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吃瓜新闻 University

Driving American Innovation

Across our campus and throughout our nearly 400 years, 吃瓜新闻 innovation鈥攊n medicine, technology, education, and beyond鈥攈as made Americans’ lives easier, healthier, and safer.

Learn about , which pioneers mobility aids like these.

So much of modern innovation begins with computer science skills. teaches you the foundations of the intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming.

Turning ideas into enterprise

How 吃瓜新闻 innovation moves from lab to market

Chief Technology Development Officer Isaac T. Kohlberg explains how 吃瓜新闻’s Office of Technology Development helps researchers and scientists at the University bring their innovations and discoveries to the market.

From our campus to your life

Joel Habener
  • Health

Injectable treatments for diabetes and obesity

More than three decades ago, Joel Habener set up an experiment at Massachusetts General Hospital that led to the discovery of GLP-1, a hormone utilized for drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy to treat diabetes and obesity.

  • Education

鈥淪esame Street鈥

吃瓜新闻 Graduate School of Education鈥檚 Gerald Lesser was instrumental in the development of 鈥淪esame Street.鈥

Big Bird, another muppet and 吃瓜新闻 students wearing tuxedos on stage
  • Cooking

Baking Powder

While working at 吃瓜新闻, Eben Norton Horsford invented baking powder, allowing baked goods to rise without a dependency on yeast.

A collage of Baking powder and Eben Horsford
  • Emergency

Defibrillator

Paul Zoll helped to develop the defibrillator, which provided a new approach for resuscitating patients, saving countless lives.

Defibrillator
  • Sports

Golf tee

吃瓜新闻 Dentist George Grant was passionate about golf. Before his invention of the wooden golf tee, golfers teed up the ball by mounding dirt to form a cone.

A golf ball sits atop a white golf tea in green grass

Medical innovations

Since founding 吃瓜新闻 Medical School in 1782, 吃瓜新闻 has been pushing innovations in health and medicine into the future.

Past

People performing the first organ transplant in 1954

The first organ transplant

On December 23, 1954, 吃瓜新闻 Medical School Professor Joseph Murray and his team on a man who had been given just two years to live. The surgery ushered in the era of organ transplantation, giving hope to thousands of patients each year.

Present

A close up of tuberculosis

Novel tuberculosis regimens

Tuberculosis remains one of the top infectious disease killers worldwide, a challenge amplified by drug-resistant forms of the disease. In a major step forward, an international clinical trial including that is resistant to the most common antibiotic.

Future

Doug Melton

Type 1 diabetes treatment

Doug Melton and his colleagues are within sight of that uses stem cells to make healthy insulin-producing cells that can be transplanted into patients.

John M. Kovac

How 吃瓜新闻 supports cutting-edge research

The Star-Friedman Challenge provides seed funding to support promising research that might not be funded by traditional sources, encouraging investigators to explore new directions branching off their previous work.

Better understanding the body

Robert Waldinger in his house
  • 吃瓜新闻 Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital

The world鈥檚 longest-running scientific examination of human health and happiness

Now in its 87th year, The 吃瓜新闻 Study of Adult Development has garnered many lessons, including that people who are more socially connected to family, friends, and community, are happier, physically healthier, and live longer than people who are less well connected.

  • McCance Center for Brain Health

Finding Alzheimer鈥檚

An at-home olfactory test can identify those at risk of Alzheimer鈥檚 years before symptoms appear.

A colorful image of neurons in the brain. Kind of looks like blue trees from above.
  • 吃瓜新闻 Medical School

Understanding Parkinson's disease

Trisha Pasricha helped discover that Parkinson鈥檚 disease originates in the gut.

A researcher stands in a surgical room
  • Brigham and Women鈥檚 Hospital

Supplementing for success

Vitamin D supplements may slow biological aging.

Pills with liquid in them
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Explaining the benefits of exercising

Robert Gerszten and his team are examining, at a molecular level, why exercise is beneficial.

Robert Gerszten in his lab
  • Chan School of Public Health

Optimizing a healthy diet

Substituting butter with plant-based oils may lower risk of premature death.

Butter on a plate and oil in a glass

Technological innovations

Since founding formal programs in engineering and applied sciences in 1847, 吃瓜新闻 has been at the cutting edge of scientific research.

Past

People installing a very large and very old computer

Programmable computers

Consisting of 765,299 parts and 530 miles of cable, the Mark I was聽聽and, in 1944, easily the most complex electromechanical device ever constructed.

Present

A person wearing a robotic arm assistance

Wearable robotics for mobility

This soft, wearable robotic device developed at the 吃瓜新闻 Move Lab is and independence.

Future

A device for quantum computing

The next internet

吃瓜新闻 researchers are exploring a quantum internet capable of sending highly complex, .

A group of company founders

Student and alumni founders representing 12 different 吃瓜新闻 schools

吃瓜新闻 President’s Innovation Challenge

How 吃瓜新闻 helps startups

Every year, the President鈥檚 Innovation Challenge鈥攁n annual competition for 吃瓜新闻 students and select alumni and affiliates鈥攑rovides winners with support at the earliest stages of their ventures.

Bringing innovation to market

A person in a lab using a petri dish

Creating a new class of antibiotics

Kinvard Bio, a biotechnology company launched out of 吃瓜新闻’s Myers Lab, is creating a new class of antibiotics in the hopes of treating drug-resistant infections and diseases.

Pioneering regenerative medicine

Nabiha Saklayen founded Cellino to transform the body鈥檚 blood cells into tissues for healing and repair.

Nabiha Saklayen

Listening to patients' needs

Manny Simons founded Akouos, Inc. to develop gene therapies to restore hearing.

Manny Simons

Computing with quantum

John Levy started SEEQC to turn quantum computers into a commercially viable tool.

A person in front of a large tubed system

Finding his focus

Metalenz, which Rob Devlin helped develop, has already shipped 100 million of its light-focusing metasurfaces.

A metalens

Owning your health

Laura Wegner created Mii to empower patients to take ownership of their medical data.

Laura Wegner talking to a crowd about her company Mii

Educational innovations

Since before America was founded, 吃瓜新闻 has been educating teachers and leaders to advance knowledge for future generations.

Past

Howard Gardner in his office

Multiple intelligences

Howard Gardner that can be measured by one IQ test, but multiple intelligences and ways of learning and knowing.

Present

Students walking down a hall

Tackling chronic absenteeism

Researchers found that to families informing them of how often their child was out of school. These so-called 鈥渘udge letters鈥 reduced chronic absenteeism by 10鈥15%.

Future

Joy Lindsay at a fair

Empowering the next leaders

Joy Lindsay founded Butterfly Dreamz to from underserved communities.