News: The 2024 HST graduation

There were 57 clinician-scientists in this year’s graduating class, 40 attended the ceremony

Mindy Blodgett | IMES-HST

The 2024 graduating class of the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST) gathered on May 22, to celebrate their accomplishments with their families and friends, at the MIT Bartos Theater & Atrium. Also in attendance were HST alumni, faculty, and staff. 

This 2024 graduation class includes 57 graduates: 35 MD graduates, and 25 Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP)PhDs; one Master of Science graduate, and one Graduate Education in Medical Sciences, or GEMS certificate, recipient. There were 40 graduates in attendance. HST MD graduates also participated in Harvard graduation events on May 23, and graduates of the HST Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) PhD program participated in the MIT School of Engineering Advanced Degree Ceremony, and hooding event, on May 29. 

Photo credit: Justin Knight

All enjoyed congratulatory remarks from HST Associate Director Richard N. Mitchell, MD, PhD; Dean of the Harvard Medical School (HMS) George Q. Daley, MD (HST ’91), PhD; and Elazer Edelman, MD (HST ’83), PhD (HST ’84), Director of the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES).  Also participating in the ceremony were Wolfram Goessling MD, PhD, the co-director of HST at Harvard, Collin M. Stultz, MD, (HST ’97), PhD, co-director of HST at MIT, and associate director of IMES (IMES is HST’s home at MIT), as well as Junne Kamihara, Associate Director, MD Advising, HST, and HST Associate Director, Matthew Frosch.

L to R, Junne Kamihara, Associate Director, MD Advising, HST; HST Associate Director Richard N. Mitchell, MD, PhD. Photo credit: Justin Knight

Dean Daley, an HST alumnus, called the occasion, a “spectacular achievement to graduate from the country’s pre-eminent program in translational biomedical science and engineering” and he praised the graduates’ “persistence in getting through the pandemic,” as Covid was at its height when many from the class began their studies in 2020. Daley observed that the graduates will witness “explosive developments” during their careers, in such areas as gene editing, artificial intelligence (AI) and the needs of an aging population. 

Harvard Medical School (HMS) George Q. Daley, MD (HST ’91), PhD. Photo credit: Justin Knight.

Stultz called addressing the graduates “one of the best parts of my job,” remarking that “few individuals have achieved your level of accomplishments.” 

Collin M. Stultz, MD, (HST ’97), PhD, co-director of HST at MIT, and associate director of IMES. Photo credit: Justin Knight.

Wolfram Goessling MD, PhD, the co-director of HST at Harvard, congratulated the graduates and their families and friends. Photo credit: Justin Knight.

Edelman, an HST alumnus, who is also a senior attending physician, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, shared a story about one of his patients, a middle school principal from Western Massachusetts, who was the “heart and soul” of his school, and of his small town. He said that the graduates were chosen for HST because “of what we saw in you…your heart and soul” and that “together, we can harness medicine to make the world a better place.”

Elazer Edelman, MD (HST ’83), PhD (HST ’84), Director of the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES). Photo credit: Justin Knight.

Abby Aymond, an HST MD graduate, was the 2024 class speaker. She praised the “exceptional sense of community and friendship” she had experienced while a student at HST. She said the some of the lessons she was taking from her years at HST were to “relax all the noise…focus only on the problem at hand…and to always be open to new information.”

Abby Aymond, HST MD graduate, was the 2024 class speaker. Photo credit: Justin Knight.

Elazer Edelman, left, and George Daley, right, address the graduates at the end of the ceremony, urging them to stay in touch. Photo credit: Justin Knight.

HST Associate Director Richard N. Mitchell donned the traditional Red Sox graduation cap, and applauded the graduates. Photo credit: Justin Knight.

The HST 2024 Graduates:

Doctor of Medicine

Medical Sciences

Abby Aymond, BS

Thesis Topic: Optimization of Ventricular Efficiency and Renal Artery Perfusion in a Bench Top Model System

Alaleh Azhir, BS

cum laude

Thesis Topic: Chromosomes vs Hormones: Decoding the Expression Mosaic in Liver and Adipose Tissues

James Diao, BS

summa cum laude

The Seidman Prize for Outstanding HST Senior Medical Student Thesis

Richard C. Cabot Prize

Thesis Topic: The Use of Race in Clinical Algorithms

Christopher Michael Dietrich, BS

Thesis Topic: Towards Treat-Seq: Predicting Therapeutic Response from Transcriptomic Signatures

Jonah Issac Donnenfield, BA

magna cum laude

Thesis Topic: Transcriptomic Profiling of the Post-traumatic Porcine Knee: Degenerative Pathophysiology and Machine Learning Application

Micayla Flores, SB

Thesis Topic: Ambulatory and Delivery Obstetric Comorbidity Index (OB-CMI) for Identification of Pregnant Individuals at Risk for Severe Maternal Morbidity (SMM)

Allyson Freedy, BA, PhD

Leon Reznick Memorial Prize

HMS Multiculturalism Award

Thesis Topic: Uncovering the Biology of Chromatin Regulators with Drug Resistance Alleles

William Hao Ge, BS

Thesis Topic: Stereotypic Patterns and Genomic Correlates of Organotropism in Metastatic Melanoma

Blake Hauser, BSPH, PhD

cum laude

Thesis Topic: Structure-Based Network Analysis Predicts Pathogenic Variants in Human Proteins Associated with Inherited Retinal Disease

Sofia Hu, BA, PhD

Thesis Topic: Transcription Factor Antagonism Regulates Heterogeneity in Embryonic Stem Cell States

Nauman Javed, BS, PhD

Thesis Topic: Strategies for Characterizing the Regulatory Code of the Human Genome

Tushar Vinod Kamath, SB, SM, PhD

Thesis Topic: Cell States and Neuronal Vulnerabilities in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Minjee Kim, BA

magna cum laude

Thesis Topic: Transcriptional Antagonism by CDK8 Inhibition Improves Therapeutic Efficacy of MEK Inhibitors

Patrick Lenehan, BS, PhD

cum laude

Thesis Topic: Investigating the Impact of Eosinophils on Pancreatic Cancer Growth and Metastasis

Claudio Macias Trevino, BS, PhD

Thesis Topic: Transcriptional Regulation of Esrp1 and its Role in Craniofacial Morphogenesis

Eliana Marostica, BA, MBMI

magna cum laude

Thesis Topic: Systematic Quantification of Morphological Patterns in Surgical Specimens of Cancers

Eduardo Maury, SB, PhD

Thesis Topic: Somatic Mutations in the Human Brain: Tracing the Origins of Cancer and Schizophrenia

Elizabeth Minten, BS, PhD

cum laude

Thesis Topic: Role of CDK12 in R-Loop Formation

Katherine Nabel Smith, BS, PhD

Thesis Topic: Molecular Mechanisms for Broad Neutralization of Emerging RNA Viruses

Julia E. Page, SB, PhD

Thesis Topic: Peptidoglycan Hydrolases, their Protein Partners, and Related Membrane Proteins in Staphylococcus Aureus

Deborah Plana, SB, PhD

magna cum laude

Thesis Topic: Clinical Trial Data Science to Advance Precision Oncology

Sheridan Rea, BS, MS

Thesis Topic: Retrospective Cohort Analysis of Sociodemographic Factors and Postpartum Hemorrhage Outcomes

Sara Ann Rubin, BA, PhD

cum laude

Thesis Topic: Zebrafish Immune Cell Development and Diversity in Health and Disease

Jamie Erin Shade, BS

cum laude

Thesis Topic: Relationships Between Cardiac Magnetic Resonance-derived Myocardial, Hepatic, and Splenic Extracellular Volumes in Patients after the Fontan Operation

Bryce Filip Starr, BS

Thesis Topic: Generation and Validation of a Bileaflet Venous Valve for Single Ventricle Physiology

Hannah Jacqueline Szapary, BS, SM

cum laude

Thesis Topic: Mechanical and Biologic Impact of Dynamic Loading on Bovine and Human Models of Osteoarthritis

Max Louis Valenstein, BS, MS, PhD

magna cum laude

Leon Reznick Memorial Prize

Thesis Topic: Integration of Amino Acid Signals by the mTORC1 Pathway

Sarah Weiss, SB, PhD

Thesis Topic: Deletion of an Exhaustion-specific PD-1 Enhancer Modulates CD8+ T Cell Fate and Function

Omar Yaghi, BS, PhD

Thesis Topic: Uncovering Stromal Cell Functions in Acute and Chronic Muscle Injuries

Katherine Young, SB, MEng

Thesis Topic: Transmission and Evolution of Staphylococcus Aureus in Families with Atopic Dermatitis

Doctor of Philosophy

Medical Engineering/Medical Physics

Jon Arizti Sanz, MNG

Thesis Topic: From Sample to Answer: Innovations in Sample Processing and CRISPR-based Diagnostics for Enhanced Clinical Translation and Field Deployment

Olivia Jane Arnold, SB

Thesis Topic: Therapeutic Applications of DNA Origami-based Progammable Nanoparticles

Rachel Bellisle, SB

Thesis Topic: A Wearable Countermeasure for Musculoskeletal Deconditioning in Human Spaceflight

Adam G. Berger, SB

Thesis Topic: Systematic Engineering of Controlled, Localized Oligonucleotide Delivery Systems for Wound Angiogenesis

Jennifer Dawkins, SB

Thesis Topic: Computational Prediction of Health Status from the Human Gut Microbiome and Metabolome

Brian Tshao Do, SB

Thesis Topic: Metabolic and Genetic Factors Guiding Hematopoietic Cell Fate

Mingjian He, SB

Thesis Topic: State-space Modeling of Neural Oscillations: Toward Assessing Alzheimer’s Disease Neuropathology with Sleep EEG

Brennan Leo Jackson, SB

Thesis Topic: The Impact of Gamma Stimulation on Neurological Phenotypes of Alzheimer's Dementia and Down Syndrome

Morgan Elizabeth Janes, SB

Thesis Topic: Engineering Translational Vaccine Delivery Systems with the Polyphenol Tannic Acid

Ashwin Srinivasan Kumar, BNG

Thesis Topic: Targeting B Cells to Improve Therapeutic Outcomes for Pediatric Medulloblastoma

Christian Landeros, SB

Thesis Topic: Machine-Guided Biopsy Analysis in Oncology: Facilitating Diagnostic Access and Biomedical Discovery Through Deep Learning

Ben D. Leaker, BNG

Thesis Topic: Biological and Biomechanical Effects of Direct Perturbation of Tissue Structure in the Cirrhotic Liver

Fiona Macleod, BNG

Thesis Topic: Investigating the Fidelity of Classic Cardiovascular Metrics in the Context of a Failing and Mechanically Supported Heart

Maria Carmen Martin Alonso, MNG

Thesis Topic: Amplifying Signals in the Tumor Microenvironment for Drug Development and Diagnostics

Eli Mattingly, SB

Thesis Topic: Design, Construction, and Validation of Magnetic Particle Imaging Systems for Rodent, Primate, and Human Functional Neuroimaging

Vincent Miao, BNG

Thesis Topic: Profiling Host Respiratory Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Allison Paige Porter, SB

Thesis Topic: Automation Framework for Exploration Medicine (AFEM): A Path for Integrating Automation into Autonomous Emergency Care

Rumya Raghavan, SB

Thesis Topic: Engineering Minimally Immunogenic Cargos and Delivery Modalities for Gene Therapy

Michelle Ramseier, SB

Thesis Topic: Cooptation of B Cell Developmental States in Malignancy and Autoimmunity

Luca Rosalia, MNG

Thesis Topic: Soft Robotic Platforms for the Simulation of Cardiovascular Disease and Device Development

Daphne Schlesinger, SB

Thesis Topic: Physiology-Inspired Deep Learning for Improved Heart Failure Management

Sydney Sherman, SB

Thesis Topic: Single-sided Magnetic Resonance Sensors for Clinical Detection of Volume Status

Nalini Singh, SB

Thesis Topic: Physics-Inspired Deep Learning for Inverse Problems in MRI

Anubhav Sinha, SB, MNG

Thesis Topic: Spatially Precise in situ Transcriptomics in Intact Biological Systems

Mingyu Yang, SB

Thesis Topic: Myelination Diseases of the Central Nervous System: Artificial Axons as in Vitro Models of Chemomechanical Cues

Master of Science

Health Sciences and Technology

Noah Stanley Warner, SB

Thesis Topic: A Framework for Detection and Observation of Radiation Chemistry Species on an MR-Linac

Certificate

Graduate Education in Medical Sciences

Akshay Kothakonda, BNG, SM

Thesis Topic: Engineering Mechanical Counter Pressure Spacesuits and Compression Garments: Active Pressurization and Design for Mobility