Snapshot of Science for November 2022

Welcome to our Snapshot of Science for November 2022.

Here's a quick look at some recent publications, press releases and stories about the Mass General Research Institute community.

In this issue we highlight:

28 new studies published in high-impact journals, along with 21 summaries submitted by the research teams
1 new research-related press release from the Mass General Public Affairs office
6 posts from the Mass General Research Institute blog

Publications

Alterations to the 3D Structure of the Genome Contribute to Neurodevelopmental Variability
Transcriptional and Functional Consequences of Alterations to MEF2C and Its Topological Organization in Neuronal Models
Mohajeri K, Yadav R, D'haene E, Boone PM, Erdin S [et al.], Talkowski ME
Published in American Journal of Human Genetics on October 24, 2022 | *Summary available

Autism-associated Genetic Influences Affect Downstream Biological Pathways
Statistical and Functional Convergence of Common and Rare Genetic Influences on Autism at Chromosome 16p
Weiner DJ, Ling E, Erdin S, Tai DJC, Yadav R [et al.], Robinson EB
Published in Nature Genetics on October 24, 2022 | *Summary available

Long COVID Associated with Female Gender and Older Age, Risk Diminished by Vaccination
Prevalence and Correlates of Long COVID Symptoms Among US Adults
Perlis RH, Santillana M, Ognyanova K, Safarpour A, Lunz Trujillo K [et al.], Lazer D
Published in JAMA Network Open on October 27, 2022

New Potential Treatment for Pediatric Leukemia
Therapeutic Targeting of LCK Tyrosine Kinase and mTOR Signaling in T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Laukkanen S, Veloso A, Yan C, Oksa L, Alpert EJ [et al.], Langenau DM
Published in Blood on October 27, 2022 | *Summary available

Vulnerability in Ribosomes in Dormant Cancer Cells
Ribosome Changes Reprogram Translation for Chemosurvival in G0 Leukemic Cells
Datta C, Truesdell SS, Wu KQ, Bukhari SIA, Ngue H [et al.], Vasudevan S
Published in Science Advances on October 28, 2022 | *Summary available

Complete Tumor Response to Chemotherapy for Ewing's Sarcoma Show Best Results
Complete Tumor Necrosis after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Defines Good Responders in Patients with Ewing Sarcoma
Lozano-Calderón SA, Albergo JI, Groot OQ, Merchan NA, El Abiad JM [et al.], Jeys LM
Published in Cancer on October 28, 2022 | *Summary available

Use of High-sensitivity Cardiac Troponin Associated with Lower Use of Invasive Coronary Angiography
Implementation of High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin Assays in the United States
McCarthy C, Li S, Wang TY, Raber I, Sandoval Y [et al.], Januzzi JL Jr
Published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology on October 31, 2022 | *Summary available

Insights Into the Mechanisms Underlying Notch1 Signaling
A Double-negative Thymocyte-specific Enhancer Augments Notch1 Signaling to Direct Early T Cell Progenitor Expansion, Lineage Restriction and β-selection
Kashiwagi M, Figueroa DS, Ay F, Morgan BA, Georgopoulos K
Published in Nature Immunology on October 31, 2022 | *Summary available

Artificial Intelligence Could Predict Cancer Recurrence in Melanoma Survivors
Prediction of Early-stage Melanoma Recurrence Using Clinical and Histopathologic Features
Wan G, Nguyen N, Liu F, DeSimone MS, Leung BW [et al.], Semenov YR
Published in NPJ Precision Oncology on October 31, 2022 | *Summary available

Understanding Recurrence Patterns in PDAC
Prospective Phase II Trials Validate the Effect of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy on Pattern of Recurrence in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma
Chawla A, Qadan M, Castillo CF, Wo JY, Allen JN [et al.], Ferrone CR
Published in Annals of Surgery on November 1, 2022

Hepatocyte TFR1 Interacts with HFE to Regulate Hepcidin
Regulation of Iron Homeostasis by Hepatocyte TFR1 Requires HFE and Contributes to Hepcidin Suppression in β-thalassemia
Xiao X, Moschetta GA, Xu Y, Fisher AL, Alfaro-Magallanes VM [et al.], Babitt JL
Published in Blood on November 2, 2022 | *Summary available

Five Robust Subtypes of Lung Adenocarcinoma
High-Resolution Profiling of Lung Adenocarcinoma Identifies Expression Subtypes with Specific Biomarkers and Clinically Relevant Vulnerabilities
Roh W, Geffen Y, Cha H, Miller M, Anand S [et al.], Getz G; National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Genomics Tumor Molecular Pathology (TMP) Analysis Working Group
Published in Cancer Research on November 2, 2022 | *Summary available

Home ART Delivering and Monitoring in South Africa Could Increase Care Access
Fee for Home Delivery and Monitoring of Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV Infection Compared with Standard Clinic-based Services in South Africa: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Barnabas RV, Szpiro AA, Ntinga X, Mugambi ML, van Rooyen H [et al.], van Heerden A; Deliver Health Study Team
Published in Lancet HIV on November 3, 2022

Brain States in COVID-19 Patients with Prolonged Recovery of Consciousness
Protective Down-regulated States in the Human Brain: A Possible Lesson from COVID-19
Schiff ND, Brown EN
Published in PNAS on November 7, 2022

Wealth Differences are Associated with the Racial Longevity Gap
Association Between Racial Wealth Inequities and Racial Disparities in Longevity Among US Adults and Role of Reparations Payments, 1992 to 2018
Himmelstein KEW, Lawrence JA, Jahn JL, Ceasar JN, Morse M [et al.], Venkataramani AS
Published in JAMA Network Open on November 7, 2022 | *Summary available

Increasing Intensity of e-Cigarette Use Highlights Need to Address Youth Nicotine Addiction
Nicotine Addiction and Intensity of e-Cigarette Use by Adolescents in the US, 2014 to 2021
Glantz S, Jeffers A, Winickoff JP
Published in JAMA Network Open on November 7, 2022 | *Summary available | Press Release

Outcomes of Different Initial Treatment Strategies for CTLI
Surgery or Endovascular Therapy for Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia
Farber A, Menard MT, Conte MS, Kaufman JA, Powell RJ [et al.], Rosenfield K; BEST-CLI Investigators
Published in New England Journal of Medicine on November 7, 2022

Advancing Immunogen Design Approaches for Next-Generation Viral Vaccines
An Epitope-enriched Immunogen Expands Responses to a Conserved Viral Site
Caradonna TM, Ronsard L, Yousif AS, Windsor IW, Hecht R [et al.], Schmidt AG
Published in Cell Reports on November 8, 2022 | *Summary available

Increasing Access to Preconception Screening May Involve Engaging Specific Medical Specialties
Association of Patient and Site-of-Care Characteristics With Reproductive Carrier Screening Timing in a Large Integrated Health System
Hull LE, Cheng D, Hallman MH, Rieu-Werden ML, Haas JS
Published in JAMA Network Open on November 8, 2022 | *Summary available

Proof-of-Principle Augmentation of Portable MRI with Machine Learning
Quantitative Brain Morphometry of Portable Low-Field-Strength MRI Using Super-Resolution Machine Learning
Iglesias JE, Schleicher R, Laguna S, Billot B, Schaefer P [et al.], Kimberly WT
Published in Radiology on November 8, 2022 | *Summary available

Monkeypox Contact Tracing and Exposure Investigation
Contact Tracing and Exposure Investigation in Response to the First Case of Monkeypox Virus Infection in the United States During the 2022 Global Monkeypox Outbreak
Shenoy ES, Wright SB, Barbeau DN, Foster LA, King AD [et al.], Brown CM
Published in Annals of Internal Medicine on November 8, 2022

Vaginal Estrogen Tablets vs. Placebo In Postmenopausal Women
Association of Vaginal Estradiol Tablet With Serum Estrogen Levels in Women Who Are Postmenopausal: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial
Mitchell CM, Larson JC, Crandall CJ, Bhasin S, LaCroix AZ [et al.], Reed SD
Published in JAMA Network Open on November 14, 2022 | *Summary available

A Clinical Score to Estimate Ascending Aortic Diameter
Development of a Prediction Model for Ascending Aortic Diameter Among Asymptomatic Individuals
Pirruccello JP, Lin H, Khurshid S, Nekoui M, Weng LC [et al.], Ellinor PT
Published in JAMA on November 15, 2022

An Underlying Density Defect in T Cell Receptor Signal Strength in Type 1 Diabetes
BCG Vaccinations Drive Epigenetic Changes to the Human T Cell Receptor: Restored Expression in Type 1 Diabetes
Takahashi H, Kühtreiber WM, Keefe RC, Lee AH, Aristarkhova A [et al.], Faustman DL
Published in Science Advances on November 16, 2022 | *Summary available

Biomarkers to Guide Treatment of Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
Analysis of MRE11 and Mortality Among Adults With Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Managed With Trimodality Therapy
Magliocco AM, Moughan J, Miyamoto DT, Simko J, Shipley WU [et al.], Efstathiou JA
Published in JAMA Network Open on November 16, 2022 | *Summary available

Transcriptomic Alterations at the Earliest Stages of Myeloma
Single Cell Characterization of Myeloma and Its Precursor Conditions Reveals Transcriptional Signatures of Early Tumorigenesis
Boiarsky R, Haradhvala NJ, Alberge JB, Sklavenitis-Pistofidis R, Mouhieddine TH [et al.], Getz G
Published in Nature Communications on 1November 17, 2022

Understanding the Spatial Organization and Temporal Evolution of Single Cells
Image-seq: Spatially Resolved Single-cell Sequencing Guided by In Situ and In Vivo Imaging
Haase C, Gustafsson K, Mei S, Yeh SC, Richter D [et al.], Lin CP
Published in Nature Methods on November 24, 2022 | *Summary available

A Platform to Drive Anti-Tumor Immunity in GBM
Dual Immunostimulatory Pathway Agonism through a Synthetic Nanocarrier Triggers Robust Anti-Tumor Immunity in Murine Glioblastoma
Lugani S, Halabi EA, Oh J, Kohler R, Peterson H [et al.], Weissleder R
Published in Advanced Materials on November 25, 2022 | *Summary available

Publication Summaries

There are many different types of genetic changes that cause neurodevelopmental variability, ranging from severe developmental anomalies to more subtle neurodevelopmental and late onset neuropsychiatric conditions. The most frequent class of mutations to impact neurodevelopment are those that directly disrupt genes with critical functions. Such sequences involve only 2% of the genome, while mutations in the remaining 98% of the genome have been more difficult to decipher. However, our recent study found that structural variation disrupting the 3D regulatory architecture of the genome in proximity to a critical transcription factor linked to neurodevelopment, MEF2C, can have some of the same impacts in neuronal function as mutations that directly disrupt gene itself.

(Summary submitted by Rachita Yadav, PhD, Center for Genomic Medicine)

Multiple classes of genetic variation contribute to the likelihood of an autism diagnosis. In this study, we analyzed two of these influences – common and rare variation – to understand how these genetic variants are associated with autism. We found that common variant influences are unusually concentrated in a region of the genome with the single best-established rare variant risk factor for autism – the 16p11.2 CNV – and that both converged on decreased expression of nearby brain-expressed genes. We also found that the 3D folding patterns of the genome may help to explain these convergent effects. This study improves our understanding of how autism-associated genetic influences affect downstream biological pathways.

(Summary submitted by Daniel Weiner, Broad Institute)

T cell Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a common pediatric cancer. The prognosis for relapsed and chemotherapy-resistant T-ALL is very poor and new therapies are sorely needed. Here, we identified a new combination of drugs that is effective against treating ~40% of human T-ALL, including killing a subset of relapse and refractory leukemias. This combination included Dasatinib kinase inhibitor and temsriolimus mTOR inhibitor and is in clinical evaluation for other pediatric cancer indications, raising hope for rapid clinical evaluation in the setting of pediatric T-ALL in the near future.

(Summary submitted by David M. Langenau, PhD, Department of Pathology)

Tumors, like leukemias, contain a fraction of ‘quiet’ or dormant cells that survive therapies, unlike the bulk of the tumor. It is unclear how these cells avoid being destroyed by therapy and re-establish tumors. We found that ribosomes—molecular machines that produce the output of our genes to conduct cellular functions—are altered in dormant cancer cells. These manipulations produce survival strategies that allow dormant cells to escape therapy and the body’s defenses or immune system. As these changes are unique to dormant cells, they are a vulnerability that we could target to curtail dormant cancer cells, and tumor persistence.

(Summary submitted by Shobha Vasudevan, PhD, Center for Cancer Research, Center for Regenerative Medicine, Department of Medicine)

Ewing's sarcoma is a rare and aggressive tumor arising in the bones and soft tissues. In this retrospective, international, multi-institutional study, tumor necrosis (i.e., death) and survival were assessed in 427 Ewing's sarcoma patients undergoing preoperative chemotherapy and surgical resection. Patients who had complete (100%) tumor response to chemotherapy had increased overall, recurrence-free, metastasis-free, and event-free survival compared to those who had a partial (0-99%) response. Any tumor viability following preoperative chemotherapy should represent an unsatisfactory treatment response and signal a major oncologic concern. These findings may guide future clinical trial design and risk-stratified application of conventional or novel treatments.

(Summary submitted by Joseph Werenski, Department of Orthopaedics)

Cardiac troponin is a blood test that plays a central role in the evaluation of acute chest pain by diagnosing or excluding heart attacks. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays have improved accuracy for diagnosing heart attacks compared to prior less sensitive troponin assays and were approved for clinical use in the United States beginning in 2017. We examined the implementation of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays in the United States using the NCDR Chest Pain – MI registry and found that only one third of hospitals have implemented these assays. We observed that use of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin was associated with a shorter length of hospital stay and lower use of invasive coronary angiography among low risk chest pain patients. These data highlight that further opportunities exist to implement these assays in the United States.

(Summary submitted by Cian McCarthy, MD, Cardiovascular Research Center, Department of Medicine)

T cells originate from multi-potent progenitors that colonize the thymus. Conventional wisdom was that elevated Notch signaling is essential for T cell lineage commitment. Here we identified an enhancer responsible for raising Notch1 expression and signaling in early intra-thymic progenitors. Single-cell gene expression analysis revealed most wild-type thymus-seeding progenitors (TSPs) go through expansion as multipotent progenitors before committing to the T cell lineage, while TSPs lacking this enhancer undergo rapid and direct T cell lineage commitment. This expansion as uncommitted progenitors seems to allow TSPs to organize their genome for rigorous lineage restriction and accurate differentiation. In its absence, some TSPs differentiate into other lymphoid cells. Cells that commit early to the T cell lineage differentiate more rapidly but fail to mature. Our studies do not distinguish between a requirement for elevated Notch activity at this later stage for T cell differentiation and a defect caused by failure to transition to an expanding multi-potent progenitor before initiating this process. However, mutant TSPs exhibit elevated extra-lineage gene expression suggesting inherent conflicts between alternative developmental programs may contribute to this later failure.

(Summary submitted by Mariko Kashiwagi, PhD, Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Department of Dermatology)

Most deaths from melanoma occur in patients who were initially diagnosed with early-stage melanoma and then later experienced a recurrence of the disease after surgical excision. We built machine-learning models for predicting the risk of recurrence using patient demographics, medical history, and information from melanoma skin biopsies at the time of diagnosis. The data were extracted from electronic health records that are clinically available with minimal cost to the patients. These predictive models will help improve patient selection for adjuvant immunotherapy, which was recently approved for the management of stage IIB and IIC melanomas.

(Summary submitted by Eugene R. Semenov, MD, MA, FAAD, Department of Dermatology)

Iron overload is a major cause of disease and death in β-thalassemia patients. Abnormally increased dietary iron absorption, driven by suppression of the master iron hormone hepcidin, are key causes of iron accumulation in β-thalassemia. Using mouse models, we found that the protein transferrin receptor 1 (TFR1) functions as a suppressor of hepcidin expression in liver cells, contributing to iron overload in β-thalassemia. The hepcidin regulatory role of liver TFR1 requires its interaction with HFE, the most commonly mutated gene causing the iron overload disorder hereditary hemochromatosis. Our study provides new insights into how body iron balance is regulated and how this goes awry in iron disorders, which may pave the way for new treatments.

(Summary submitted by Jodie L. Babitt, MD, Nephrology Division and Endocrine Unit, Department of Medicine)

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a common cancer type with various available treatments, but matching patients with the right drug is still challenging. First, tumors with similar RNA expression patterns from the large LUAD cohort from The Cancer Genome Atlas were computationally grouped. We detected five subtypes, consistent with three previously reported ones, further partitioning one of them into three novel subtypes. Next, we defined biomarkers of response to targeted- and immuno-therapies for two of these subtypes using data from experiments in corresponding cell lines. Finally, we validated the immunotherapy prediction in an independent patient dataset. Overall, we revealed subtype-specific biology and vulnerabilities.

(Summary submitted by Mendy Miller, PhD, Broad Institute)

Home delivery and monitoring of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV is convenient, overcomes clinic barriers, and could increase treatment access. With client payment and sufficient health benefits, this strategy could be scalable. In a clinical trial, we tested a fee for home delivery and home ART monitoring compared to clinic-based services in South Africa. We found that 98% of participants paid the fee, and 88% completely suppressed HIV in the home-delivery group compared to 74% in the clinic group. Home delivery and monitoring of ART can potentially increase the number of people successfully treated for HIV by simplifying access.

(Summary submitted by Ruanne Barnabas, MBChB, MSc, DPhil, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine)

Our study concludes that the racial wealth gap has lethal implications for Black Americans, and that reparations payments could dramatically reduce racial inequities in life expectancy. We analyzed data on 33,501 Black and White middle-aged Americans in the federally-funded Health and Retirement Study. Among the research subjects, the odds of dying for Black people was 26% higher than their White counterparts, equivalent to 4.0 fewer years of remaining life expectancy. We found that differences in wealth accounted for much of the life expectancy gap, and projected that equalizing White and Black households' wealth through reparations payments would nearly eliminate the current Black-White inequity in life expectancy.

(Summary submitted by Kathryn E. Himmelstein, MD, Department of Medicine)

This study analyzed the National Youth Tobacco Survey and using a total of 151,573 respondents found that age at initiation decreased and intensity of use and addiction increased between 2014 and 2021. By 2017, e-cigarettes became the most common first product used (77%). By 2019, more e-cigarette users were using their first tobacco product within 5 minutes of waking than users of cigarettes and all other tobacco products combined. Median number of days used per month tripled. These findings suggest that clinicians need to be ready to address youth addiction to these new highly addictive nicotine products during many clinical encounters, and stronger regulation is needed, including comprehensive bans on the sale of flavored tobacco products.

(Summary submitted by Jonathan P. Winickoff, MD, MPH, Department of Pediatrics)

It is challenging to create a long-lasting influenza vaccine because the virus is constantly mutating, and our immune system is always playing catch-up. However, there are parts of the virus that do not change and are effectively constant from year to year. An ideal “universal” influenza vaccine would preferentially target these constant regions, but directing our immune system is quite challenging. In this study, we engineered a modified influenza protein that is enriched for one of these constant regions and show in mice, that we can successfully direct the immune response to this region. These results are a proof of concept for future improved influenza vaccines.

(Summary submitted by Aaron G. Schmidt, PhD, Department of Microbiology)

Reproductive carrier screening can identify biological parents at risk of having a child with a recessively inherited condition. Screening can be done before (preconception) or during pregnancy (prenatal). Preconception screening is preferred because it allows reproductive couples time to complete testing, obtain genetic counseling, and consider medical interventions. We examined when female patients across Mass General Brigham completed carrier screening, preconception versus prenatal. We quantified the extent to which different aspects of the healthcare system (hospital, clinic, clinician) or patient influenced whether screening was done preconception. Among the factors we measured, we found that the ordering clinician’s specialty explained the greatest variation in timing. Facilitating access to preconception screening may involve engaging additional medical specialties.

(Summary submitted by Leland E. Hull, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine)

In this paper, we developed a machine learning algorithm to improve the image quality from a novel, portable MRI. This new MRI device has a lower magnetic field strength compared to traditional MRI, allowing it to be safely brought to a patient’s bedside. Because the resulting images are lower resolution, we developed a sophisticated algorithm that synthesized higher resolution images of similar quality to traditional high-field MRI. This technology will expand the options that clinicians and researchers have for diagnosing neurological disease and studying the brain.

(Summary submitted by W. Taylor Kimberly, MD, PhD, Division of Neurocritical Care, Center for Genomic Medicine)

In this analysis we used serum estrogen measurements from 174 people enrolled in a randomized trial of treatment for post-menopausal vulvovaginal discomfort to assess how use of a 10mcg vaginal estradiol for 12 weeks impacts serum concentrations of estradiol, estrone and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) compared to placebo. We found that assignment to the estrogen vs placebo treatment group was significantly associated with higher week 12 estradiol concentrations, after adjustment for potential confounding factors. However, treatment assignment was not associated with week 12 estrone or SHBG concentrations, which suggests the higher estradiol levels have minimal systemic biologic effect. There are no clear cutoffs for breast cancer or thrombotic risk, but using the level of 2.7 pg/mL use of vaginal estradiol was not associated with a significant shift from a lower to a higher risk category vs. placebo.

(Summary submitted by Caroline Mitchell, MD, MPH, Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology)

BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) is a very safe and affordable vaccine originally developed over 100 years ago to prevent tuberculosis. Over the last decade dozens of studies have emerged showing an exciting potential to treat autoimmune diseases including type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Our new study has created exciting new insights into how BCG is interacting with the immune system. Autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes are driven by defects in T cells. BCG is now shown in humans to correct a fundamental T cell defect in type 1 diabetics gradually through a permanent change in the host DNA, a process called de-methylation.

(Summary submitted by Denise L Faustman, MD, PhD, Diabetes Unit, Department of Medicine)

Although surgical removal of the bladder is often recommended for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, an alternative treatment approach called trimodality therapy allows patients to keep their bladder through a combination of limited tumor resection, radiation, and chemotherapy (a treatment approach pioneered at MGH). This study shows that measurement of a DNA repair protein called MRE11 in bladder tumors can help identify patients who are most likely to have improved results with bladder-preserving trimodality therapy.

(Summary submitted by David Miyamoto, MD, PhD & Jason Efstathiou, MD, DPhil, Department of Radiation Oncology)

Tissue function depends on proper cellular organization. While the properties of individual cells are increasingly being deciphered using powerful single-cell sequencing technologies, understanding their spatial organization and temporal evolution remains a major challenge. In this article we present Image-seq, a technology that isolates cells from specific tissue locations under image guidance for analysis by scRNA-seq. It can be combined with in vivo imaging to document the temporal and dynamic history of the cells prior to sequencing and multi-omics analysis. They apply it to identify a potential new therapeutic target against acute myeloid leukemia.

(Summary submitted by Christa Haase, PhD, Department of Dermatology, Wellman Center for Photomedicine)

Glioblastoma is among the deadliest of cancers and responds poorly to treatment, including immunotherapies. These tumors have an immune suppressive tumor microenvironment that is a substantial barrier to treatment efficacy. We therefore designed a novel combination therapy using sugar-based nanoparticles to combat tumor immune suppression. Cyclodextrin-Adjuvant Nanoparticle Dual Immunotherapy, or CANDI for short, can dismantle tumor immune suppressive barriers by re-polarizing immune cells in tumors towards anti-tumor functions. This triggers strong anti-tumor immunity in mouse models of glioblastoma, resulting in significant survival benefits in this deadly cancer.

(Summary submitted by Christopher Garris, PhD, Center for Systems Biology)

Press Releases

Analysis Reveals Increasing Addiction and Intensity of E-Cigarette Use by US Adolescents
Featuring Jonathan P. Winickoff, MD, MPH

Among U.S. middle and high school students, e-cigarette initiation age dropped, and intensity of use and addiction increased between 2014 and 2021. By 2019 more e-cigarette users were using their first tobacco product within 5 minutes of waking—an indicator of addiction—than for cigarettes and all other tobacco products combined.

Blog Posts

Vote for the People’s Choice Image Award!

Vote for your favorite science images in the 2022 MGRI Image Awards, an up-close look at research at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Growing Up Without Growing Old: How Meditation can Improve Resiliency and Brain Health at Any Age
Featuring Sara Lazar, PhD

Mass General researchers explore how meditation can improve resiliency and prevent a decline in cognitive health, no matter what age you are.

Congrats to the 44 Mass General Investigators Named to Clarivate Analytics’ Highly Cited Researchers List for 2022

Clarivate Analytics' Highly Cited Researchers List is an annual report of individuals who demonstrate broad and significant influence in their fields.

Humans of MGRI: Foivos Chatzidimitriou, PhD

Foivos Chatzidimitriou, PhD is working to understand how mutational processes and selection in normal cells can pave the way to cancer.

How the Cocoanut Grove Fire Changed Burn Care at Mass General and Beyond

A small silver lining to the tragedy can be found in the advances in burn care that were made in treating survivors.

Announcing the Finalists for the 2022 MGRI Image Awards

Please join us in congratulating this year's finalists in four categories, as well as our People's Choice Award winner.

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Snapshot of Science for November 2022