June 20, 2003

Top-quality science has its day

The 200 scientific abstracts and presentations featured at the MGH's first Clinical Research Day, held June 6, reflected the great range and top quality of the hospital's patient-focused research efforts.

"It was just a fantastic and exciting day that showed what can be accomplished when you bring together basic and clinical research," said William F. Crowley, Jr., MD, director of the MGH Clinical Research Program. As an example of the excellence of MGH research, he noted that, while the day's organizers originally planned to give four awards for outstanding research projects, the quality of submissions was such that eight awards were given, along with special citations for research by residents from the departments of Medicine and Radiation Oncology.

MGH researchers at the Clinical Research Day poster session

Giving one of the day's keynote addresses, David Altshuler, MD, PhD, of the Department of Molecular Biology and Diabetes Unit, addressed the challenges of applying new genomic information to the treatment of human disease. "The human genome now is available on our desktops," he said. "But what we do with it in the next 20 years will determine its effect on human health." Among the efforts he described was one to map human haplotypes — groups of genes inherited together that may act as "books" in the huge library of the human genome. He is leading the Boston arm of the national haplotype map project.

Altshuler's talk was followed by presentations from the 8 award-winning research teams and a break, during which participants could view the posters set up under the Bulfinch tent.

The concluding talk was given by Samuel O. Thier, MD, who has returned to the MGH staff after stepping down as president and CEO of Partners. He addressed the mistaken notion that institutions should focus on either clinical or basic research. Trying to choose between pursuing new ideas or doing research designed to benefit patients would "destroy the research system. You need to balance both positions," he said.

Thier did note, however, that a hospital like the MGH has a special obligation to conduct clinical research. "Because of the MGH Clinical Research Program founded almost seven years ago," he said, "this institution is out front again in doing what it does best."