Lives saved by sociologist’s fix for skin tone bias
The Monk Skin Tone scale, devised in 2019 by Professor Ellis Monk, helps create more accurate medical diagnostic tools for patients with dark skin
Life Sciences
On the path to research, teach, and curate
Working with the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture was formative for integrative biology concentrator Lauren Bartel
Cancer turned her into a scientist
Diagnosis transformed Mary Cipperman ’26 into a hyperproductive student researcher with diverse interests in physics, medicine, and AI
A skull full of surprises
In a new study, OEB researchers CT-scanned 87 ray-finned fish species. Turns out fish aren't simple — they're just built completely differently than we assumed.
No pill for exercise: Why GLP-1s can’t replace physical activity
Why take a walk or a run when you can just take a pill? These are burning questions in the new era of revolutionary weight loss drugs.
A gene delivery system for the human heart
Engineering Design Projects (ES 100), the capstone course at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, challenges seniors to engineer a creative solution to a real-world problem. Saron Meressi's project focused on optimizing cardiac gene delivery using adeno-associated virus (AAV) technology. She specifically designed a tunable, ventricle-specific gene delivery system that enables more precise targeting within the heart.
Stopping cervical cancer before it starts
A researcher focused on developing therapeutic vaccines for the human papillomavirus (HPV), Alton Gayton will graduate from the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in May 2026 with a Ph.D. in virology. He discusses his pioneering work using circular RNA and artificial intelligence to treat and prevent cervical cancer, his upbringing in North Carolina, and his path from there to Harvard, via the University of North Carolina.
Five Harvard faculty named Harvard College Professors
Awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching announced by FAS Dean Hopi Hoekstra at the May Meeting of the Faculty.
Stem cell biologists win support for cancer research
Fei Chen and Ryan Flynn were honored for promising investigations into cellular mechanisms of the disease.
Bioengineering a career in cancer therapeutics
Danika Rodrigues has been researching cancer therapies since she was a biomedical engineering undergraduate and master’s student at the University of Michigan. But it was working at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson, that convinced her that not only was cancer research interesting — it was what she wanted for her career.
Harvard faculty recognized by the National Academy of Sciences