PODCAST · science
Harvard Medical Labcast
by Harvard Medical School
HMS scientists tackle a variety of important questions, ranging from how your neurons work to which genes play a role in particular diseases. Our podcast gives you the scoop on some of this work, providing context and highlighting the latest trends in medical education and biomedical research.
Episodes
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On Cancer's Case
As a teenager, Joan Brugge expected to become a math teacher. Then her sister developed a fatal brain tumor, and Brugge shifted to devote her career to uncovering the fundamental workings of cancer. Now a world-renowned cell biologist, Brugge investigates how cancers form, spread and become...
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Road Less Traveled
Note: This interview was recorded in 2019. For updates on Sequist's work during the COVID-19 pandemic, read our new Q&A. Traveling between New York, Albuquerque and Taos Pueblo while growing up and transitioning from computer chip engineering at Intel to enrolling in medical school, Thomas…
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Neither Dazed nor Confused
Note: This interview was recorded in 2019. For updates on Inouye's work during the coronavirus pandemic and the link between COVID-19 and delirium, read our new Q&A. Each year, more than 7 million hospitalized people in the U.S. slide into delirium: an acute state of confusion that raises risk of...
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From Harvard to Hollywood
Neal Baer is an award-winning television writer and producer—and a Harvard Medical School-trained pediatrician (MD ’96). Through his pioneering work on hit shows such as ER and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as his leadership in connecting media producers with doctors and…
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Chew on This
Dentists take care of our mouths, and doctors take care of the rest of us—but it’s becoming increasingly clear that oral health and overall health are inextricably linked. In this month’s podcast, dentist and future physician Lisa Simon talks about the potential benefits and challenges of…
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Blunt Scrutiny
Staci Gruber, HMS associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core at McLean Hospital, describes what she and other researchers are learning about the effects of recreational and medical marijuana on brain structure, brain function and quality of life...
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Challenging Common Knowledge
Economist and physician Anupam “Bapu” Jena, the Ruth L. Newhouse Associate Professor of Health Care Policy at HMS, analyzes compelling health care issues ranging from physician behavior to prescription drug abuse to the economics of medical innovation. Here, he talks about finding research...
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Connecting the Dots
Jessica Halem, program manager of the LGBT Office within the Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership at HMS, shares some of the ways the Harvard Medical School community is working to reduce health care disparities for transgender patients. Efforts range from medical education…
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Culture Clash
Joseph Betancourt, HMS associate professor of medicine, shares stories about the challenges of cross-cultural communication in health care, both as a doctor today and as a child from a bilingual, bicultural household who accompanied his grandmother to the doctor’s office. He also describes the...
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Genetics in Space
Ting Wu, HMS professor of genetics, talks about ways scientists are striving to optimize astronauts' physical and mental health—and anticipating the biomedical challenges ahead as humankind considers long-term space travel. And in this episode's abstract, a study led by Brittany Charlton at HMS…
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The A-Word
Reisa Sperling, HMS professor of neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, shares her family's personal connection with Alzheimer's disease and describes ongoing research into early diagnosis and intervention. And in this episode's abstract, researchers in the lab of George Church use the...
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Genetics of Sleep
Dragana Rogulja, assistant professor of neurobiology at HMS, runs a sleep lab in which hundreds of thousands of fruit flies are studied as they snooze. Rogulja’s goal is to identify genes involved in sleep that are also conserved in human beings. And in this episode’s abstract, researchers in the...
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Object Lessons
Dominic Hall, curator of the Warren Anatomical Museum in the Center for the History of Medicine at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, talks about how individual medical artifacts can bring to life multiple narratives and inform today’s doctors and researchers. Along the way, he explores...
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Rx: Poetry
Physician and poet Rafael Campo describes how medicine and poetry are interconnected at the most basic levels. According to this HMS associate professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, language and metaphor reveal medical and humanistic insights into the body in ways that go...
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Medicine and Morality
Robert Truog, a Harvard Medical School professor at Boston Children’s Hospital and director of the HMS Center for Bioethics, teaches doctors and nurses to become more aware of the ethical decisions they make every day—including the conscious and unconscious biases that shape the words they use…
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Your Digital Phenotype
John Brownstein, HMS associate professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, explains why your most important Facebook friend might be your doctor. Brownstein, a computational epidemiologist, also describes how our online behavior forms a “digital phenotype” that says more about our…
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Digging into Ancient DNA
David Reich, professor of genetics at HMS, studies modern and ancient DNA to probe human history and learn about health and disease. In this podcast, he shares his excitement about new genetic technologies and tells the story of his winding path from social studies and physics to becoming one of...
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The Future of Science
For many students and young researchers today, pursuing a career in science can seem more frightening than energizing. A wealth of qualified postdocs seeking a limited number of academic positions, ever-shrinking funding, and pressure to publish all fuel a hypercompetitive atmosphere in which the...
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The Methodical Adventurer
Amy Wagers, professor of stem cell and regenerative biology at Harvard and Joslin Diabetes Center, is motivated by both the prospect of treating disease and the thrill of discovery. Watch for the Winter 2013 issue of Harvard Medicine magazine for a Q&A with her.
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Psychosocial Healing
Plastic surgeon Sumner Slavin has pioneered methods of tissue reconstruction for patients—including women with breast cancer—to restore body parts to a more usual appearance. After spending time in the Middle East, he also started a fellowship program to teach plastic surgeons from the region...
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Heart Matters
Jonathan and Christine Seidman —both professors at Harvard Medical School—run a household and a lab together. They’ve been collaborating for decades to explore the causes of hereditary heart disease, especially hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and their skills in this area complement each other...
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The Case for Curiosity
Medical innovations build upon basic, curiosity-driven research—that is, research done in yeast and flies and other organisms without a specific application in mind. In this podcast, four scientists argue that it is essential for labs to continue exploring how life works. After listening to the...
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Evolution of the Patient-Doctor Relationship
Robert Truog—an HMS professor and a senior associate in critical care medicine at Children’s Hospital Boston—reflects on the evolving patient-doctor relationship. He recently authored a perspective piece on the topic in the New England Journal of Medicine. In addition to being a practicing...
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Supreme Court Considers Health Reform
Last month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case with sweeping implications for U.S. health care. Gregory Curfman, an HMS assistant professor and executive editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, scored a coveted ticket to the proceedings. He shared insight and analysis with...
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Origins of Life
Jack Szostak, an HMS professor of genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital, shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work he completed in the 1980s on telomeres, the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. But he hasn’t worked on telomeres in years. In fact, he completely...
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3D Mammography Gains Momentum
HMS Instructor of Radiology Phoebe Freer explains the benefits of tomosynthesis, an imaging tool developed at Massachusetts General Hospital to enhance breast cancer screening. During a tomosynthesis exam, a camera moves in an arc over the patient, taking a series of low-dose images, which get...
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Metamorphosis of a Medical Student
Everything changes during the third year of medical school. Leaving classrooms for the clinic, students begin to apply lessons learned from textbooks, lectures and labs to real patients. And for the first time, future MDs begin to feel like doctors. Learn about this intense—and rewarding—year,...
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Transforming Drug Discovery
Marc Kirschner, head of the Harvard Medical School Department of Systems Biology, describes a new initiative that takes aim at the alarming slowdown in the development of new and lifesaving drugs. Plus, Professor of Genetics David Reich is studying DNA from an ancient finger bone to shed light on...
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Under 6 and Overweight
Elsie Taveras, an assistant professor of population medicine and of pediatrics at HMS, discusses a new Institute of Medicine report on early childhood obesity. Plus, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology Stephen Liberles explores how mice and rats sense predators. Image by Nazdravie/iSockphoto.
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Building a Sustainable Future
Harvard Medical School Professor of Systems Biology Pam Silver is engineering organisms that produce fuel and even food. Find out how she’s working to build a sustainable future through synthetic biology. Plus, Nancy Keating, an HMS associate professor of health care policy, sheds light on one...
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Are You Getting Enough Sleep?
According to research by Elizabeth Klerman, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, most adults should be getting 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep each night. Learn about her study and about the benefits of a good night’s sleep. Plus, HMS Associate...
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Human Genome Turns 10
A draft sequence of the human genome was first published in 2001. Ten years later, David Altshuler, Harvard Medical School professor of genetics, discusses how the Human Genome Project has changed the landscape of biomedical research. Plus, a study by HMS Professor of Neurobiology Qiufu Ma sheds...
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Powerful Placebo
HMS Associate Professor of Medicine Ted Kaptchuk defines placebo effects as the self-healing capabilities embedded in the ritual of medicine. Find out why he’s trying to understand the magnitude, duration and boundaries of these effects. Plus, in the process of studying the genetic roots of a...
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How to Make a Doctor
We ask some Bostonians to envision a doctor of the future and bring their questions about medical training to HMS Dean for Education Thomas Michel. We also speak with medical students who are learning that research isn’t easy. Plus, a new topical cream disables herpesvirus in a molecular…
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Working the System
HMS professor Peter Sorger shares his perspectives on the emerging field of systems biology, and we visit the lab of Roy Kishony, where researchers are using mathematical models to probe the evolution of drug resistant bacteria. Plus, the best-laid plans of mice and men have gone awry again;...
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Inside the Brain's Black Box
Adrian Ivinson, director of the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center, explains why researchers need to collaborate to tackle neurodegenerative diseases, and reporter Yvonna Reekie brings us the latest on autism spectrum disorders. Plus, a team has discovered how beetles and bacteria form a symbiotic...
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Your Genome, Your Future
HMS professor David Altshuler discusses the relationship between human genetic variation and disease, and HMS professor George Church explains the complexities of the Personal Genome Project. Plus, we learn whether drug sales are influenced by direct-to-consumer advertising. For supplemental...
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Striving for Global Health
Nobel Laureate Eric Chivian discusses the connection between biodiversity and human disease, and Yvonna Reekie examines the emerging problem of drug-resistant tuberculosis, which is plaguing countries worldwide. Plus, using an innovative approach, researchers halt the spread of HIV in an animal...
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And Coverage for All?
HMS associate professor of medicine Stephanie Woolhandler shares her views on universal healthcare, and Yvonna Reekie takes you for a ride on the Family Van, which provides free education, counseling, support and healthcare to Boston’s economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Plus, biology…
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The Art of Perception
HMS professor of neurobiology Margaret Livingstone uses art to understand how we perceive and process visual stimuli, and HMS professor of pediatrics Charles Nelson employs noninvasive techniques to measure the brain activity of children while they look at faces. Plus, you’re more microbe than...
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The Secrets of Aging
HMS associate professor of pathology David Sinclair is getting under the hood of the molecular machinery that drives longevity, and HMS assistant professor of medicine Anne Fabiny is preparing students for an aging population. In addition, an HMS lab discovers a new cell death process with links…
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The Science of Social Networks
HMS professor of medical sociology Nicholas Christakis examines how social networks affect our health, and an HMS student relies on social networking websites to rally the Kenyan diaspora. Plus, an HMS lab makes a startling discovery with implications for an emerging field called personalized...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
HMS scientists tackle a variety of important questions, ranging from how your neurons work to which genes play a role in particular diseases. Our podcast gives you the scoop on some of this work, providing context and highlighting the latest trends in medical education and biomedical research.
HOSTED BY
Harvard Medical School
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Harvard Medical Labcast have?
Harvard Medical Labcast currently has 42 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Harvard Medical Labcast about?
HMS scientists tackle a variety of important questions, ranging from how your neurons work to which genes play a role in particular diseases. Our podcast gives you the scoop on some of this work, providing context and highlighting the latest trends in medical education and biomedical research.
How often does Harvard Medical Labcast release new episodes?
Harvard Medical Labcast has 42 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Harvard Medical Labcast?
You can listen to Harvard Medical Labcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Harvard Medical Labcast?
Harvard Medical Labcast is created and hosted by Harvard Medical School.
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