Loren D Walensky

What inspires or motivates you in your role at HMS/HSDM?
There is no greater inspiration for our research than the children and families we care for who are fighting cancer each and every day. When we develop new chemical probes and prototype therapeutics in the laboratory to dissect and target fundamental cell survival pathways, we are delving into the mechanisms that cancer cells usurp to block the effects of chemotherapy in our patients. To develop new drugs to overcome the very chemo-resistance that robs these young patients of both quality and quantity of life, we must confront the biological unknowns using multidisciplinary strategies and uncover the molecular blueprints for next-generation therapies.

What are you most proud of about your work at HMS/HSDM?
As a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, I cherish the daily opportunity to integrate three distinct but highly synergistic jobs: provide compassionate care for patients, pursue basic and translational research at the interface of chemistry and biology, and train the next generation of physicians and scientists to tackle the problems we cannot yet solve. It is a true honor to work at a school and in hospitals that have such a tremendous breadth and depth of faculty and student talent. The clinical and scientific challenges at hand are ever-changing and the balancing-act ever so delicate, but together, they keep me on my toes!

What is the significance of the object you brought with you to the photo shoot?
To reflect our mission of providing leading-edge care to patients, who continually inform the focus of our research efforts, am pictured with my pediatric stethoscope and the structure of a biochemical complex we recently solved to help inform the design of a new, experimental therapy.