing novel algorithms, models, and technologies to address fundamental biological questions. The AIM track trains exceptional computational students to harness large-scale biomedical data and cutting-edge AI methods to create new technologies and clinically impactful research that transform medicine and healthcare worldwide.

You will be in the heart of Boston’s Longwood Medical Area, which includes some of the country’s leading hospitals, as well as in the proximity of the booming biotech industry in Cambridge and Boston.

Graduates of the program often go on to postdoctoral positions and then to faculty positions at prestigious institutions. Many others go on to careers in biotech, especially to exciting start-ups in the Boston area.

Standardized Tests

GRE General: Optional GRE Subject: Optional iBT TOEFL minimum score: 100 IELTS minimum score: 7

See list of Biomedical Informatics faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Questions about the program.

In A Broader Scale of Inquiry

Center for Computational and Integrative Biology

About our center.

Faculty in the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology (CCIB) apply interdisciplinary approaches and new technologies to answer enduring biological questions and provide insights into human disease. Novel chemical, genomics and computational tools are developed to probe signaling pathways, identify mediators of host-microbe interactions, and design therapeutic disease interventions. Center investigators also conduct translational research to explore the potential utility of early-stage drug candidates in phase 1 studies carried out in small populations of individuals with the target disease indication. 

The CCIB provides support for investigators at Mass General Hospital and across the greater Boston area through a variety of autonomous cores that provide services in DNA sequencing, oligonucleotide synthesis and research laboratory automation. 

In the News

Congratulations Ramnik on being elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science!  This lifetime honor recognizes recipients' achievements across disciplines, from research, teaching, and technology, to administration in academia, industry and government, to excellence in communicating and interpreting science to the public. 

Welcome Jonathan Strecker, new faculty member in CCIB!  A main interest in the Strecker lab will be to investigate diverse immune proteins throughout nature, including phage defense and CRISPR-Cas systems, with the long-term goal of using these basic discoveries to enable new programmable functions in biology.

Congratulations Chris Smillie for being selected to join the  Pew Scholars Program in Biomedical Sciences ! The Scholars were chosen from 188 applicants nominated by leading academic institutions and researchers throughout the United States. This year’s class includes scientists who are studying how external and internal factors affect the gut microbiome, what causes HIV to re-emerge when treatment is halted, and how living an urban lifestyle affects long-term health.

Celebrating a historic $100M gift to establish the Gene Lay Institute for Immunology and Inflammation! The gift, from eminent biotechnology entrepreneur Gene Lay, founder and CEO of BioLegend, is the largest in Brigham's history. The  Gene Lay Institute  will be led by Vijay Kuchroo, an immunologist and principal investigator at the Brigham who will serve as inaugural director, Arlene Sharpe, chair of the Department of Immunology at HMS, and Ramnik Xavier, our Center Director. Areas of research will include basic understanding of immune-mediated diseases, aging, and cancer toward the development of new immunotherapies. The Institute will also provide training opportunities for students and fellows to support immunology innovators of the future.

Publications

Gut microbiome and metabolome profiling in Framingham heart study reveals cholesterol-metabolizing bacteria. Cell. 2024;187(8):1834-1852.e19

Translational genetics identifies a phosphorylation switch in CARD9 required for innate inflammatory responses. Cell Rep. 2024;43(3):113944

Hypoxia-inducible factor induces cysteine dioxygenase and promotes cysteine homeostasis in Caenorhabditis elegans . Elife. 2024;12:ePub

Hypoxia and intra-complex genetic suppressors rescue complex I mutants by a shared mechanism. Cell. 2024;187(3):659-675.e18

Trivalent rare earth metal cofactors confer rapid NP-DNA polymerase activity. Science. 2023;382(6669):423-429

Identification of host regulators of Mycobacterium tuberculosis phenotypes uncovers a role for the MMGT1-GPR156 lipid droplet axis in persistence. Cell Host Microbe. 2023;31(6):978-992.e5

Centenarians have a diverse gut virome with the potential to modulate metabolism and promote healthy lifespan. Nat Microbiol. 2023;8(6):1064-1078

Association of distinct microbial signatures with premalignant colorectal adenomas. Cell Host Microbe. 2023;31(5):827-838.e3

Genome-wide tiled detection of circulating Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell-free DNA using Cas13. Nat Commun. 2023;14(1):1803

Remodeling of colon plasma cell repertoire within ulcerative colitis patients. J Exp Med. 2023;220(4):ePub

The landscape of immune dysregulation in Crohn's disease revealed through single-cell transcriptomic profiling in the ileum and colon. Immunity. 2023;56(2):444-458.e5

Bacterial droplet-based single-cell RNA-seq reveals antibiotic-associated heterogeneous cellular states. Cell. 2023;186(4):877-891.e14

The Caenorhabditis elegans ARIP-4 DNA helicase couples mitochondrial surveillance to immune, detoxification, and antiviral pathways. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022;119(49):e2215966119

Phase 2 Trial of Baxdrostat for Treatment-Resistant Hypertension. N Engl J Med. 2022;388(5):395-405

Engineered CRISPR prime editors with compact, untethered reverse transcriptases. Nat Biotechnol. 2022;41(3):337-343

NIN-like protein 7 transcription factor is a plant nitrate sensor. Science. 2022;377(6613):1419-1425

Massachusetts General Hospital

Richard B. Simches Research Center

185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114

Phone: 617.643.3300. Fax: 617.643.3328

Partners HealthCare System, Inc. Web Privacy Policy

• Utility Menu

oebfancylogo2_0.jpeg

• Contact OEB

Mathematical & Computational Biology

Benjamin L. de Bivort

Faculty Support: Jennifer Thomson

... Read more about Benjamin L. de Bivort

Michael M. Desai

Faculty Support: Melinda Peterson

... Read more about Michael M. Desai

Scott V. Edwards

... Read more about Scott V. Edwards

Gonzalo Giribet

Faculty Support: Bridget Power

... Read more about Gonzalo Giribet

David A. Haig

Faculty Support: Erin Ciccone

... Read more about David A. Haig

Daniel L. Hartl

... Read more about Daniel L. Hartl

L. Mahadevan

Faculty Support: Andrea Henderson

... Read more about L. Mahadevan

Paul R. Moorcroft

Faculty Support:  Erin Ciccone

... Read more about Paul R. Moorcroft

Martin A. Nowak

... Read more about Martin A. Nowak

Pardis Sabeti

Faculty Support: Michael J. Butts

... Read more about Pardis Sabeti

Mansi Srivastava

Faculty Support: Patricia Fuentes-Cross

... Read more about Mansi Srivastava

John Wakeley

Interim Faculty Support:  Erin Ciccone

... Read more about John Wakeley

Search by Name

• Department Faculty
• Affiliated Faculty
• Emeritus Faculty
• Instructors
• Postdoctoral Fellows
• Research Scientists
• Research Associates
• Visiting Scholars
• Administrative Staff
• Financial and Research Administration Staff
• Lab Research Staff
• Faculty Support Staff
• Facilities Staff
• Non-OEB Students
• Visiting Graduate Students

Students will have access to an interdisciplinary group of Harvard Faculty at the top of their fields.

John Quackenbush CBQG Co-Director Professor, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Chair, Department of Biostatistics

Dr. Quackenbush and his group use a variety of bioinformatics and computational approaches, biostatistical analyses, and fundamental laboratory investigation to explore fundamental questions about the nature of human disease. Their approach is based on using high-throughput assays and applying “systems” methods integrate diverse datatypes, including the genome sequence, its annotation, genetic information, phenotype, and the vast body of knowledge captured in the literature. Their goal is not only to develop our own insight into these processes, but to instantiate our methods in tools, protocols, and databases to the broader community that will accelerate research beyond our own.

Research Keywords: Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Genomics, Cancer, Systems Biology

To Be Determined CBQG Co-Director

News from the School

At Convocation, Harvard Chan School graduates urged to meet climate and public health crises with fresh thinking, collective action

Graduation 2024: Award winners

Once a malaria patient, student now has sights set on stopping the deadly disease

Providing compassionate care to marginalized people

You must be logged in to post a comment.

computational (micro)biology

“ Creating novel computational models and high-throughput experimental systems to understand the role of the microbiota in human diseases, and applying these findings to develop new diagnostic tests and therapeutic interventions to improve patient care. “

email: ggerber#bwh.harvard.edu, physical address: Hale Building 8002M, 60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA 02115

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Deep Learning for Microbiome The Gerber Lab (http://gerber.bwh.harvard.edu) is a multidisciplinary group at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School that develops novel computational models and high-throughput experimental systems to understand the role of the microbiota in human diseases, and applies these findings to develop new diagnostic tests and therapies. The director of the lab, Dr. Georg Gerber, MD, PhD,… Read more : Postdoctoral Fellow, Deep Learning for Microbiome
• Post Doctoral Fellow, Microbiome-Host Immune System Interactions The Gerber Lab (http://gerber.bwh.harvard.edu) is a multidisciplinary group at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School that develops novel computational models and high-throughput experimental systems to understand the role of the microbiota in human diseases, and applies these findings to develop new diagnostic tests and therapies. The director of the lab, Dr. Georg Gerber, MD, PhD,… Read more : Post Doctoral Fellow, Microbiome-Host Immune System Interactions
• Graduate Students I am always excited to work with talented graduate students with interests relevant to my lab, which focuses on developing novel machine learning/computational biology/wet lab approaches to further understanding of the microbiome–the trillions of microbes living on and within us. This fascinating, complex and dynamic ecosystem is crucial for human health, and when disrupted may… Read more : Graduate Students
• Gerber Lab awarded $3.1 Million Five Year NIH-NIGMS R35 Grant “Probabilistic deep learning models and integrated biological experiments for analyzing dynamic and heterogeneous microbiomes” This work will leverage deep learning technologies to advance the microbiome field beyond finding associations in data, to accurately predicting the effects of perturbations on microbiota, elucidating mechanisms through which the microbiota affects the host, and improving bacteriotherapies to enable their success in the clinic. New deep learning models will be developed that address specific… Read more : Gerber Lab awarded $3.1 Million Five Year NIH-NIGMS R35 Grant “Probabilistic deep learning models and integrated biological experiments for analyzing dynamic and heterogeneous microbiomes”

• Utility Menu

Computational Biology Labs at Harvard & MIT

Multiple labs in the Harvard/MIT space employ quantative approaches to solve biological questions. Traditionally, labs housed in the medical school work on experimental research while teams associated with the computer science or statistics departments tackle problems of computational application. This distinction has since blurred due to the interdisciplinary nature of the work involved and a lot of the faculty hold joint appointments at research institutions and hospitals in the area. If you are researcher in the area and would like your labs site featured on this page, please send me an email. 

• Who’s Teaching What
• Subject Updates
• MEng program
• Opportunities
• Minor in Computer Science
• Resources for Current Students
• Program objectives and accreditation
• Graduate program requirements
• Admission process
• Degree programs
• Graduate research
• EECS Graduate Funding
• Resources for current students
• Student profiles
• Instructors
• DEI data and documents
• Recruitment and outreach
• Community and resources
• Get involved / self-education
• Rising Stars in EECS
• Graduate Application Assistance Program (GAAP)
• MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP)
• Sloan-MIT University Center for Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM)
• Electrical Engineering
• Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence + Decision-making
• AI and Society
• AI for Healthcare and Life Sciences
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Biological and Medical Devices and Systems
• Communications Systems
• Computational Biology
• Computational Fabrication and Manufacturing
• Computer Architecture
• Educational Technology
• Electronic, Magnetic, Optical and Quantum Materials and Devices
• Graphics and Vision
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Information Science and Systems
• Integrated Circuits and Systems
• Nanoscale Materials, Devices, and Systems
• Natural Language and Speech Processing
• Optics + Photonics
• Optimization and Game Theory
• Programming Languages and Software Engineering
• Quantum Computing, Communication, and Sensing
• Security and Cryptography
• Signal Processing
• Systems and Networking
• Systems Theory, Control, and Autonomy
• Theory of Computation
• Departmental History
• Departmental Organization
• Visiting Committee
• News & Events
• News & Events
• EECS Celebrates Awards

Caroline Uhler named IMS Fellow

By nadya karpova.

May 24, 2024 | Broad Institute

The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center  at the  Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard  is pleased to share that Center Director  Caroline Uhler  has been elected  Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics  (IMS). Uhler received the award for interdisciplinary excellence and for merging mathematical statistics and computational biology in innovative and impactful ways. 

Uhler is a core institute member of the Broad Institute and a professor in the  Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science  (EECS) and the  Institute for Data, Systems, and Society  (IDSS) at MIT. She is also a SIAM Fellow, a Sloan Research Fellow, and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute. 

Uhler’s research lies at the intersection of machine learning, statistics, and genomics, with a particular focus on causal inference, representation learning, and gene regulation. Her use of probabilistic graphical models and development of scalable algorithms with healthcare applications has enabled her research group to gain insights into causal relationships hidden within massive amounts of data, such as those generated during gene knockout or knockdown experiments.

For almost 90 years, the title of IMS Fellow has represented a prestigious honor. Evaluated by a committee of peers, each Fellow has exhibited exceptional mastery in statistical or probabilistic research and/or has showcased remarkable leadership that has left a lasting impact on the field.

Established in 1935, the IMS is a member organization that fosters the development and dissemination of the theory and applications of statistics and probability. The IMS has over 4,700 active members throughout the world, with approximately 10% of the current IMS members earning the fellowship status. The announcement of the 2024 class of IMS Fellows can be  viewed here .

Uhler will be honored among the new IMS Fellows at the IMS Presidential Address and Awards Ceremony at the  Bernoulli-IMS 11th World Congress in Probability and Statistics  on August 12-16, 2024 in Bochum, Germany.

Related topics

• Artificial Intelligence + Decision making
• Artificial Intelligence + Machine Learning
• Biomedical Sciences + Engineering
• Information Systems

Media Inquiries

Journalists seeking information about EECS, or interviews with EECS faculty members, should email [email protected] .

Please note: The EECS Communications Office only handles media inquiries related to MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. Please visit other school, department, laboratory, or center websites to locate their dedicated media-relations teams.

Harvard University COVID-19 updates

Department News

Hoopes and henderson prizes honor undergraduates for outstanding thesis work.

• May 21, 2024

Five seniors in MCB , CPB , and Neuro have been awarded prestigious prizes for their thesis work. Neuroscience concentrator Daniel Kwon, MCB and Computer Science concentrator Michelle Lu, and MCB concentrator Tomi Siyanbade were recognized by the university-wide Hoopes Prize . The Hoopes celebrates excellence in undergraduate research and thesis projects across all disciplines. Meanwhile, CPB concentrator Jorge Guerra and MCB concentrator Brandon Kwon received the Henderson Prize from the Board of Tutors in Biochemical Sciences . Founded in 1926, the Board of Tutors organizes tutorials and mentoring opportunities for students in MCB and CPB. The Board of Tutors’ membership includes several MCB faculty and prominent researchers in cellular biology and biochemistry. 

Jorge Guerra ( CPB with Secondary in Statistics)

Jorge Guerra conducted his thesis research in the Gaudet Lab . He looked into the structures of metal-transporting proteins called Nramps in the bacteria Eggerthella lenta . “Natural resistance-associated macrophage proteins (Nramps) help cells maintain homeostasis by transporting essential transition metal cations, such as iron and manganese, into the cell,” Guerra explains. “These proteins achieve this using a highly-conserved metal-binding-site motif consisting of aspartate, asparagine, and methionine residues.” Eggerthella lenta ’s Nramp-like proteins contain an evolutionary divergent binding site motif, which led Guerra to wonder if these sites changed how the protein interacts with metals. “To answer this question, I used X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of an Nramp-like protein in E. lenta and compare it to the structure of canonical Nramps,” he says. “I also conducted in vitro proteoliposome-based transport assays to test the metal selectivity of this Nramp-like protein.” Guerra found that mutations in the binding sites did, in fact, alter metal transport by the Nramp-like protein. These results could shed light on how the bacteria uses its Nramp-like proteins to maintain a healthy state. 

 Guerra is motivated by science’s potential to save lives and bolster human health. “During my freshman year at Harvard, I became interested in learning how scientists leverage their understanding of protein structure and function to discover and design therapeutics that save lives,” he says. “I saw this project as a perfect opportunity to explore interesting questions and begin building a strong foundation in structural biology.”

Receiving the Henderson Prize is an honor, Guerra says. “I have no doubt that this will motivate me to continue putting my heart into my work as a scientist.” 

He adds that he is grateful to his support system. “First, I would like to thank Dr. Rachelle Gaudet and Dr. Shamayeeta Ray . I could not have asked for better mentors,” he says. “Their mentorship has been instrumental to my development as a scientist, and I am grateful I had the opportunity to work alongside them. I would also like to thank the rest of the Gaudet Lab for creating such an enjoyable work environment, and for lending a helping hand when I needed one. Lastly, I would like to thank my family for their unwavering love and support.” 

Brandon Kwon ( MCB with a Secondary in Global Health & Health Policy)

MCB concentrator Brandon Kwon says that receiving the Henderson Prize was a “huge, unexpected surprise.” 

Kwon conducted his research in Alessandro Alessandrini’s lab at MGH, which specializes in immune response to organ transplants. “My initial interest in transplant immunology began with a conversation I had with an elderly Spanish-speaking couple while volunteering at St. Jude Hospital in high school,” Kwon says. “I was helping at the rehabilitation facility when a simple request for water turned into a conversation about their son’s struggle to save his failing kidney. They expressed their dismay over the long transplant waitlist, and I could sense their growing hopelessness. The husband lamented, “¿Por qué es tan difícil? La vida es más importante.” (Why is it so difficult? Life is the most important.) This encounter made me reflect on the organ shortage crisis and inspired me to contribute to research aimed at improving the transplant process so that these limited resources aren’t wasted and patients don’t continue to struggle post-surgery.”

In his thesis work, Kwon studied B cells, which are known for producing antibodies that neutralize pathogens and for playing a regulatory role in reining in the immune system. He wanted to find out if the B cells go through a transition from contributing to transplant rejection to a regulatory state that stops the attacking immune cells. To find out, he performed single cell RNA-sequencing and flow cytometric analyses to catalog cells expressing particular genes. “From these experiments, I observed a temporal shift toward B cells expressing Siglec-G and FcγR2b, both markers indicative of a regulatory phenotype,” Kwon explains. In further experiments, he knocked out the gene FcγR2b, and all of the mice died after their transplant surgeries. Kwon concludes that the gene plays an important role in shifting the immune system from an attacking state to a regulatory tolerance state. 

Kwon expressed appreciation for a number of academics who have helped him during his undergraduate journey. “First and foremost, I’m deeply grateful to my principal investigator, Dr. Alessandro Alessandrini, who took me under his wing as an inexperienced freshman and patiently guided me in my academic endeavors,” he says. “I also want to thank Ed Szuter for his mentorship, from training me in lab techniques to supporting my summer projects. Additionally, I extend my gratitude to Dr. Takahiro Yokose for his assistance with my projects, ranging from performing mouse surgeries to teaching me RStudio data analysis. On campus, my thanks go to Dr. Dominic Mao and Dr. Monique Brewster for their support within the Molecular and Cellular Biology department, making sure I was always on track and providing help whenever needed.”

Daniel Kwon ( Neuro , MBB) Neuroscience concentrator Daniel Kwon was honored with a Hoopes Prize for research he conducted in Evan Macosko’s lab at the Broad Institute. He focused on a gene called XPO7. Previous studies have suggested that XPO7 is a risk factor for schizophrenia. Kwon wanted to know whether mutations in XPO7 alter stress response. “To investigate, I studied mouse models with XPO7 mutations, focusing on how they respond to stress, a known environmental factor that exacerbates schizophrenia symptoms,” Kwon explains. “To observe biological differences, I measured their corticosterone, a stress hormone, levels. For behavioral differences, I captured depth recordings of their behavior and analyzed them with unsupervised machine learning algorithms to identify sub-second behaviors that differ between genotype and condition.” 

He found that mice with broken XPO7 proteins had slower response times and exhibited fewer adaptations to stress. Their corticosterone response also appeared blunted. These findings indicate that XPO7 may regulate stress responses through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

Doing behavioral experiments with mice proved to be a challenge, as mice are nocturnal. Kwon had to work around the animals’ schedules, sometimes spending all night in the lab and only leaving at dawn. “Grappling with the interpretation of my data posed an additional hurdle,” he adds. “Notably, the absence of prior literature linking the cellular and molecular functions of XPO7 with schizophrenia compounded the challenge. This lack of established groundwork necessitated a comprehensive exploration and analysis of the data, requiring innovative approaches to discern meaningful patterns and correlations within the findings.”

“I feel immensely grateful to receive the Hoopes Prize and be recognized for the culmination of my undergraduate thesis work,” Kwon adds. “This recognition serves as a reminder of the invaluable support and guidance I received along the way.” He expressed gratitude to his PI Evan Macosko, his postdoctoral mentor Alyssa Lawler , and his family and friends. 

Michelle Lu ( MCB -Computer Science) 

For her Hoopes-winning thesis, MCB concentrator Michelle Lu developed a computational platform that opens up new applications for nanopore sequencing. “Nanopore sequencing is a fourth-generation sequencing technology that has only become practically feasible for tRNAs in the past year,” Lu explains. “The cost and time efficiency of tRNA nanopore sequencing would be improved by the ability to sequence multiple samples simultaneously, and then computationally separate the data from each sample.” Her project focused on the separation of data or “demultiplexing.”

She applied her computational tool to the sequencing of tRNAs, or transfer RNAs, which are shorter RNAs that serve as links between the messenger RNA and the growing chain of amino acids during protein synthesis. Using a barcode system of unique genetic sequences, she was able to analyze modifications to tRNAs. 

When Lu’s “demultiplexer” is released, it will be the first such computer program for tRNA nanopore sequencing. 

Lu sees her thesis as a capstone to her joint concentration in MCB and computer science. “This was certainly the first time in my life that I have tackled a project of this scope and timescale,” she says. “Any long scientific project is bound to be riddled with unexpected roadblocks – experimental equipment that breaks and needs to be replaced, a computational platform that takes over a month of fiddling with package dependencies to be able to install, etc. These hurdles challenged me to be agile in my long-term planning, one of the most valuable skills I’ve improved during my thesis.” 

Lu adds, “I truly have so many people I’d like to thank. My research advisors, Prof. George Church and Dr. Russel Vincent , as well as all members of the Church Lab. My MCB advisors and tutor – Monique, Dominic, and Prof. Léger-Abraham . My advisors in the CS department. And of course, my friends and family. Thank you all for making this thesis possible!”

Tomi Siyanbade ( MCB with a Secondary in Global Health and Health Policy and a Language Citation in French)

MCB concentrator Tomi Siyanbade teamed with the Sabeti Lab to pursue a project with real-world ramifications. “My thesis focuses on developing accessible (which I defined as low-cost, user-friendly, and implementable in low-resource settings) and accurate diagnostic tests to detect Lassa Fever, a serious viral disease found across West Africa,” she says. “I was primarily concerned with accuracy and accessibility to the target end-users: the community health professionals at the front lines of outbreaks.” 

“I wanted to work on something with a tangible impact in the next 1-2 years rather than 10-20,” she adds. “The impact-driven nature of the Sabeti lab was one of its key draws to me, and I wanted to participate in a thesis project that could ultimately benefit real people and wouldn’t just end once I left. Personally, I also realized that diagnostics are one of the most impactful tools for improving human health, and as a Nigerian, I was aware of the immense burden that Lassa posed to health.” To address the Lassa Fever diagnostic gap, Siyanbade developed a CRISPR-based test that could recognize key sequences from the viral genome. The final test reads out on a strip of paper, similar to how over-the-counter COVID tests do. “It was ultimately challenging to assess my test’s accuracy and clinical significance,” Siyanbade says. “The initial literary review, as well as the final test validation, was difficult with the relative deficit incomparable Lassa diagnostics that are approved in the world today, coupled with my lack of access to sequences for such a potentially dangerous pathogen. Overall, this made it more difficult not to “move the goalpost” and collect data that could convince me of the test’s true potential impact in the field.”

Siyanbade adds that she is glad to receive the Hoopes Prize and grateful to everyone who has helped her throughout her thesis journey. 

Congratulations to these Hoopes and Henderson Prize winners!

(top l to bottom r) Daniel Kwon, Michelle Lu, Tomi Siyanbade, Jorge Guerra, and Brandon Kwon 

• Message from the Chair
• Resources and Facilities
• The Teacher Scholar Ideal
• Field Sites
• Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Genetics and Genomics
• Microbiology
• Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology
• Neurobiology and Behavior
• Physiology and Biomechanics
• Plant Biology
• Undergraduate Research
• Graduate Research
• The Biology Major
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• The Biology Minor
• Environmental Program
• Neuroscience Program
• Support for Research
• Honors in Biology
• Honor Societies
• Study Abroad
• Graduate and Health Professions Advising
• Departmental Seminars
• News and Events

WFU students named 2024 NIH IRTA and Amgen Scholar

Congratulations to Eric Wang and Hope Nitsche! They have been featured in the University’s Scholars Program spring roundup of nationally competitive award-winners.

You may read more from author Kim McGrath at Wake Forest News .

• Anna Parker
• Lara do Amaral Silva
• Michael Rizzo
• Support for Undergraduate Research
• Fall 2023 Departmental Seminars

© 2022 Wake Forest University All Rights Reserved.

Sylvester James Gates, Jr. Honored by Harvard University

Sylvester James Gates, Jr.  was awarded an  honorary doctorate of science  during Harvard University’s 373rd Commencement Exercises on May 23, 2024.

A member of the National Academy of Sciences and recipient of the National Medal of Science, Gates holds the Clark Leadership Chair in Science and a joint appointment in the  Department of Physics  and the  School of Public Policy  at the University of Maryland. He is also a Distinguished University Professor and a University System of Maryland Regents Professor.

Gates is well-known for his seminal work in supersymmetry, supergravity and string theory. He has made milestone discoveries in the mathematics of particle theory and the geometry of gravity. In addition to his research achievements, Gates also distinguished himself as a powerful advocate for education and an ambassador for science around the world.

Gates received the 2011 National Medal of Science “for contributions to the mathematics of supersymmetry in particle, field, and string theories and extraordinary efforts to engage the public on the beauty and wonder of fundamental physics.” He served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) under Barack Obama and was the vice president of the Maryland State Board of Education. Gates was the recipient of the American Institute of Physics’  2021 Andrew Gemant Award , given in recognition of contributions to the cultural, artistic, or humanistic dimension of physics. 

He is the author (with Cathie Pelletier) of  Proving Einstein Right: The Daring Expeditions that Changed How We Look at the Universe , a well-reviewed tale of scientific passion and pursuit in the early 20th century.

Gates joined the UMD physics faculty in 1984. He has also held appointments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Howard University, Dartmouth College and Brown University. He has served as president of both the National Society of Black Physicists and the American Physical Society.

In addition to the new recognition from Harvard, Gates has been awarded honorary degrees from South Africa’s University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Johannesburg, Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, Memorial University of Newfoundland, NYU-Poly, Morgan State University, the University of Western Australia, Loyola University Chicago and Georgetown University.

Harvard also conferred honorary degrees on Jennie Chin Hansen, Lawrence S. Bacow, Joy Harjo-Sapulpa, Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez and Maria Ressa.

About the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences

The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland educates more than 8,000 future scientific leaders in its undergraduate and graduate programs each year. The college's 10 departments and nine interdisciplinary research centers foster scientific discovery with annual sponsored research funding exceeding $250 million.

Media Relations Contact

Abby robinson, related news.

• Sylvester James Gates Jr.

On Continuity and Change

• Posted May 23, 2024
• By Howard Gardner

Many Thanks to Bridget — for many years you’ve been a valued colleague, scholar, academic dean, and then dean — yeoman service to the institution. You are still young — especially in comparison to some of us — indeed still a kid with many more years of productive scholarship and service ahead.

Speaking of years to go: Standing here in front of you all, in my 81st year, I cant help taking a trip down memory lane. I first walked through Radcliffe Yard as a college freshman in 1961; began to work in Longfellow Hall  just behind all of you in 1967 (almost 60 years ago).

Ever since 1967, this site, the cluster of neo-Georgian buildings has been my working home. My graduate training was in developmental psychology and not in education proper, but education has been central — as it has been for so many of you — for almost all of my waking life. Indeed almost all human beings, have been involved in education, formal or informal, from preschool to post-retirement — for much of their lives.  

Moreover, to the point: All of you who are graduating have decided that education will remain central in your life, though the ways that you are involved in education (and that your families have and will be involved in education) differ and will necessarily change over time.

I invite you to reflect: Why you went into education, what you most hope to achieve, for yourself and for others, for next week and for decades from now — maybe even for over 60 years! That’s the focus of my talk today.

As my starting point I ‘ve chosen two well known adages, almost cliches. I know them in English but I’m sure that they exist in many other languages as well; I dub them Continuity and Change:

• There is nothing new under the Sun — that’s Continuity.
• You can never step in the same river twice — that’s Change.

There may have been some societies — that have stayed relatively stable or constant — but that’s almost never true nowadays. And certainly for those of you who have a half century or more in education to look forward to, you can expect multitudinous change(s).

Anyone in the vicinity of a newsfeed will be alert to the ubiquity and speed of change: The advent of new technologies and of powerful computational systems, of which chat GPT is the one that educators most often think about nowadays; the reality of increasingly destructive climate change which can be denied only by the most ostrich-like; the radical shifts in governmental systems, both within countries and around the world, a situation which most of us find disconcerting, even alarming.

Not to say that all change is frightening; advances in literacy, health care, longevity, are notable as well; and an increasing part of the world is the beneficiary of medical and technological advances. (Here I consult my inner Steve Pinker, the colleague who believes most ardently in progress.)  

So that’s change — but what about continuity, stability, and longer arcs of familiarity?

It’s more challenging to come up with a convincing list in 2024 but I’ll mention some likely candidates:

• The stability of the universe, at least for the next few million years. We hope that any expansion (or contraction) will be undetectable.
• The stability of our solar system, and the planets and moons closest to us; especially in terms of their basic chemistry and their physics (one person counting on that is rocketeer Elon Musk).
• Relatedly, closer to home night and day, day and night. As I said, the Sun looms over little that is new.

How about human biology? At least until recently, that’s been stable for millennia, though with genetic experimentation that could change. CrispR is a powerful technology for genetic manipulation entailing both risks and benefits. Also, the length of the life cycle, while extending gradually, is still not different from Biblical times. As some of you know, my e-mail nickname is Methusula! Fewer than 900 years to go!

More Continuity, consider human psychology: Most of us can recognize familiar individuals and familiar conflicts and crises in the writings of the Greeks, of Shakespeare, or Herman Melville or Toni Morison.

And those who know other cultural traditions — Confucian, Islamic, Native Americans, African-Americans — can also recognize many of the same facets of the human condition. We all celebrate similar rites of passage; entire cultures — modern and ancient, homogenous or heterogenous — deal with the same issues: good and bad leaders, equity/lack of equity, crime and punishment, love/hatred, life and death, comedy and tragedy. Hey Howard , you are almost halfway through your talk and you have barely touched on education — what gives?? The clock is ticking!! Research documents that average individuals can only focus on a video segment for 7–8 minutes — but you are an extraordinary group, as signified by the degrees that Dean Long will present to you in less than 24 hours.

And because you are extraordinary, I suspect you may well have anticipated the theme of my talk:

All of us in education — whether teaching preschoolers or mentoring post docs; whether assuming the roles of teacher, administrator, tutor, legislator, entrepreneur even life-long students; whether working in Singapore or Cincinnati,  in Hollywood or Harlem — all of us need to be aware of, monitor, deal with the continuities in education even as we need as well to monitor the changes. And [we need to] seek to deal with those changes  as  adroitly, as thoughtfully, and and fairly and successfully as possible.

Allow me take some examples from my own research, carried out over the last six decades at Project Zero — mostly in Longfellow Hall:

What We Have Learned: Three Lines of Research

The Arts used to be thought of as entertainment, just pleasure — we’ve demonstrated that the arts are highly cognitive as well, involving thinking, problem solving, problem finding, and, especially creating something new. Even a powerful computer program can create art work that is stunning, but that in no way means that we human beings should abandon our artistic efforts. After all, just because a car can go faster than we can, we still race (especially in Boston in the middle of April). Just because a powerful computer can beat a champion at chess, that [doesn't mean] we no longer should engage in that board game.

Intelligence

Sixty years ago there was a widespread belief that intelligence is fixed, single capacity, on which all human beings can be aligned, and my fellow psychologists could tell you your life chances based solely on your IQ score. Now, thanks to our own work and that of colleagues like Daniel Goleman (who writes about emotional intelligence), we realize that human beings have multiple intelligences — these can be discovered, built up (unlike g or general intelligence, MI is not fixed, intelligences can be enhanced), put together in new ways. And perhaps, working together with smart machines, we will be able to accomplish what not even the writers of science fiction in my childhood could even have imagined.

Ethics and Morality

Which brings me to #3 — our most sustained work — on ethics and morality. What does it mean to be a good worker, and to do good work in our time? As we’ve discovered, good work consists of three elements: It is technically excellent (the worker knows her stuff);  it is engaging (the worker looks forward to work and to its projects); and it is carried out in an ethical way (in a way that avoids unnecessary harms to others and in fact tries to achieve the core values of the profession).

Three Es:   

• Excellence  
• Engagement  

Initially most of our studies of good work was with adult professionals; we studied well over 1000 good workers in some detail. But in recent years we have developed a curriculum on ethics for middle and secondary school that has been posted and has in fact been translated into Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Japanese and its being used worldwide.    

The winning combination — Multiple Intelligences — mobilized for GOOD ENDS. But we realize that ethics and morality begin much younger — when as human beings we just think of I or Me, or We and Us. Or whether we take into account the needs and desires of others, the larger collectivity. And so, we have dubbed this work with very young children GOOD STARTS, en route to becoming Good Workers and Good Citizens.

I hope that you take away three formulations:

• THE ARTS INVOLVE THE HUMAN MIND IN ALL ITS COMPLEXITIES
• WE ALL HAVE A RANGE OF INTELLIGENCES
• GOOD WORK FEATURES THREE GOODS ... AND IT SHOUD START IN EARLY LIFE

All of these lines of work could have been investigated in earlier times — that is CONTINUITY — but they can and should  be revisited  frequently in terms of what we know today and what we will learn tomorrow — that is CHANGE.

So that’s research—but what about teaching??

Let me talk a bit about my teaching (I) and OUR Teaching (WE). What’s continuous, what can and has changed? Forty years ago, I was hired to teach developmental psychology at  HGSE — for awhile I did  that myself. But then I joined forces with another developmental psychologist of a quite different stripe, Kurt Fischer. I focused on cognitive development; he focused on SEL— social and emotional development. I was more qualitative in methods; he was more quantitative. When we first taught, we each lectured for most of the time and then posed and answered questions. But then, around 1990, before most of you were born there was a new technology: Harvard introduces … video recording!

We both recorded all of our lectures in advance. (Believe me, it's no fun to stand alone and talk to the camera for dozens of hours.) But we did this because this freed class time for discussion and debate.

Then after a few years we were joined by David Rose — a clinically knowledgeable educational entrepreneur who had launched a nonprofit start-up called CAST, presumably known to many of you. 

CAST delivers a wonderful message: We should not speak of young people as learning-disabled; we should instead focus on curricula that are disabled — and enable these curricula to provide the best support to the range of learners.

The three of us taught together — no more lectures. We discussed themes with one another, then with class, then discussion continued with teaching fellows, some of whom are now outstanding scholars. This struck me as a great way to teach and to learn and not one that easily replicated online — walking up and down the aisles of Askwith Hall — and spilling over after class to the Gutman cafeteria or the sunken garden just behind you.

The heart of education is thoughtful teacher educators interacting with one another and with students — as old as Plato's Republic , as contemporary as computer-base flipped classes. To be sure, much of this can be replicated online even asynchronously, but just like listening to a concert on the radio cannot be equated with sitting in Symphony Hall, which cannot be equated with playing in the HR Orchestra (or with flying to Singapore or Sicily, stretching your eyes and ears so that you can enjoy Taylor Swift in person). So, too, team teaching and discussion that is live can and should remain for a long time at it best, it’s a FLOW or PEAK experience.

Change.  Email, blogs, asynchronous online classes, ChatGPT — they boggle an 80-year-old mind.

Continuity. What’s really important, what’s enduring, what methods, which messages, are tried-and-true and worth maintaining and sustaining.

So in my peroration — the concluding portion of a classical speech — let me state explicitly what I’ve sought to convey today. In any domain or Realm — and especially in one that will always be important to human life, whatever turns it takes — there will be both continuities (there is nothing new under the sun) and discontinuities/change (you can never step in the same river twice). 

I’ve suggested some physical, chemical and biological, and psychological continuities; and I have suggested as well the human developmental, cultural, and technological options that have arisen anew in our time … which, going forward, is now YOUR time.

Keep them all in mind, share them with friends and family, discuss them with co-workers at various stages and ranks, introduce them in age-appropriate  and domain-appropriate ways to your students.

Perhaps even make them the topic of a course — whether you see students in person every day, once a week, in a live virtual course, or perhaps a course prepared for Khan Academy or EdX.

Revisit them as much as you can — because what’s changing cannot be predicted. And if you reach the age and stage that I have reached — and I hope that you do and indeed extend beyond that age — share whatever wisdom you may have accumulated… and excuse  any foolishness.  

Let  me conclude with wise words from two  predecessors on this – the Harvard campus:

Sixty years ago, when I had just completed College, my own teacher — psychologist and educator Jerome Bruner — created a social studies course for middle schoolers. The course was organized around three questions: What makes human beings human? How did they become that way? How can they be made more so? It was these questions that brought me into education in the middle 1960s. I recommend that you ponder them yourself and discuss with others.

• What makes human beings human?
• How did they become that way?
• How can they be made more so?

Finally, over a century ago, words of wisdom from American historian and professor Henry Adams:  “A teacher affects eternity,  he — and we would now say — they never know when their influence ends.”

Thank you, Class of 2024, and congratulations!!

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Related Articles

Paxton, Maheshwari-Kanoria to Receive 2024 Alumni Council Awards

Alums will be honored for their educational contributions at HGSE Convocation

Commitment to Community

Anthony Otadoy Garciano and Srishti Gulati will be honored with the Intellectual Contribution Award for the Education Policy and Analysis Program

Honors Presented at Convocation 2024

Featuring an address by renowned psychologist Howard Gardner, remarks from graduating student speaker Aryana Kamelian, Ed.M.'24, and a speech from Senior Lecturer Irvin Scott