AUTUMN 2003 — ^ arva ALUMNI BULLETIN /^ i i - r CREATIVE ^,1 IMPULSES Neurobiologists illuminate our instincts for the arts r?^ ^fpm ^"^trT LUMINARY John Ende 1930), along with Frederick Robbins '40 and Thomas Weller '40, won a Nobel Pri in 1954 for discovering how1. growpoliovirus in the labora- tory, o breakthrough thatpaved the way for the development ofa vaccine for the terrifying, ancientdisease. In this issue, Weller memorializes Robbins, who died earlierthisyear. rAL'TUMN 2.3 • \'OLUOME 77, NUMNBER 2 TF.NTS DEPARTMENTS Letters 3 Pulse 5 \ewlycreatedandnewlyhonored: buildings,classes,departments, magazines,centers,andgeniuses President's Report 9 h\Eve].Hig^mhotham Bookmark 10 AreviewbyElissa El\-ofTheMcmorx Cure:HowtoProtectYourBrainAgainst SPECIAL REPORT: THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF THE ARTS ^^ MemoryLossandAlzheimer'sDiseaseand EverythingYouNeverWantedYourKidsto 14 Light Vision KnowAboutSex(ButWereAfraidThey'dAsk) \Vh\- do \lonet'spoppies stirin the breeze? Whydoes Mona Lisa's Bookshelf 11 smile disappear, then reappear, asourgaze shifts? A neurophysiologist reflectsonhowourvisualprocessingsystemaffectsourperceptionsofart. Benchmarks 12 MARGARET LIVINGSTONE h\ HarryPotterlendshisnametoagene thatmayholdthekeytopuberty. 24 The Incurable Disease of Writing Class Notes 66 Some writersstruggle tordays tocompose a singlesentence,whileothers scribble deep into the night, seemingly unable to stop. A neurologist InMemoriam 69 FrederickCRohhins arnefilne(ccrt\s'ioevnv vtvihtelicAolmpiuclesioFnlsaahnedrftruystrations ofliterarycreativity, Obituaries 70 32 The Defiant Muse Endnotes 72 Aslowreaderreliesonquickwitsto Alospiantgietnotdtisueransse,tobyporetarfyateoltryctaomprpeoserve the memories he isfast sur\-ivehisthirdyearofmedical school. hvUilliamD.Cochran The Sound of Music Lnunravelmgthe puzzleofhowmusic affectsthebrain, neurologistsmayhelpbroadenmusic'shealingpotential EVERLY BALLARD FEATURES 46 Banishing Act A surgeon returnstoVietnam toexorcise war — memories andtoLiftastigmaofbirthfromanew generation ofchildren, by ge ral d colm an 54 Visions of Nature An ophthalmologistreveals an eye fordetail in the wild. fcvjAMEs d. brandt 60 Witness to the Execution Tramed to preserve lives, a physician grapples Coverimage:MeditatingPhilosopher,by RembrandtvanRijn,courtesyofReuniondesKhisces with the execution ofa friendondeath row. Klationaux/ErichLessing,ArtResource,NewYork by AN DREW G. DEAN Harvard Medina] ALUMNI BULLETIN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF WilliamIraBennett'68 EDITOR In This Issue PaulaBrewerByron ASSOCIATE EDITOR ONGAGO,INAGALAXYTHATSEEMSINCREASINGLYFARAWAY, 1SATBYA BeverlyBallaro,PhD fireand chatted with Bette,afriendwhosetastesareonthehiigh ASSISTANT EDITOR SusanCassidy endofliterary. ThinkingthatIhadsomepassingacquaintancev\ith BOOK REVIEW EDITOR chemistry,animpressionmyprofessorsat HMSwouldhavebeenquickto ElissaEly'88 refute,sheaskedahttlesadlywhetheritspoiledthefireformetoknowwhat EDITORIAL BOARD washappeninginit,whetherinformationturnedthemysteryintomaterialism. JRuadfyaeAlnnCaBmipgboy''9728 Thequestionastonishedmethen,anditdoesnow. Evengrantingthatfiresare ElissaEly'88 AtulGa\\-ande'94 toocomplexreallytocomprehend,thelittle I knewabout\'aporization and RobertM.Gold\\yn'56 PetriKlass'86 oxidationhardlydetracted fromthe beautyofthemoment andcertainlydid N'ictoriaMcEvoy'73 James O'CormeU'82 notdiminishmysenseofwonder,whichiswhat I thinkshefearedfromthe NancJ.yE.Oriol'79 EleanorShore'55 incursionofscienceintoaesthetics. JohnD.Stoeckle'47 Acommonromanticheresyisthatinformationmakesusjaded;itissome- DESIGN DIRECTOR timesexpressedasthefearthatchildrenwilllosetheirsenseofwonderifthey LauraMcFadden areeducated. Butit seemstomethatchildrendoritcomeequippedwithan ASSOCIATION OFFICERS innatesenseofwonder. Theytakeexperienceatfacevalueandrarelybotherto EveJ.Higginbotham'79,ptesident askwhythingsareastheyare,andnotsomeotherway. (Toddlers'incessant SJtoesveepnhAK..SHcuhrrdoe,dJcr.r''6644,,pprreessiiddeenntt--eelleeccttI2 PaulaA.Johnson'85,vicepresident "why"questionsarereallyanefforttofigureout whatkindofanswertheywill PhyllisI.Gardner'76,secretat)' getwhentheyusetheword"why"andareinthesame\einasquestionsabout KathleenE.Toomey'79,treasurer howtoworktheremotecontrol.)Thesenseofwonder,asopposedtoopera COUNCILLORS NancyC.Andrews'87 tionalcuriosity,isgenerallyanadultprerogative,forittakesalotofknowledge GeraldS.Foster'51 DonncllaS.Green'99 tobefeltatalldeeply. LmdaS.Hotchkiss'78 Ithinkmyoldfriendmightbenotmerelysaddenedbutappalledbythis KBaatrhbearrianJc.AM.cKNeeeilfe'y6'694 issueoftheBulletin,whichexplorestheneurobiologyunderlyingsomeaspectsof LaurenceJ.Ronan'87 MarkL.Rosenberg'72 painting,literature,andmusic. Itisonethingtothinkthatkno\\'Lngthechem KennethI.Shine'61 istryofcadmiumyelloworthephysicsofastringundertensionwillmakean DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS aestheticexperience—thepaintedimageofanurbansunset,thesoundofeight DanielD.Federman"53 — cellosandasoprano lesstranscendent.That'sbadenough.Butwhenyouturn ASSISTANT DEAN FOR ALUMNI AFFAIRS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS tothebrain,assomeoftheneurobiologistsfeaturedinthisissuedo,andfind NoraN.Nercessian,PhD thatthesublimeappreciationforaBachfugueorMonet'sbrush-strokedpop- REPRESENTATIVE TO THE — HARVARD ALUMNI ASSOCIATION piesappearstobeanoutgrowthofbasicprimatewiringdiagrams circuitr)' JosephK.Hurd'64 thatseemstobeaboutacquiringmeatwiththecooperationofone'snearestand — TheHan'Ord.MedicalAlumniBulletinis dearest,oraboutnotbecomingmeattoastranger I canhearBettesay,"Spare publishedquarterlyat25ShattuckStreet, Boston.\\.\02115''bytheHarvard methedetails."Idoritagree,but,thenagain,I neverdid. Medical.Alumni.Association. Phone:(617)384 8900•Fax:(617)384-8901 Email:bulletin#hms.harvard.edu ThirdclasspostagepaidatBoston, ,-ih}^\ IM Matoss2a5chSuhsaettttusc.kPSotsrtemeat,stBeors,tosne,ndMfAor0m21315579 ISSN0191-7757•PrintedintheU.S.A. HARVARD MEDICAL ALUMNI BULLETIN • AUTUMN 2003 T.ETTEHS SECOND OPINIONS FROM OUR READERS fc ^ theinclusion,inthepoUcyandstandards of practice books, both procedures for identifying those individuals not being helped by the standard approved treat- mentsandproceduresforselectingalter- nativetreatmentsforthem. Many physicians would love to do just that, but have been restrained by theabsenceofnecessarypolicies,proce- dures, and standards ofpractice autho- rizingthemtodosowithoutjeopardiz- ingtheirpayandposition. Inmid-career,Ibecameawarethat,asa graduateofHMS,Iwaslookeduponwith some suspicion as having come from a 4 4 It is hard to imagine anything more expensive school where students learned to think — for themselves and to apply scientific to medical care budgets andmore profitable — principlesintheirtruesense,notjustfol- ^ to pharmaceutical companies than inter- lowestabhshedprotocolforitsownsake. B Iamgratefulthatthisappearstobeso. minable treatment with drugs that dorit work." KARL E. HUMISTON '55 — KEIZER, OREGON KARL E. HUMISTON KEIZER, OREGON Dollars and Sense In 'A Fistful ot Dollars," in the spring Sacrificial Rites with a particular pathology, typically issue ofthe Bulletin,the panel, incredibly, Congratulations on the fine special about two-thirds. The fact that the same failed to notice the elephant in the report on money and medicine, "Dorit research has t}'picallyshown that athird living room. The pre-eminent cause of — FenceMeIn,"intheSpring2003issueof ofpatientstendtofailtobenefitseemsto our health care syste—m's malaise not the Bulletin. Medical care has indeed have shpped through the cracks. Today's addressedbythepanel isprivateinsur- become an intrinsically valuable com- ratherinflexibleritualsofpracticerequire ers' pursuit ofcorporate profit. This is a modity,andIwouldliketoofferanaddi prescribing only those treatments that primereasonwhyhalfofthe$1.6trillion tionalperspectiveonthis. ha\e been scientifically proven to help a year we spend on health care goes to During the first seven years ofmy Me, mostpeople,whethertheyhelpaspecific healthcarebusiness,nothealthcareben- my grandfather, as a member and chair- patient ornot. Perhaps not in academic efits.Thisisthereasonthatupto25per- man of the .American Medical Associa- settings, where such things are more centofprivateinsurers'premiumincome tion's Council on Medical Education, closely scrutinized, but assuredly ingen- goestoadvertising,administration,mega labored mightily to strengthen the role eralthroughoutthenation,thisisso. executive salaries, and profit, while of scientific research in medical training It is hard to imagine anything—more Medicare's overhead is under 3 percent. andpractice.The fundamentalritualsof expensive tomedical care budgets and Thisisthereasonwespendtwotothree science helped elevate physicians, who more profitable to pharmaceutical com- timesasmuchonhealthcarepercapitaas — becametheonlyhealthprofessionalswith panies than interminable treatment any other industrialized country and yet thelegal authorityto prescribe the thera- with drugs that don't work. Our rituals we, alone, have 43 nuUion mostly work- peuticdrugsproducedbythisscience.My are no longer serving their original pur- ing citizens with no health insurance. grandpaseffortsweresuccessfu—l.Today's pose of ensuring purity ofpractice. I do This is why Americans covered by pri- highly de\'eloped procedures such as not see how either financial reform or vate, employer-based insurance are FDAapproval,medicaltraining,andstan- tighter regulation of practice can have restricted in their free choice of doctor — dardsofpracticeandlicensing areinsep- muchbenefitwithoutchangingtheritu- and hospital and why their doctors' arablefromtheirrootsinscientificritual. al (which is, admittedly, extraordinarily autonomyhasbeendecimated.Thisisthe Today'sapprovedtreatmentsarethose difficult to do). The beneficial change reason the World Health Organization thathavebeenproventohelpmostpeople that I envision is simply to bring about rankedourinefficient,absurd,andcruel AUTUMN 2003 • HARVARD MEDICAL ALUMNI BULLETIN T.KTTKRS SECOND OPINIONS FROM OUR READERS system 37th in the world in 2000. In the The panel worriedabout theprospect categoryof"fairness,"weranked54th. oflongwaitsfornon-emergencycareasin Mass Appeal While the panel did not see the ele- some othernations. But, as noted, other 1 wanted to compliment you on the phant, they did see the solution as more countriesspendfarlessonhealthcarethan excellent spring issue. I can't tell you complexthanitneedstobe.Oncewestop wedo. Dr.MarciaAngeUstateditwellina how much I look forward to receiving treatinghcLilthcare asafree-marketcom New York Times op-ed piece in October the Bulletin with its fine articles and the modifyandtreatitasasocietalobhgation, 2002:"Iftheyweretoputthesameamount news about my friends at Massachu- our solution would be the same one ofmoneyaswedointotheirsystems,there setts General Hospital in the '40s, '50s, accepted by all other developed coun- wouldbenowaits. Forthem,theproblem and '60s. I was saddened to read about tries in their various, generally popular, isnotthesystem;it'sthemoney.Forus,it's thetragic deathsofDr. and Mrs. Arthur government-runsystems. Andwewould notthemoney;it'sthesystem." Guyton'43A afterthe wonderful write- save money, too. An improved Medicare Since organized medicine was repre- up aboutthemthat appearedinjust the forallwouldsa\'ebillionsbyspreadingthe sentedonthepanel,amore roundeddis- previous issue. Thank you, again, for risktotheyoungandhealthy, notjust the cussion would have occurred had you doingsuchagreatjob. — oldand sick. Furtherhuge saxings hun- included a leader of the national Physi- VVINFIELD S. MORGAN, MD dreds ofbillions, says the Congressional ciansforaNationalHealthProgram,sev- PURSGLOVE, WEST VIRGINIA — BudgetOffice wouldberealizedbyelim- eralofwhomareintheHMScommunity. iannadtibnygvaadsxt'leyrtsiismipngl,ifmyairnkgeatdimnign,isatnrdatpiroonf.it JRAOMCEKSVISL.LBEERCNESNTTREEI,N N'5E2W YORK The Bald Truth I enjoyed reading "Heavy Metal," Don- ald Bickley's interesting collection of stories in the Spring 2003 issue of the RACE TO THE FINISH Bulletin. As a dermatologist, Iwaspartic- I would like toexpress mydeep appreciationto Farrokh Saidi'54 forhis ularly intriguedby the thallium story,in kind words about my father, Robert "Hawk" Shaw'45, in Dr. Saidi's account which Dr. Bickley describes a group of aboutthegrippingchallengeshehasfacedsincehisreturnto Irantopractice young women who permanently lost medicine (Spring2003 issue). Dad always spoke of their scalp, eyebrow, and eyelash hairs, Dr. Saidiwiththestrongestadmirationandaffection. presumably as a result ofusingadepila- I alsowantedtomentionthatineditingDad's torycreamcontainingthaUiumacetate. obituaryforpublicationinthatsam—espringissue,the Thatstorypromptedmetoremember Bi(//cf!)igotthestoryslightlywrong Hawk'sfirst that during my dermatology residency, I wife, Laura("Cricket"),didnotsurvivehim. Shedied had read that thalhum was at one time inAugust1998,whichpromptsmetolaunch, Dad- used therapeutically to cause depilation like,intoapossiblytruestoryabouttwoofour in patients with tinea capitis. Several of foundingfathers.ThomasJeffersonandJohnAdams myoldtextbooksconfirmthathistory.In werefastfriendsintheirrevolutionaryyouth,butin addition, both Moschella's Dermatolog}' 1800theyhadagravefallingoutafterthebitterly (1975) and Rook'sTextbookofDeimatolog}'. Robert "Hawk" Sha>v contestedpresidentialelectionendedwithAdams Third Edition (1979), state that the hair steppingdowTias U.S. presidentafteroneterm,and loss due to thallium is reversible, unlike Jeffersontakinghisplace.Theicethawedbetweenthemabout 12yearslater. the situation with Dr. Bickley'spatients. Butoldcompetitionsdiehard.Oneversionofthestorysaysthat,intheir Perhaps his patients' hair loss was not finalyears,eachoftheselasttwosurvivingfoundingfathers\'owedhewould caused by the direct toxic effects of the outlivetheother. Infact,bothdiedon Independence Day1826,Jeffersonjusta thallium inthecreamtheyused. fewhoursbeforeAdams. ButAdamsdidn'tgetthe newsintimetosa\'orhis MASSAD GREGORY JOSEPH 'JJ shortvictory. Hislastwordsaresaidtohavebeen,"ThomasJeffersonsur\'i\'es!" SOUTH PASADENA, CALIFORNIA Thisstoryisparticularlyappealingto HawkandCricket'schildren,who suspectthosetwoalsohad anunspokencompetitiontooutlasttheother. Dad The Bulletin welcomes letters to the editor. wonthecompetition handsdown,butit appearsfategave Momapapervicto Pleasesendlettersh\mail(Harvard Medical rythisspringintheBulletin. Alumni Bulletin,25ShattuckStreet,Boston. LIBBY SHAW Massachusetts 02115): fax (6173S4-S901): or WATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS email(hulletin(<Phms.har\'ard.edu).Lcttasmay heeditedforlengthorclarity. HARVARD MEDICAL ALUMNI BULLETIN • AUTUMN 2003 PTTT.SF MAKING THE ROUNDS AT HMS | THE CLASS OF 2007 The newest members of the — HMS community the Class — of 2007 donned their white coats in August. The class is 51 percent women and 49 percent men. Twenty-one percent of the students ore Asian Americans, 16 percent African Americans, 10 per- cent Latinos, and 2 percent Native Americans. The class includes representatives of 33 states, plus the District of Columbia, and 12 foreign countries: Brazil, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Ger- many, Greece, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, and Taiwan. Ten members of the class ore MD/PhD students. The youngest entering med- ical student is 21 years old, the oldest is 32, and the median age is 23. Roughly two-thirds of the class majored in the sciences while under- A Towering Investment in Science graduates; 1 percent majored in the social sciences, 10 per- cent in the humanities, and ITHALONERED—CRANETILTING Martin and a quorum of colleagues to 13 percent in other majors k^^Afl inthedistance andprovid propose the new building in the first and/or double majors. ^TiTB ingtheonly\-isible reminder place. "Wewantedtotakead\'antageofa of almost three—years of uniquemomentinthelifesciences,"Mar- traffic stopping construction Har\-ard tin said. Withthehumangeneticmapin Medical School's new research building hand, researchers around the world ha\e n at Avenue LouisPasteurwasofficially been racing to find genetic causes and unveiled on September 24. The speed cures fora \'ariet}' ofhumanillnesses. To with which the massive endeavor was jump-startthatquest,Martinandhiscol- carried out, and the elegance of its final leagueshadtheideatogatherresearchers product, call to mind another famously fromtheclinicalandbasicscienceworlds, — efficient project the mapping of the including the Departments of Pathology humangenome. andGenetics,underoneroof. It was the human genome project, in The architects clearly took the theme RITE STUFF: After receiving his fact, that had inspired HMS deanJoseph ofcollaborationto (conrinucdonpage6) w'h07itiesccooantg,raMtautlattheecwJMbcyCAaurgtuhsytus White, Holmes Society master. ON COMMON GROUND: The new research building will invite researchers and clinicians to collaborate Inthesearch forgenetic causes and cures. AUTUMN 2003 • HARVARD MEDICAL ALUMNI BULLETIN ptit.se MAKING THE ROUNDS AT HMS A Systematic Approach m ARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL HAS onthefoundationofmolecularbiolog)'to announced the creation of the construct an understandingofthe archi- Department of Systems Biolo- tectureoftheceUandhowcellscooperate gy (DSB), one of the first across organ systems, with a predicti\'e department-level systems biology pro- modelofphysiologyastheultimategoal." gramsinthenation.Systemsbiolog)'seeks Two other founding facult)' members tobuildfromcurrentknowledgeofgenet- havebeennamed;Timothy\htchison, the ic and molecular function to an under- Hasib Sabbagh Professor of Systems standing of how a whole cellworks as a BiologyatHMS,andLewisCandeyHMS system, and from thereto anunderstand professor of medicine at Beth Israel Dea- ingofmulticellularsystems. coness Medical Center. The department The DSB will be the first completely wiU consist of newly recruited faculty new department at HMS in more than fromsuchareasasmathematics,computer 20yearsand,withmore than 20faculty sciences,physics,andengineering,aswell recruitments expected, will be one of asfromtraditionalbiomedicalfields. the School's largest. The first chair of The department wiU focus on educa- YIELD OF DREAMS: The new building thenewdepartment.MarcKirschner,is tion and wlU provide a learningemiron- a pioneering cell biologist who led the ment to facihtate training the systems (continuedfrompa^c5) 1993 formation of the School's Depart- biologists of the future. "We hope this heart. From its revealing glass fagade, mentofCellBiologyandin 1999helped wUl become a model for other depart whichdrawsineventhecasualpasser- create the Harvard Institute for Chem ments in medical schools and colleges by, to its expansive, open-plan labora- istryandCellBiology. across the country," saysJoseph Martin, toriesandwood paneledhallways,dot- "Asweunderstandmoreaboutthetini- deanofHMS. "Biologistswill needbroad tedwathnooks,plazas,andgardens,the estpiecesthatwearemadeof,itbecomes traininginquantitati\'escience,andphys- buildingseems tobeonebiginvitation increasingly clear that we do not under- icalscientists needtobeexposedtonew to come explore. The half-million- stand how they work together as sys approaches to biology that make use of square-footstructure, with aprice tag tems," Kirschner says. "We need to build theirtalentsandexperience." of $260 million, includes a ten-story tower looming above a four-story wingfacingAvenue Louis Pasteur. "We sought to make the building a partof,notasatelliteof. Harvard Med- icalSchoolanditsteachinghospitals," Martin said. "Many researchers and ALL IN GOOD TIME clinicians will join hands and forces hereto\\'orkonthemissionofalleviat- The 75th anniversary issue of the Bulletin inghumansufferingcausedbydisease." recently received several national honors: a Lawrence Summers, president of gold medal EddieAward from Folio: Magazine; Harvard University, expressed pride a Clarion Award from the Association for in the new endeavor and high hopes Women in Communications; and an Award for its mission. "As a consequence of of Distinction from the Association of what happens in this building," he American Medical Colleges. The most said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, enduring honor for the 6u//ef/n,though, "many, many people at this university, was having the 75th anniversary issue in this city, in this country, and in the included in the time capsule created as world willbe farbetteroff." part of the dedication of the New Research Building. Mistfl Landau is the senior science writer « forFocus. HARVARD MEDICAL ALUMNI BULLETIN • AUTUMN 2003 — onleadingtheChanningLaboratoryand the new biodefense and emerginginfec- tiousdiseasesinitiative. Exemplifying the success ofcollabo- ration in the HMS community, Martin noted, is aW$24-million grant from the Donald Reynolds Foundation, establishing a cardiovascular clinical research center to develop new risk measuresandbiomarkersin atheroscle- rotic heart disease. The center will involve researchers from Brigham and Women'sHospital,MassachusettsGen- The State of the School eral Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess MedicalCenter, and HMS. "We're very proud of that joint D N HIS ANNUAL STATE OF THE that "when Marc Kirschner presented effort," Martin said. "It is not just a School address in October, someofhis ideasabout thisbackinthe wonderful opportunity with a large DeanJoseph \lartin recapped winter, he referred to Walter Cannon, amount of money, but it's an example "an extraordinary year" at who, I think, probably turned over in of how collaboration can lead to a HMSthatsawtheopeningofthelargest his gra\e when we disposed ofphysiol- goodendpoint." building e\'er constructed by Harvard ogy ten years ago....I thinkhe wouldbe Turning to education, Martin out- University and the creation of the pleased that we've returned to this as a lined recommendations of the curricu- School's first totally new basic science focus ofourefforts." lumreformtaskforceanddiscussedthe departmentin 20years. MartinalsowelcomedMalcolmCox70, next steps in the multiyear process of The e\'ents markingthe dedication of who arrived in May to become deanfor revamping the School's medical educa- the new research building "were really medical education, andJeffrey Newton, tion system. In addition to possible momentousformanyofus,"Martinsaid. "Wehavecometothinkaboutthestruc- ture of Harvard Medical School as two "Too often, the definition of what college — — Quadsseparated butonlyshghtly by LongwoodA\'enue." science should be is focused around passing Turning to the new Department of MCAT SystemsBiology,Martinpointedoutthat the to get into medical school." "our investment in the formation of a new structure to house systems biology isamajordeparturefromwhathasbeen who joined the School as dean for changes in the curriculum itself, one — done in most other institutions, where resourcedevelopmentinAugust. Martin recommendation spurredinpartbya interdisciplinary or interdepartmental recognized several HMS leaders who National Academy of Sciences report effortshavebeenmade." haveassumednewresponsibilitiesinthe is to review and possibly revise admis- Martin said that creating a depart- recent administrative reorganization: sionrequirementstoensurethatincom- — ment for systems biology sometimes NancyAndrews'84,asassociatedeanfor ingstudentsarewellprepared. — called "the new physiology" in some basic science and graduate studies; "One concern expressed in the waysrepresents athrowbackto anear- Raphael DoUn '67, as dean for academic report is that too often, the definition lier scientific era, with its renewed and clinical programs; and Jules Dien- of what college science should be is emphasis on organ systems and organ- stag, as associate dean for academic and focused around passing the MCAT to isms as opposed to isolated genes and clinical programs. Martin led a round get into medical school," Martin said, proteins. Pullingupaphotoofthegreat of applause for Dennis Kasper, who "and this betrays what should be a HMS physiologist Walter Bradford stepped dowTi after six years as execu- broader interest in science at the col- Cannon, Classof1900, Martinrecalled tivedeanforacademicprogramstofocus leselevel." AUTUMN 2003 • HARVARD MEDICAL ALUMNI BULLETIN P U T.SE MAKING THE ROUNDS AT HMS A NEW LINE OF DEFENSE HMS New will establish the England Center on Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Dis- eases (CBEID) OS part ofa strategic plan developed by the National Institutes of Health in the wake of the ter- roristattacks and anthrax Jim Yong Kim Nawal Nour release in 2001. The CBEID will be one ofeight regional centers thatwill develop inter- ventions against nnicrobes that can be used as bioweopons, Catchers in the Rye as well as emerging infections such as West Nile and SARS. ^1 The CBEID will support nine MONGTHE24RECIPIENTSOFTHE new strategies for international health U^H programs focusing on basic MacArthur "genius" grants leadership in tuberculosis, AIDS, and research and development of for2003,recentlyannounced otherinfectiousdiseases. vaccines and therapeutics for by theJohn D. and Catherine Nour, who grew up in Eg)'pt and the the prevention and treatment T. MacArthur Foundation, were two Sudan,isanHNISinstructorinobstetrics, of these diseases. Five ofthe HMS alumni, Jim Yong Kim '86 and g^Tiecology,andreproducti\'ebiologyand programs will be based at Nawal Nour '94. Each will receive a the founding director of the African HMS; the remaining four will five-year, $500,000 award, with no Women's Health PracticeatBrighamand be based at Boston University, strings attached. Women's Hospital. The only clinic of its the Center for Blood Research "BothJim Kim and Nawal Nour have kind in the United States, this practice in Boston, the University of incredible track records for developing addresses the medical and emotional Massachusetts-Dartmouth, and innovative programs for helping people needs of female immigrants who have the University ofMassachusetts who have generally slipped through the been circumcised in their homeland. She Medical School. significant gaps in society's safety nets," hasde\'eloped techniquesforthesurgical Dennis Kasper, the William saysJoseph Martin, dean of HMS. "The reversal of infibulation, the most se\'ere Ellery Channing Professor HMS community has been quite proud formofthepractice.Byapphingherskills of Medicine at HMS, will of what Jim and Nawal have already inmedicineandpublichealthtocontem- serve as scientific director accomplishedandlooksforwardtowhat poraryissuesofcultureandhumanrights, of the center. they can do with the assistance of the Nour is advancing initiatives in interna MacArthurFoundation." tionalwomen'shealth. An HMS associate professor of social Previousrecipientsofthe MacArthur medicineandalsoofmedicineatBrigham "genius" grants include David C. Page and Women's Hospital, Kim is on leave '82 andPaul Farmer'90. Pa^e,amolecu thisyeartoworkasapublichealthphysi- lar geneticist and associate director of cianattheWorldHealthOrganizationin science at the Whitehead Institute in Geneva, specializing in the control and Cambridge, Massachusetts, received eradicationofinfectiousdiseases. Hehas the fellowship in 1986 for his research formulated new models for containing on how genes on the sex chromosomes multidrug resistant tuberculosis, a dis- lead to male or female development. ease that was once considered untreat- Farmer, the Maude and Lillian Presley ablc in many poor regions around the Professor of Social Medicine at HMS, world. Kim has envisioned and applied wasgranted a tellowship in 1993 forhis effective interventions at both local and work as a physician, anthropologist, global le\-cls and is currently mapping andcommunity health activist. HARVARD MEDICAL ALUMNI BULLETIN • AUTUMN 2003