Stories

Laude Institute, a nonprofit research organization, has awarded a “Moonshot” seed grant to a Harvard-led research team building an advanced, AI-supported online platform that allows people across the political spectrum to come together and actually hear each other.

An experimental gene therapy for people with an inherited form of deafness led to durable hearing improvements, according to new study by researchers from Harvard Medical School, Mass Eye and Ear, and Fudan University. 

Learning how to accept feedback—even blistering criticism—and gain something from it is an invaluable skill that can make us better at our jobs and even better citizens, argues Harvard Law School professor Sheila Heen JD ’93, a world-renowned expert on negotiation and conflict resolution.

Harvard Medical School professor Stuart Orkin and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute researcher Swee Lay Thein received the 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for their work leading to transformative treatments for two inherited blood disorders: sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia.

A group of Harvard Graduate School of Education students serve as fellows at the City Arts and Sciences Academy in Lynn, Massachusetts, overseeing student-led projects and working directly with teachers and administrators at the new public school, which is focused on blending science and arts with project-based, democratic learning.

Three Harvard Medical School students have been awarded the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans—a merit-based award that supports outstanding immigrants and children of immigrants pursuing graduate education in the United States—in recognition of their work advancing infectious disease treatment, AI-driven approaches to patient care, and cancer therapeutics.

Recognized for their extraordinary service across the University, this year’s recipients will be presented with the 2026 Harvard Medal on Harvard Alumni Day—celebrating their leadership, volunteerism, and lasting impact on the Harvard community.

President Alan M. Garber speaks about pressures on universities, including threats to federal research funding, and how the impact could be felt well beyond Harvard.
 

Harvard Medical School researcher Michael A. Moskowitz has made multiple discoveries that have revolutionized thinking about the condition, deepened knowledge about why some treatments work, and led to new treatments that are available and prescribed now.

A first-of-its-kind Rurality Forum, organized by the Harvard Undergraduate Rural League and supported by the President's Building Bridges Fund, aims to address small-town America’s most urgent issues while confronting the urban-rural divide.

Professor of economics Ludwig Straub has won the prestigious John Bates Clark Medal for his wide-ranging contributions to economic thought and knowledge, including the creation of macroeconomic models that better reflect how people at different levels of wealth and income respond to monetary and fiscal policy.

Research led by Harvard professor of human evolutionary biology Christopher Kuzawa shows that the brain’s energy needs peak at age five. Now he’s studying the implications for nutrition, society, and public health.

At the Community and Campus Life forum, Harvard faculty, staff, and students participated in three days of virtual and in-person lectures and workshops exploring what it takes to work through disagreement and connect across differences.

Sylvia Mathews Burwell AB ’87 and Michael S. Chae AB ’90 will join the Harvard Corporation as its two newest members. 

Maya Talukdar PhD '25, MD '28 explores how X chromosome genes may lower autism risk in females—findings that could also shed light on broader protective effects across other developmental conditions.

Harvard Hillel is celebrating Passover this spring in a big way, with a 9-foot Seder plate standing in Science Center Plaza. The sculpture, created by local artist Michael Mittelman, features unique iconography inspired by stories from Harvard students, faculty, and alumni celebrating Jewish identity and traditions.

The Aramont Fellowship Fund for Emerging Science Research provides vital support for early-career faculty and postdoctoral scholars across four Harvard Schools. Responding to the urgent need for research support after federal funding cuts, a generous new gift from the foundation doubles the size of this year’s cohort from the previous year.

NASA astronaut, Harvard-trained physician, and decorated Navy SEAL veteran Jonny Kim, MD ’16, will be the featured speaker at the annual Harvard Alumni Day celebration on June 5.

Julia Minson AB ’99, a behavioral scientist and professor of public policy at Harvard Kennedy School, shares practical strategies for engaging with people we disagree with.

AI is rapidly transforming industries, ideas, and everyday life. Across Harvard, researchers are exploring how to harness its power responsibly—and what it means for society moving forward.