Overview
Graduate Training in Medicine, Science, and Engineering Leads to a PhD Degree from MIT or Harvard
The Harvard-MIT Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) program is a five to seven year program that leads to a PhD awarded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) or by the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). The MEMP degree is offered by the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology (HST), established in 1977. This program trains students in the fundamentals of engineering and physical science, as well as the clinical applications of these disciplines to human health.
The MEMP curriculum includes a thorough graduate education in a classical discipline of engineering or physical science at MIT or Harvard FAS, both in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Additionally, students complete preclinical coursework at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and a series of clinical experiences through which students experience medical decision-making and the role of technology in patient care.
MEMP students perform thesis research investigating an important problem at the interface of science, technology, and clinical medicine, and graduates are well positioned to define new questions and formulate novel approaches to biomedical research.
The MEMP Program Offers a Unique Curriculum and Dual Citizenship at MIT and Harvard University
The Harvard-MIT Medical Engineering and Medical Physics program is founded on a philosophy of openness and collaboration that encourages independent thinking and creativity. MEMP students train alongside MD students and other peers with diverse career paths in medicine, science, engineering, business, and government. This community promotes an open exchange of ideas and exposes students to different perspectives on the health sciences.
Moreover, MEMP students have access to research opportunities in labs at Harvard, MIT, and Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals. Students can do research at any of these institutions, and have many opportunities to interact with faculty members working there. Areas of research include tissue engineering, drug delivery, biomedical imaging, biomedical optics, biomechanics, biofluidics, biophysics, systems physiology, bioinstrumentation, and biomedical informatics and integrative genomics.
The Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) provides MEMP students with a thorough graduate education in a classical discipline of engineering or physical science. During their first year, students select a concentration area, such as mechanical engineering, chemistry and chemical engineering, materials science, electrical engineering, computer science, physics, aeronautics and astronautics, or nuclear engineering. They then complete substantial course work in their chosen discipline.
Students then become conversant in the biological sciences through preclinical coursework at Harvard Medical School, followed by a series of clinical experiences. They acquire a hands-on understanding of clinical care, medical decision making, and the role of technology in medical practice, both in the classroom and by directly engaging in patient care.
World-Class Biomedical Research Faculty and Facilities
Students in the Harvard-MIT Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) program investigate important problems at the interfaces of science, technology, and clinical medicine by conducting individualized research projects that prepare them for doing such research independently. MEMP students have the opportunity to perform thesis research in laboratories at MIT, Harvard, and Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals.
The unique multi-institutional structure of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) affords students innumerable opportunities to work in virtually any field of biomedical research. They work in such areas as tissue engineering, drug delivery, biomedical imaging, biomedical optics, biomechanics, biofluidics, biophysics, systems physiology, bioinstrumentation, and biomedical informatics and integrative genomics.
In addition to laboratories in science and engineering departments at Harvard and MIT, students have access to laboratories at many of Boston's world-renowned medical institutions. Among these are Massachusetts General Hospital, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. HST also draws distinguished core and affiliated faculty members from throughout the Boston medical and scientific communities.
Thesis Research by MEMP Students Covers a Wide Range of Important Topics in the Health Sciences
Current areas of MEMP thesis research include: applications of micro- and nanotechnology to tissue repair and regeneration; immunotherapeutics; neural information coding; functional neuroimaging; medical applications of optical coherence tomography; laboratory information systems for global health initiatives; microfluidic diagnostics for global health polymeric controlled drug delivery systems; stem-cell-based therapeutics; functional genomics of heart disease, carcinogenesis, neuronal development, and neuromuscular diseases; computational and biophysical study of genetic and protein networks; perfusion/diffusion imaging of stroke; functional MRI of migraine and migraine aura; medical informatics and privacy; hydrogels for tissue engineering; and living microsystems for diagnostic and drug discovery.
