Stories

Using the sun to power oxygen delivery in Africa, developing AI to mitigate risks on construction sites, and curing chronic inflammatory diseases with novel small molecules are a few of the winning ideas from the 2026 Harvard President’s Innovation Challenge.

After three decades of research, Harvard Medical School professor Merit Cudkowicz achieved a breakthrough in the fight against ALS. A new study co-led by Cudkowicz found that the drug tofersen can radically slow—and in some cases reverse—the course of the disease in a small subset of patients with a rare genetic variant, proving for the first time that this illness can be stopped.

Three prominent Harvard faculty—stem cell scientist Doug Melton, theoretical computer physicist Boaz Barak, and applied mathematics scholar Michael Brenner—have been appointed Catalyst Professors, a distinguished role that allows leading faculty to pursue industry and academic work concurrently.

Faculty have observed rapid and significant progress in the two semesters since the adoption of the Classroom Social Compact Committee report, which offered a host of recommendations aimed at recentering academics and fostering civil discourse at Harvard College.

The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, the oldest student-run legal services organization in the country, is partnering with a local parent-led group to protect the rights of families affected by child welfare investigations.

Harvard dedicated the Susan Wojcicki Library at the Science and Engineering Complex to honor the legacy of the late Susan Wojcicki AB ’90, a trailblazing technology leader and former CEO of YouTube.

A three-year, $1.05 million grant to the Association of Historically Black Colleges and Universities Research Institutions will strengthen research capacity at 15 schools.

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.

Many alumni and donors are surprised to learn the myriad ways they can support Harvard philanthropically, through a wide array of assets. We spoke with Karen Johnson, senior director for complex asset gifts at Harvard University, who shared more about the types of assets donors can give as well as the benefits these gifts have for both donors and the University.

A bequest from Thomas Hemnes AB ’70, JD ’74 honors the memory of his wife, Carole, while supporting the future of liberal arts education at Harvard. 

By establishing an undergraduate scholarship through a charitable lead annuity trust, Bing Han AB ’11, MBA ’20 and his parents are helping to ensure that cost doesn’t prevent talented students from pursuing a Harvard education.

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.