Science & Health

Doug Melton’s life irrevocably changed the day his son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Now, more than 30 years later, the Harvard molecular biologist and his colleagues are within sight of a new treatment that uses stem cells to make healthy insulin-producing cells that can be transplanted into patients.

Technologies developed by Harvard's David Liu have led to two remarkable medical breakthroughs: a personalized treatment that saved a baby with a fatal genetic disorder and the first successful application of prime editing for a rare immune disease.

Ultan McCaffrey MPH ’25 has been able to combine his interest in space medicine with his work in geriatric psychiatry in Harvard Chan School’s MPH-GEN program.

GLP-1 has transformed the treatment of obesity, diabetes, and cardiometabolic disorders that affect more than a billion people worldwide. But when Harvard researcher Joel Habener set up an experiment that helped lead to the discovery of the hormone more than three decades ago, this outcome was far from clear.

Harvard researchers have unveiled a way to map the molecular underpinnings of how learning and memories are formed, a groundbreaking new technique expected to offer insights that may pave the way for new treatments for neurological disorders such as dementia.

Protecting mothers during childbirth, reimagining how hydrogen can be transported safely and affordably, improving financial outcomes for livestock farmers. These are just a few of the extraordinary winning ventures of the 2025 Harvard President’s Innovation Challenge.

The Slade Lab applies insights gleaned from AI-generated simulations to build real-world biomedical devices with the potential to improve the everyday lives of people with motor challenges.

The Harvard-led Undiagnosed Diseases Network has discovered nearly 100 rare conditions, including a disorder that led a father to lose his vision but was diagnosed in time to help his son. 

Research by Travis Donahoe PhD '23 finds that enforcement actions targeting suppliers that profit from the opioid crisis, rather than the vulnerable individuals swept up in it, are a critical way to stem the tide of addiction and death.

Federally funded research by Harvard scholars has led to life-changing solutions to real-world problems facing millions of Americans, from preventing opioid deaths to treating diseases to building a better air conditioner.