Our emphasis on accelerating the path from discovery to therapies to improve human health makes it the perfect place for M.D./Ph.D. students to conduct their research. This work is carried out under the auspices of the Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program at Harvard Medical School (HMS), which trains the next generation of physician-scientists.
HSCRB launched its first medical school course in 2018, as part of the Pathways curriculum. If you are a third- or fourth-year medical student at Harvard, you are eligible to enroll in our four-week-long Advanced Integrated Science Courses (AISC).
AISC on Regenerative Biomedicine Course
The goal of the AISC on Regenerative Biomedicine is to challenge students to think critically in the area of stem cell and regenerative biology, most notably in terms of clinical application. Students learn about:
- The role of stem and progenitor cells in routine tissue homeostasis, with an emphasis on changes that occur with aging.
- How defects in this process can lead to disease.
- How to target stem cells, either endogenously or ex vivo for therapeutic use, covering both current and future approaches.
- Developmental biology as a route to understanding and promoting regeneration — as opposed to scarring — in the context of wound repair.
Through the case studies and hands-on experimentation, students gain some grounding in the ‘bench-to-bedside’ approach. This experience demonstrates how patients are helping us understand more fully the basic biology underpinning disease.
The AISCs on Regenerative Biomedicine course includes lectures and clinical experiences to integrate the topics into current clinical practice.