David and Xinan Courtesy

David C. Christiani and Xinan Wang both work on the Boston Lung Cancer Study.

Xinan Courtesy

Xinan Wang, a postdoctoral researcher working with Christiani at the School of Public Health, has analyzed how smoking history affects an individual’s response to immunotherapy.

David Christiani Courtesy

The BLCS began in 1992, when David C. Christiani, a professor at the School of Public Health and a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, started recruiting a cohort of patients to study the interplay of genetics and the environment in lung cancer.

TransQuinceañera: The Party that Educates as it Celebrates

A party that educates as much as it celebrates, TransQuinceañera, an event hosted by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Latinx Student Association and the LGBTQ@GSAS Association, invited the Harvard community to a vibrant evening of art and activism.

‘A Million Data Points’: A 30-Year Long Lung Cancer Study Meets AI

This is the Boston Lung Cancer Study, a long-running study of lung cancer patients that analyzes the disease’s genetic and environmental risk factors. But in recent years, the study reached a new frontier in medicine. The Harvard Artificial Intelligence in Medicine program has begun analyzing the dataset in unprecedented ways — by using artificial intelligence.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Math 55

Just five years ago, the Math Department’s official word on Math 55 was that it was “probably the most difficult undergraduate math class in the country.” Now, they say, “if you’re reasonably good at math, you love it, and you have lots of time to devote to it, then Math 55 is completely fine for you.” So, what changed?

stickleback fish

The Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology acquired half a million skeletons of stickleback fish, a species central to evolutionary research. How did this happen, and what will be done with the thousands of jars?

Math 55

Welcome to Math 55, the undergraduate course surrounded by what is perhaps the most intrigue and infamy of any class at Harvard.

stickleback fish shelves

The MCZ's collection of stickleback fish is stored in over 2,000 mason jars in the museum's basement.

Vaccine Booster Argument

An HMS paper published this December in the Journal of Medical Ethics does a risk-benefit assessment of booster mandates, ultimately concluding that the mandates may have been misguided. Contrary to the intentions of the authors, the data now serves as material for conservative medical organizations like AFLDS skeptical of Covid-19 vaccine efficacy.

Bill Hanage

Bill Hanage is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Co-Director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.

Half a Million Fish

After the museum processes its newest donation, the collection will include half a million skeletons of three-spined stickleback fish alone. Now, the Harvard Ichthyology collection at the MCZ is in the middle of a year-long process to curate and catalog these fish that, once completed, will help inform ichthyology and evolutionary research at large.

Scooped by ‘Freedom Lovers’: Anti-Vax Group Cites an HMS Paper

Contrary to the intentions of the authors, the data now serves as material for conservative medical organizations like AFLDS  skeptical of Covid-19 vaccine efficacy.

king birds-of-paradise tail

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; ©President and Fellows of Harvard College

Wilson's bird-of-paradise

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; ©President and Fellows of Harvard College

king birds-of-paradise

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; ©President and Fellows of Harvard College

Jeremiah Trimble

Jeremiah Trimble is a curatorial associate and the manager of the Harvard Ornithology Collection

rhinoceros hornbill (full body)

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; ©President and Fellows of Harvard College

Bird Photo Essay

vulturine guineafowl wing

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; ©President and Fellows of Harvard College

papier mache octopus design

Hanging in Harvard’s Northwest Building, this model of the Pacific octopus has been in Harvard’s hands for the last 140 years

octopus 2

The octopus lies suspended above a grand staircase in the spacious, modern, glassy foyer of Harvard’s Northwest Building, home to labs, classrooms, and offices for Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

bee hummingbird

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; ©President and Fellows of Harvard College

octopus 3

Preservation of the octopus’ historic and artistic value, rather than precise scientific accuracy, guided the team’s effort.

rhinoceros hornbill

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; ©President and Fellows of Harvard College