At Mass General, the world’s leading scientists and clinicians conduct an impressive range of biomedical research to develop new treatments, improve patient outcomes and further our understanding of human disease.
Photo 1 / 11
Alice Shaw, MD
A New Era in Cancer Care
Mass General Cancer Center researchers are pioneering new “smart drug” therapies that target a tumor’s specific genetic mutation. Doctors at the Cancer Center’s new Henri and Belinda Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies screen every Mass General patient's tumor for genetic markers to determine if their cancer is likely to respond to a targeted treatment, and base treatment decisions on this information. Mass General was first to show that lung cancer treatments can be personalized in this way. What’s more, other cancers are now responding to these new therapies. Read more or contact a Cancer Center access nurse
Photo 2 / 11
Hip simulators in Dr. Ortun Muratoglu's lab
The Engineered Body
Each day, 5,000 people are implanted with a crosslinked polyethylene hip joint developed at Mass General. Using simulators, researchers also test how these joints respond to extended use by putting them through 10 years of steps—that’s 31,536,000 steps—in just one year. Other innovations include a surgical technique that coaxes bones into lengthening, allowing a toddler whose jawbone was dangerously small to eat normally, and helping paralyzed people learn to direct computers with their thoughts—a first step, perhaps, toward regaining control of their immobilized bodies. Read more or learn about hip replacement
Photo 3 / 11
Bruce Walker, MD
Following Clues in the Search for an AIDS Vaccine
Over the last few years, Boston researchers have discovered vulnerabilities in the AIDS virus that may lead to its defeat. “HIV is slowly revealing itself,” says Bruce Walker, MD, director of the Ragon Institute, a joint enterprise of Mass General, MIT and Harvard. Walker is studying a small group of patients whose immune systems suppress HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Many of these patients carry a variant form of the HLA gene called “B57.” Researchers are asking why HLA-B57 can keep the virus in check and why related genes cannot, while also discovering weak points in the HIV virus, all clues in the search for a vaccine. Read more
Photo 4 / 11
Sam Lee, PhD
Linking Genes to Disease
Scientists at Mass General’s Center for Human Genetic Research are collaborating on new approaches to reveal how genes influence our health. Currently researchers are pioneering techniques in discovering the gene that gives rise to Huntington’s disease. Other research includes the discovery of nearly 100 genes associated with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, which has allowed researchers to develop tools so physicians can distinguish between the two conditions early in diagnosis. This is important because the two diseases are treated differently. Read more or learn about the Crohn’s and Colitis Center
Photo 5 / 11
Elizabeth Rafferty, MD
Mammography Made Better
In standard mammography, a stationary X-ray machine produces a single 2D image of the breast. In this image, overlapping layers of tissue can make it difficult for a radiologist to fully evaluate certain features. In 3D mammography, a new technology pioneered at Mass General, the scanner moves in an arc over the breast, capturing many images from different angles. Computer processing builds these pictures into a 3D image that a radiologist can manipulate, improving cancer detection and reducing false positives. Learn more or request an appointment
Photo 6 / 11
Bill Gates visits Mass General for HIV/AIDS research update
Fighting Infectious Disease
Tuberculosis, pneumonia and other infectious diseases are a global health concern, causing more than 23% of the world’s deaths each year. At Mass General, the 45 physicians who make up the Division of Infectious Disease travel around the world to provide innovative care for patients while pioneering the latest research in infectious disease. They are also leading research to better understand a new breed of antibiotic-resistant infections known as “superbugs,” investigating nonantibiotic approaches to treat infection and conducting genetic studies of cholera to identify strain-specific treatment approaches. Learn more
Photo 7 / 11
Rendering of the human brain
Investigating the Brain
Using new imaging technology, doctors at Mass General can compare normal brain images with those of stroke patients. This research may reveal how the brain rewires itself after a stroke, which would dramatically inform treatment and care plans. Researchers are also observing the brain under general anesthesia to reduce side effects and to explore what happens when consciousness is lost; investigating novel approaches to treating Alzheimer's disease by targeting enzymes involved in the disease; and creating microelectrodes that could treat epilepsy and help the severely depressed. Read more
Photo 8 / 11
Tatsuo Kawai, MD, PhD, and Jennifer Searl
New Hope in Transplantation
Organ rejection occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the newly transplanted organ. Mass General scientists have discovered how to trick the recipient’s immune system into thinking the new organ is part of its body, making it possible to accept organs from a wide range of donors: Inject the transplant recipient with the organ donor’s bone marrow at the time of transplant, creating a state known as “mixed chimerism.” In 2002, Jennifer Searl became the world’s first patient to receive a non-matched, transplanted organ without needing to take immunosuppressive drugs. She remains immunosuppressant-free today. Meet Jennifer or read more
Photo 9 / 11
Rendering of the human brain
Mapping the Brain
What can thousands of brain images taken using an ultra high resolution scanner tell us about neurodisorders such as autism, Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia? Known as the Human Connectome Project, researchers from Mass General, Harvard and UCLA are using these images to build a map of the human brain. Using images taken of the brains of twins and their siblings, researchers can compare the genetic contributions of brain differences. Accompanying behavioral data about the volunteers is expected to reveal the ways environment shapes the brain circuits. Read more
Photo 10 / 11
A magnified image of human cells
Understanding Cells, Developing Treatments
Molecular biologists study how molecules interact in the cells of organisms. Their focus is on mechanisms—how cells fold, pack and transport proteins, or how stem cells differentiate into muscle, blood vessels or bone. Researchers at Mass General now can wind back the clock, returning cells to developmental infancy, and then coax them into models of disease; for example, using skin cells to generate neurons affected by Parkinson’s. This research can help develop better treatments. Read more
Photo 11 / 11
Chin-Lee Wu, PhD, and Sandra Kirley
A Research Powerhouse Within a Hospital
From investigations of the body’s tiniest building blocks to efforts to rebuild its organs, Mass General’s research focuses on advancing patient care and understanding disease. The largest hospital-based research program in the U.S., Mass General supports 2,100 researchers, many of whom are also working physicians, and 3,600 supporting staff members, operating across the 20 departments and centers that conduct research. Learn how you can help
Conversations with Mass General Experts
In Their Own Words — Stories from Our Patients
- The mysteries of anesthesia
Interview with anesthesiologist Emery Brown, MD, PhD
- Exposing cancer’s weakness
Interview with Daniel Haber, MD, PhD, director of the Mass General Cancer Center
- 3D mammography
Interview with Elizabeth Rafferty, MD, director of breast imaging at Mass General
- Battling a new breed of bugs
Interview with David Hooper, MD, associate chief of infectious diseases
- Forming stronger bonds
Interview with Orhun Muratoglu, PhD, of the Harris Orthopaedic Laboratory at Mass General
- The organ builder
Interview with Joseph P. Vacanti, MD, surgeon-in-chief at MassGeneral Hospital for Children
- Victoria Kennedy: Course of treatment
Victoria Kennedy describes her family’s experience after her husband, Ted Kennedy, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
- Bill Schuette: Last chance found at Mass General
Bill Schuette explains why he drove 18 hours from Ohio to receive personalized cancer treatment at Mass General.
- Jennifer Searl: From transplant to triumph
Jennifer Searl explains how a groundbreaking transplant procedure has kept her off of immunosuppressive drugs nearly a decade later.
- Zachary Ostrowski: Promises kept to patient with Hirschsprung’s disease
Toddler Zachary Ostrowski had been through numerous surgeries, misdiagnoses and a nearly fatal fever before arriving at MassGeneral Hospital for Children.
Proto on the go 
Download Proto Magazine’s free app for videos, photo galleries and more from the frontiers of medicine.
