Eliza Griswold has traveled the world researching conflicts. Over the summer, The New York Times Magazine published her article “Is This the End of Christianity in the Middle East?” For her first book, The Tenth Parallel, she spent years traveling in Africa and Asia along the fault line where Christianity and Islam intersect and interact.…

Public health practitioners, policymakers, and industry representatives from China and the U.S. gathered September 28–29, 2015, to share experiences and ideas around health system reform. The 5th U.S.–China Summit, hosted by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, included for the first time a forum and innovation competition…

Persistent emotional stress that we experience as children — whether due to financial challenges, death of a loved one, or relationships that cause anxiety — may make us more prone to health issues as adults, according to a new study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers and colleagues. The study was published…

Drinking one or two daily sugar-sweetened beverages can lead to excess weight gain and a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In the most comprehensive review of the evidence on the health effects of sugar-sweetened beverages…

Current cervical cancer screening practices are inefficient and not cost-effective, according to a new study led by a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researcher. Some women are tested too often, while others are underscreened, and follow-up for women with abnormal results is often poorly managed. This contributes to approximately 12,000 new cases and…

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Pathology and Cancer Center investigator Bradley Bernstein is one of three recipients of the 2015 Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research, given by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Bernstein is a professor of pathology at MGH and Harvard Medical School, and an institute member of the Broad Institute…

The Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) Awards were established in 1990 to recognize outstanding service to Harvard University through alumni activities. The 25th annual awards will be presented, today, during the fall meeting of the HAA Board of Directors. This year’s honorees include: Thomas E. “Ted” Blamey, M.B.A. ’70 Peter A. Carfagna ’75, J.D. ’79 Robert…

The Center for Green Buildings and Cities at the Harvard Graduate School of Design is marking its one-year anniversary with two extraordinary public events: The CGBC inaugural lecture by award-winning British architect Norman Foster, Lord Foster of Thames Bank, on Nov. 5, and a conference titled “Sustainability in Scandinavia” on Nov. 6. Foster’s practice, Foster + Partners, has pioneered an integrated…

Access to radiotherapy for all of the world’s cancer patients who could benefit from the treatment—an estimated 12 million people by 2035—is achievable with an investment of as little as $97 billion, according to a new report by the Lancet Oncology Commission. Rifat Atun, professor of global health systems at Harvard T.H. Chan School of…

A new project based at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health aims to quantify the human health value of fisheries around the world, to determine the health risks of fishery decline and collapse, and to develop tools to better manage these risks. The project is supported by a large grant from the Wellcome Trust’s…

How can health systems be strengthened in a post-Ebola world? On Sept. 26, Atul Gawande, professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management and executive director of Ariadne Labs, facilitated a discussion that attempted to answer that question. As the United Nations (UN) held its Sustainable Development Summit 2015, leaders from the governments of Germany,…

The Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) has named Gabriela D. M. “Gaby” Ruiz-Colón ’16 of Quincy House and Jordan Weiers ’16 of Winthrop House this year’s David and Mimi Aloian Memorial Scholars. Each May since 1988, the HAA has selected two undergraduates to receive the Aloian Memorial Scholarships. Recipients each receive a $2,000 grant toward their…

As part of an international collaboration to combat climate change through improvements to local energy supply, Harvard’s Blackstone Steam Plant and Campus Services Energy & Facilities recently hosted a delegation from the Beijing District Heating Group (BDHG), including its president. BDHG provides heat to more than one million people throughout China’s second largest city and relies heavily…

The Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics encourages teaching and research about ethical issues in the professions and public life. Its graduate fellowships support outstanding Harvard graduate and professional students who are writing dissertations or are engaged in major research on topics in practical ethics, especially ethical issues in areas such as architecture, business, education,…

Legendary opera singer Plácido Domingo will be celebrated at Harvard with “Giving Voice: A Conversation with Plácido Domingo” on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015 at 4 p.m. at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., moderated by Tamar Herzog, Monroe Gutman Professor of Latin American Affairs and professor of Spanish and Portuguese history, and Anne Shreffler, James Edward…

On September 25, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, a new global agenda to replace the Millennium Development Goals. The 17 new goals include 169 targets to be met over the next 15 years in such areas as ending poverty, improving gender equality, and taking action on climate change. Aaron Bernstein,…

Each fall, in conjunction with their branch selections, Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadets from around the country are ranked in a national Order of Merit List (OML). The OML ranks all Army ROTC seniors across the nation — 5,575 of them are scheduled to graduate and be commissioned in spring 2016. Harvard senior…

The IQSS Undergraduate Research Scholars have begun a new academic year, and the Harvard community is invited to join them for a guest speaker visit on Sept. 25. As part of the 2015-16 calendar of events, the URS program will host a special talk this month. Danny Ferrante, director of data science at Facebook, will present…

More than painted bike lanes are needed to keep bicyclists safe on Boston’s busy streets, a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researcher said Sept. 14 at a Boston City Council public hearing on how to make roads safer for cyclists in the city. Anne Lusk, research scientist in the Department of Nutrition, was…

Cassandra Okechukwu, ScD ’08, assistant professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has received several awards for her research on work-family issues. The American Public Health Association’s Aging & Public Health Section has selected her manuscript, entitled “Work-family support and climate impact nursing home care…

Air pollution causes 3.3 million deaths worldwide each year — primarily from strokes and heart attacks — according to a new study by a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researcher and colleagues. The study used health statistics and computer modeling to generate the most detailed picture yet of air pollution’s global toll. It…

Power and professional status are often associated with myriad environmental factors including education and upbringing, but a new research study provides compelling fresh evidence linking professional status attainment with the interaction of two biological hormones. “Testosterone, Cortisol and Attained Status” is co-authored by five leading academics in the field of bio-behavioral science, including Harvard Kennedy…

HILT awarded seven Spark Grants of $5-$15K this fall. Awardees will: Design a “hackathon” as a participatory learning and engagement strategy. Marcus Mello and Lindsay Woodson (GSD) will host a design-focused hackathon – inclusive of Harvard community members across disciplines – in order to prototype methodologies of community engagement. Explore optimal sequences of instructional material.…

Current smokers and people regularly exposed to second-hand smoke have a significantly increased risk for type 2 diabetes compared with people who have never smoked, according to a new meta-analysis conducted by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, and National University of Singapore. The…

A history of childhood abuse is associated with increased odds of stress-related sleep disturbances for women during pregnancy, according to researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and colleagues. The study is believed to be the first to associate abuse during childhood to poor sleep quality in pregnant women. The study is published…

In celebration of Constitution Day—the annual commemoration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787—several Harvard Law School professors will speak about the document upon which the American legal and political systems have been built. More details here. Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and former Harvard Law School Dean Elena…

Under a new student-led nonprofit aimed at reducing infant and maternal mortality in South Asia, expectant mothers would receive a free box full of newborn essentials like baby clothes, diapers, and wipes, as well as health-related items such as a clean delivery kit and oral rehydration salts. The caveat: Women would only get the box—which…

Colleagues, friends, and family gathered to celebrate the career and legacy of Lucian Leape, adjunct professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management (HPM) at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, at a retirement symposium held September 8, 2015 in Kresge Cafeteria. Leape, who began his career as a pediatric surgeon, is renowned for…

Harvard Business School (HBS) is pleased to announce the launch of a new online series, “Cold Call”, which takes the School’s legendary case method and distills it into podcast form. Twice monthly, host and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Brian Kenny invites an HBS professor to take listeners behind the scenes of a case he…

Dean James Ryan has announced the appointment of 11 new faculty members to the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “I am thrilled that these 11 new faculty will be joining our community. Following a number of retirements and departures, and with the addition of new programs like Harvard Teacher Fellows and the Ph.D. in education,…