HSCI encompasses some 900 scientists in laboratories across 11 Harvard-affiliated institutions. Guiding this large, complex enterprise is the responsibility of HSCI’s Executive Committee, which has played a pivotal role in positioning the institute as the world leader in stem cell research.
The Executive Committee recently welcomed four HSCI faculty to its ranks: Joseph Bonventre, MD, PhD, former leader of HSCI’s Kidney Program; Carla Kim, PhD, leader of HSCI’s Cell Regulation Program; Andrew McMahon, PhD, head of HSCI’s Genome Modification Facility and co-leader of HSCI’s Kidney Program; and Ramesh Shivdasani, MD, PhD, co-leader of HSCI’s Cancer Program.
They join longtime committee members Kenneth Chien, MD, PhD, George Daley, MD, PhD, Jeffrey Macklis, MD, Jerome Ritz, MD, Anthony Rosenzweig, MD, Lee Rubin, PhD, and Amy Wagers, PhD. The Executive Committee has been chaired since HSCI’s inception by Leonard Zon, MD.
The Executive Committee comprises stem cell scientists from across many HSCI-affiliated institutions. To ensure a balanced perspective, both junior and senior faculty from diverse disciplines are invited to serve on the committee, which meets monthly and on an ad hoc basis.
The committee has many roles, such as advising HSCI’s Co-Directors and Executive Director on overall strategy and representing HSCI externally. One of the group’s most important functions is determining how HSCI’s research funds should be allocated and, through a rigorous annual review process that holds grant recipients accountable, making certain that HSCI’s investments are achieving stated goals.
“The broad perspective and collective scientific expertise of the Executive Committee allow us to nimbly direct resources to the most promising areas of stem cell research based on the latest advances in the field,” says Zon, the committee chair. “This is a major benefit for donors to HSCI, who can be reassured that their gifts are being stewarded to have the greatest impact.”