February 13, 2004

Research at MGH, growing by leaps and bounds

The continuing growth of the MGH research enterprise was clearly on display during the hospital's annual research symposium and poster session Feb. 4. MGH investigators presented 134 posters — a record number — and 13 of the presentations were named posters of distinction. Future researchers also were represented by eight Timilty Middle School students (shown at left) who showcased their science fair projects.

The scientific symposium following the poster session featured both some high-technology medical applications and an extremely low-technology health maintenance function. Ralph Weissleder, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Molecular Imaging Research, discussed the development of iron-containing nanoparticles to detect lymph node metastases and other advanced imaging applications; and Rox Anderson, MD, of the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, updated the audience on the many applications of light in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

For a low-technology contrast, the keynote address, "Honor Thy Symbionts," by Jeffrey Gordon, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine, and a member of the MGH Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), described how the bacteria living in the gastrointestinal system are essential to intestinal development. At its 57th annual meeting held Feb. 5, the SAC — a group of distinguished researchers who advise the MGH — received updates on the hospital's research program and on collaborative activities across Partners and with Harvard Medical School (HMS). Right, MGHers at the poster session

In his review of the first five years of the Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT), John Parrish, MD, chief of MGH Dermatology and director of CIMIT, described some of the program's accomplishments and continuing challenges. Raju Kucherlapati, PhD, scientific director of the Harvard/Partners Center for Genomics and Genetics, detailed the center's progress, and Joseph Martin, MD, PhD, HMS dean, described how the school's new research building is designed to facilitate collaborations among HMS and hospital-based researchers. Marc Kirschner, PhD, chair of the new HMS Systems Biology department, discussed the challenges of moving from research focused at molecular and cellular levels to applying that knowledge to the function of organs and the whole body. The leaders of the new MGH thematic research centers — which now include the Wellman Center — each addressed their developing programs. Joseph Vacanti, MD, chief of MGH Pediatric Surgery, right, discusses a poster concept with an MGH researcher.

The afternoon session started with a review of efforts to improve communication within the research community. William Crowley, MD, director of the MGH Clinical Research Program, then reviewed that program's first seven years and outlined some of the forces that can impede the integration of new research into clinical practice. Also addressing clinical research were Pearl O'Rourke, MD, director of Partners Human Research Affairs, who described the increasing and essential patient-safety requirements, and a panel of clinical reseachers who discussed current issues that either helped or hindered their investigations.