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In This Issue:
Dean of Harvard Medical School (HMS), Joseph Martin, MD, PhD addressed members of BWH on Thursday, January 24 through his presentation, “The Harvard Medical Community 2002: Progress and Prospects.” The presentation covered the current state of affairs at the medical school and was sponsored by BWH’s Medical Staff Organization. Building bridges was a prominent theme in Martin’s presentation, as he spoke about the construction of the new research building, BWH’s plans for the Center for Advanced Medicine and described the chords that connect HMS to its affiliate institutions.
Martin highlighted the strong collaboration of BWH, HMS and the local community in planning for the new Center for Advanced Medicine. He noted the historic house moves along Francis Street as one of the greatest achievements of teamwork among the two institutions and the Roxbury Tenants of Harvard.
There also was much enthusiasm surrounding Martin’s discussion of HMS’s new 430,000 square foot research building, scheduled to be completed in the Fall of 2003. The building will house several state-of-the-art amenities, including a 600-seat auditorium, research facilities and conference rooms. Martin noted that at the core of this project were the goals of “true integration and a multidisclipinary approach to medicine.” “The new building will accelerate the translation of research from bench to bedside,” he said. A huge portion of the research building will become home to systems and integrated biological work, including the Partners Center for Genomics and Genetics and other BWH-led research initiatives.
In addition to giving the audience a glimpse into the future of medicine in the Longwood Medical Area, Martin shared a snapshot of the current HMS student community. The portrait of HMS’s student body is a diverse one: of the approximately 100 students enrolled in this year’s Division of Medical Sciences PhD program, 14 different countries and 60 different universities are represented, and more than half of the students are women. Of the 826 medical students, 48 percent of the student body is comprised of minorities.
After providing an overview of the school’s demographics, Martin described some of the innovative solutions HMS has developed to overcome the challenges facing both the students and faculty. One example highlighted in his talk was Harvard’s new Academy for medical education. This initiative, according to Martin, “is driven by the recognition that it is increasingly difficult for a community of practitioners in our hospitals to find the time required to deliver the teaching they wish to do and which students expect and deserve.” HMS has begun implementing components of the Academy, including extensive renovations in Gordon Hall that feature a new student resource center and student affairs center.
In his closing remarks Martin thanked the team of physicians and leaders at BWH for their support and imagination over the past year in helping HMS and its affiliate institutions to make a positive impact on the community and fulfill its mission of service, education and research.