Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology, and Sudhir Anand, adjunct professor of global health, at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), the National Academies announced Oct. 19. Election to the NAM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health…

Low-income housing residents who live in “green” buildings that are built with eco-friendly materials and energy-efficient features appear to have fewer “sick building” symptoms (SBS) than residents of traditionally constructed low-income housing, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Asthma outcomes—hospitalizations, attacks, and missed school days…

Carotenoids, the pigments that give color to vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, and kale, may help prevent the vision ailment known as age-related macular degeneration. The researchers found that people who consumed the highest amounts of two carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin) present in green leafy vegetables had a 40 percent lower risk of…

Physicians need to step up their role in safeguarding human and civil rights because failure to do so can threaten the health and even the lives of individuals facing political persecution, social strife, racial discrimination, or other forms of exploitation, according to Nikhil “Sunny” Patel, MPH ’16, who along with other Harvard T.H. Chan School…

Due to an unexpected change in circumstances, “Giving Voice: A Conversation with Plácido Domingo,” scheduled for Thursday, October 22, 2015 at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre, has been postponed. A date and ticketing information for the rescheduled event will be announced by the presenters, which include the Division of Arts and Humanities, Office for the Arts…

Data visualization researchers at Harvard’s Center for International Development (CID) have unveiled The Globe of Economic Complexity – an interactive tool which colorfully captures $15 trillion in world trade data in cutting-edge 3-D visualizations.  Powered by the UN’s international trade data, the Globe uses “confetti” or dot-based representation to generate dynamic maps, stacked graphs and…

HILT Spark Grants Through modest but meaningful support, these $5-$15K grants are designed to help “spark” promising teaching and learning projects from idea to reality and position innovations for future success. Through Spark Grants, awardees will receive resources, feedback, and community support to help them develop their ideas into prototypes, pilots, and small-scale innovations. HILT…

Massachusetts may become the first state to regulate sales of dietary supplements marketed as weight-loss and muscle-building aids, thanks to a bill promoted by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. These products, which are not tested for safety by the federal government, have been linked to serious side effects including liver damage,…

Carnegie Mellon University’s Chinmay Kulkarni will discuss his research with the Human-Computer Interaction Institute and advances in the science of learning in a talk titled “Structuring Peer Interactions for Massive Scale Learning” on Oct. 26 at 4:30 p.m. in William James Hall Room 105. Learning with peers helps students reflect, generalize knowledge, and apply it more successfully…

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…