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Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School and Boston University have successfully shown neuroprotection in a Parkinson’s mouse model using new techniques to deliver drugs across the naturally impenetrable blood-brain barrier. Their findings, published in Neurosurgery, lend hope to patients around the world with neurological conditions that are difficult to treat due to a barrier mechanism that prevents approximately 98 percent of drugs from reaching the brain and central nervous system.

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Tufts University junior Khuyen G. Bui has won the 2015 Global Peter Drucker Challenge, selected from among 148 students from dozens of countries in an essay contest focused on managing oneself in the digital age. As grand prize winner, Bui will be recognized in early November at the annual Peter Drucker Global Forum in Vienna, Austria, where he will meet with thought leaders and members of prominent business media. He will receive a prize of 1,000 euros, approximately $1,125.

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The remarkable recovery of a dog nursed back to health from the brink of death by Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University highlights the value of a simple genetic test that can help owners determine if their pets are vulnerable to what in most cases is a safe, commonly-used drug.

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Joan Whitten Miller, M.D., Henry Willard Williams Professor of Ophthalmology and Chair of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, and Chief of Ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital, has been elected to membership in the prestigious National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Dr. Miller is an internationally recognized expert on retinal disorders, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), retinal degenerations, and diabetic retinopathy.

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New research by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists raises the prospect of cancer therapy that works by converting a tumor’s best friends in the immune system into its gravest enemies.

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Scientists at Whitehead Institute and Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have for the first time identified the universe of genes in the human genome essential for the survival and proliferation of human cell lines or cultured human cells.Their findings and the materials they developed in conducting the research will not only serve as invaluable resources for the global research community but should also have application in the discovery of drug-targetable genetic vulnerabilities in a variety of human cancers.

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Manuel Hidalgo, MD, PhD, has been named Director of the Clinical Cancer Center and Chief of Hematology-Oncology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

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Whitehead Institute scientists have at last answered the long-standing question of how the growth-regulating pathway known as mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) detects the presence of the amino acid leucine—itself a key player in modulating muscle growth, appetite, and insulin secretion.

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James Munro of Tufts University School of Medicine is a recipient of the 2015 National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award. Munro is using imaging of glycoproteins to investigate how Ebola and related viruses enter host cells. Understanding this process is expected to help develop vaccines for Ebola and related viruses.

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North Dakota University System faculty are just beginning to understand the potential for open educational resources (OER) according to a new report from Babson Survey Research Group (BSRG) and the North Dakota University System (NDUS).

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A new drug for renal cell carcinoma slowed the growth of advanced kidney cancer in patients who became resistant to the first-line therapies that had previously kept it in check, according to results from a clinical trial led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

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Babson College Professor of Film Julie Levinson and Framingham State University Associate Professor of English Claudia Springer have co-edited Acting, a new book from the Rutgers University Press series, Behind the Silver Screen.

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Whitehead Institute researchers have developed a tool that allows scientists to monitor changes in DNA methylation over time in individual cells. Certain diseases, including cancer, cause changes in DNA methylation patterns, and the ability to document these alterations could aid in the development of novel therapies.

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To help prospective students and their families more easily see what colleges will cost them, Williams College and the University of Virginia have implemented My inTuition, the groundbreaking tool developed by Wellesley College that is the quickest college cost calculator available to the public.

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Wellesley College welcomes renowned writers Salman Rushdie and Amitav Ghosh to the Boston area this fall for the new program, entitled, “Distinguished Thinkers” at the Susan and Donald Newhouse Center. Both authors will read from selected work then engage in an open dialogue with the audience.

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Entrepreneurs and business leaders from around the world will converge at Babson College on September 24, 2015 for the first-ever U.S. Global Entrepreneurial Leaders (GEL) Summit. Launched in the UK in 2013 by WildHearts, a renowned British group of social businesses, this Babson event follows the success of the inaugural GEL Summits in Edinburgh and London in showcasing the power of social innovation for business and societal prosperity.

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Edward Chiu has been named Senior Vice President for Advancement at Babson College. In his new position, Chiu will provide leadership and strategic vision for Babson’s Development, Alumni and Friends, and Advancement Communications teams. He will also serve as a member of the President’s Cabinet, reporting directly to Babson President Kerry Healey.

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Dr. Peter Amenta has been named President and CEO of Joslin Diabetes Center. Joslin Diabetes Center has 300 scientists working toward a cure for diabetes and its complications. Each year more than 100 clinical trials and human subject studies are conducted at Joslin; and 21,000 adult and pediatric patients visit the Joslin Clinic for appointments. Joslin has received National Institute of Health (NIH) funding of $18M every year since 2012.

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Babson College is one of the nation’s best institutions at offering its undergraduate students both outstanding academics and experiential learning opportunities, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company profiles the school in its new book, Colleges That Create Futures: 50 Schools That Launch Careers by Going Beyond the Classroom.

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A new study finds that the characteristics of one’s community may be as important as individual factors on the decision to become an organ donor. A study shows an association between social capital and organ donor registrations. To increase donations, the research suggests that future health policies adopt a community-level focus.

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Researchers conducting clinical trials of drugs that might prevent AD are exploring how best to inform participants of their increased risk for the disease, and studying how they cope with this information. Alzforum reports in a two-part series.

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Babson College professor Candida G. Brush has been appointed the Vice Provost of Global Entrepreneurial Leadership. In her expanded role, Dr. Brush will coordinate and connect all that is entrepreneurial across campus, and broaden Babson’s external reputation to advance economic and social value around the world.

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A follow-up study has shown that these peripheral lesions, which are not detected by traditional eye imaging, correlate very closely with the loss of retinal blood flow called retinal “non-perfusion” caused by loss of small blood vessels or capillaries.

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This week, Babson College welcomes the undergraduate Class of 2019 to campus. The Class of 2019 is noteworthy, not only because it's Babson's Centennial class, but because women make up the majority of the most applied for, and selective, class to date.

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A protein known to play a role in transporting the molecular contents of normal cells into and out of various intracellular compartments can also turn such cells cancerous by stimulating a key growth-control pathway.

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In the breast, cancer stem cells and normal stem cells can arise from different cell types and tap into distinct yet related stem cell programs, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. The differences between these stem cell programs may be significant enough to be exploited by future therapeutics.

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Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center found that one strain of mice which were genetically prone to become obese became resistant to excess weight gain after their populations of gut microbiota were transformed simply by an sharing an environment with other mice.

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Tufts University’s first-year class of 1,360 students is once again one for the record books. Whittled down from 19,062 applicants, only 16 percent were offered admission, setting a fifth consecutive record for selectivity; yield on those offers was a record 44 percent, the sixth consecutive increase in that critical index.

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A study measuring blood lipid levels of a diverse sample of Boston area schoolchildren found that reducing SSB intake by at least one serving a week was associated with a greater increase in HDL-cholesterol over 12 months. Higher SSB consumption was also linked to lower fruit and vegetable intake.

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Vision researchers in Boston have published the second paper of a study designed to determine if a driver who suffers from loss of central vision is able to detect pedestrians in a timely manner when driving. Central visual field loss, a scotoma or blind area in central vision, is found most commonly in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Patients with AMD may drive provided their visual acuity at least meets the requirements for a restricted license. However, the size and location of the blind area are usually not considered when making licensing decisions. The purpose of the study was to evaluate how much these blind areas delayed responses to pedestrian hazards in the safe environment of a driving simulator.

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Upsetting the balance between protein synthesis, misfolding, and degradation drives cancer and neurodegeneration. Recent cancer treatments take advantage of this knowledge with a class of drugs that block protein degradation, known as proteasome inhibitors. Widespread resistance to these drugs limits their success, but Whitehead researchers have discovered a potential Achilles heel in resistance. With such understandings researchers may be able to target malignancy broadly, and more effectively.

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First-year students from the Babson College Class of 2018 raised more than $18,000 for local social service agencies through the college’s award-winning Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship (FME) course that requires all first-year undergraduate students to start and run a business, and donate profits to charity.

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In its first clinical trial, a breakthrough antibody therapy produced at least partial remissions in a third of patients with multiple myeloma who had exhausted multiple prior treatments, investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and other organizations report.

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Investigators at the Joslin Diabetes Center now have shown that eyes with diabetic retinal lesions predominantly in peripheral areas of the retina that are seen in UWF images but not in traditional retinal photographs show surprisingly higher risks of progressing to advanced stages of vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy.

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By teasing apart the structure of an enzyme vital to the parasites that cause toxoplasmosis and malaria, Whitehead Institute scientists have identified a potentially ‘drugable’ target that could prevent parasites from entering and exiting host cells.

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High school students, their families, and Tufts University School of Medicine celebrated the achievements of the 26 youths from the Bay State who participated in the School’s 2015 Teachers and High School Students (TAHSS) program. Established in 1989, the program is one of Tufts’ signature initiatives to foster aspiring young doctors, health professionals and scientists of diverse backgrounds.

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Today, MIT Technology Review reveals its annual list of Innovators Under 35. The list represents exceptionally talented technologists whose work has great potential to transform the world. For her work in the field of nanotechnology and materials, Canan Dagdeviren of MIT’s Koch Institute has been recognized as an inventor on the list.

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Regular consumption of caffeinated coffee may help prevent the return of colon cancer after treatment and improve the chances of a cure, according to a new, large study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute that reported this striking association for the first time.

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Babson has joined over 45 business schools in committing to a set of best practices​​​​​​​​ ​​that offer concrete strategies for business schools to help women succeed throughout school and in their careers

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The Boston Business Journal (BBJ) has selected three recipients from Joslin Diabetes Center to receive the 2015 Healthcare Heroes Awards, which honors those who have worked tirelessly to improve the overall health and wellness of those living in Massachusetts and beyond.

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Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have identified a new vitamin B3 pathway that regulates liver metabolism. The discovery provides a new opportunity to purse development of novel drug therapies to address obesity, type 2 diabetes and related metabolic diseases.

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A sense of shared purpose energized a day of exchange between families with autosomal-dominant AD and researchers engaged in the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network.

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Men with metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer gained more than a year of survival when they received both hormone-blocking medications and chemotherapy right after diagnosis, rather than delaying the chemo until the cancer worsened, according to a study led by Dana-Farber’s Christopher Sweeney published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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A team led by researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University estimated global intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit juices, and milk across 187 countries. Variation was identified by age, sex and region, with implications for national and global nutrition policies.

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Researchers at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research are developing a tiny biochemical sensor that can be implanted in cancerous tissue during initial biopsy. The sensor wirelessly sends data about telltale biomarkers to an external “reader” device, allowing doctors to better monitor a patient’s progress and adjust dosages or switch therapies accordingly.

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Joslin scientists have advanced understanding of how the cellular repair process is impaired in type 1 diabetes, which can cause cell death and lead to complications.

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When people feel or act negatively toward a group, they may explain their feelings or behavior by saying, “I felt threatened.” However, new research reveals how easily people can be conditioned to feel prejudice -- and that unrecognized prejudice can be the source of a perceived threat. The study by Angela Bahns, a social psychologist and professor at Wellesley College, is published this month in the journal Group Processes and Intergroup Relations.

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Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Schepens Eye Research Institute have reconstructed an ancient virus that is highly effective at delivering gene therapies to the liver, muscle, and retina. This discovery, published July 30 in Cell Reports, could potentially be used to design gene therapies that are not only safer and more potent than therapies currently available, but may also help a greater number of patients.

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In two companion papers published in Cell, researchers from MIT's Koch Institute reveal why proliferating cells — including those in tumors — require mitochondrial respiration. While there are other ways to make ATP, cells can’t proliferate without access to electron acceptors provided by respiration.

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Delirium is an acute state of confusion that often affects older adults following surgery or serious illness. Now a study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center confirms that inflammation - an immune response that develops when the body attempts to protect itself from harmful stimuli - plays a role in the onset of delirium.