--- title: "MD-PhD FY26" description: "See how your philanthropy is empowering the next generation of physician-scientists who will shape medicine for decades to come." canonical: "/md-phd-fy26" published: 2026-09-30 --- # MD-PhD FY26 ## The Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program The Harvard/MIT MD-PhD program’s mission is to train the next generation of physician-scientist leaders who represent a rich spectrum of clinical disciplines and research areas, from the basic and translational sciences to bioengineering and the social sciences. The program’s students have been at the forefront of groundbreaking innovations, including CRISPR-based gene editing, brainwave monitoring, and many other emerging technologies. Donors to this program are not only supporting an outstanding education—they're also helping launch discoveries, cures, technologies, and public health breakthroughs that will shape medicine for decades to come. Every gift gives our supremely talented students the freedom to pursue big questions, join world-class labs, and commit fully to the dual calling of doctor and scientist. The next 50 years will be defined by ideas we haven’t yet imagined, and they will be made possible because people like you believed in the promise of these budding physician-scientists. Loren Walensky, MD, PhD Director of the Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program and an HMS professor of pediatrics based at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Hospital **Read full Q&A →** **Student stories** ### STUDENT STORIES: GETTING TO KNOW OUR PHYSICIAN-SCIENTISTS #### CLAIRE BROWN — “A Personal Calling” **Inline Asset** A month before starting medical school, third-year MD-PhD student Claire Brown was diagnosed with cancer. The diagnosis reinforced her passion for cancer research and her commitment to translating discoveries from lab to clinic. Watch how Claire’s personal experience drives her mission to bring life-changing treatments to patients. #### ANNA WADHWA — “Expanding the Boundaries of Medicine” **Inline Asset** As a fourth-year MD-PhD student, Anna Wahdwa splits her time between Harvard and MIT, completing medical school while pursuing PhD research in aeronautics and astronautics. Her work examines how spaceflight affects the human body—pushing medicine’s frontiers from the hospital bedside to the cosmos. **Student Research** ### STUDENT RESEARCH: ADVANCING MEDICINE ACROSS DISCIPLINES ##### ANUSHA NATHAN — “From COVID Response to Universal Vaccines” ##### ALISON FARRAR — “Rapid Antibiotic Resistance Testing” ##### ALAN WONG — “Starving Cancer Cells to Improve Childhood Leukemia Treatments” Anusha Nathan designed a novel T-cell vaccine approach that could reduce the need for annual COVID boosters. Her machine-learning tool, MUNIS, identifies useful T-cell targets faster and more accurately. Her work extends to HIV vaccines now in clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa. Alison Farrar developed a breakthrough rapid test for antibiotic resistance using fluorescent ribosomes and AI. Her innovation detects drug resistance in just 30 minutes—not days—with 99% accuracy. Now entering psychiatry, she plans to apply this technology to improve patient care. Alan Wong identified a critical vulnerability in leukemia cells: their dependence on copper to grow. His research shows that targeting copper can slow cancer growth and boost the effectiveness of existing chemotherapy—paving the way for more precise, less harmful pediatric leukemia treatments. **Read More →** **Read More →** **Read More →** **Innovation** ### INNOVATION & AI-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS #### Creating next-generation tools and expanding access to care ##### RONAK DESAI & ARYA RAO — Paul and Daisy Soros Fellows ###### Ronak Desai, MD-PhD Candidate ###### MD in Health Sciences & Technology ###### PhD in Chemistry ###### Arya Rao, MD-PhD Candidate ###### MD in Pathways ###### PhD in Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics **Read Arya's profile →** **Read Ronak's profile →** Two Harvard/MIT MD-PhD students received Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships—an honor awarded to only 1% of applicants nationwide. Their work demonstrates the program’s commitment to training physician-scientists who innovate at the intersection of AI, infectious disease, and equity. Ronak Desai grew up in rural Texas, inspired by physicians treating underserved patients. Now pursuing his PhD in chemistry with James J. Collins at the Wyss Institute, Desai uses artificial intelligence to discover and design novel antibiotics for tuberculosis—the world’s deadliest infectious disease. His previous research on polyketide synthases was published in Cell and Nature Communications. Arya Rao was raised in northern Michigan by physician parents from India. She entered Columbia at age 16 with degrees in biochemistry and computer science. As a Harvard Griffin GSAS PhD student in Biomedical Informatics, Arya develops AI-driven approaches to therapeutic design with Pardis Sabeti and Sangeeta Bhatia. She leads the MESH AI Research Group at Mass General Brigham, building simulation tools to evaluate clinical AI systems before deployment. Her work appears in JAMA, Nature, and NEJM AI, and she was selected to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Healthcare 2026. Both Ronak and Arya represent the program’s vision: physician-scientists harnessing computational innovation to solve humanity’s most pressing health challenges. ##### RONAK DESAI — Path to Medicine **Inline Asset** From small-town Texas to the forefront of antibiotic innovation, watch Ronak trace his journey to becoming a physician-scientist using AI to tackle tuberculosis, the world’s deadliest infectious disease. **Read an article Ronak wrote about his journey to HMS** ##### ARYA RAO — “Music as Healing” **Inline Asset** Outside the lab, Arya is an accomplished composer and conductor. As Associate Conductor of the Longwood Chorus—an auditioned ensemble of health care professionals and students dedicated to using music as a force for community healing—Arya brings her passion for creating meaningful musical experiences. Watch her conduct the Longwood Chorus in a performance that exemplifies her belief in music’s power to inspire and connect. **Community** ### COMMUNITY IMPACT & LEADERSHIP ###### LEONARD NETTEY, PHD '24, MD '26— Research, Mentorship, and Systemic Change Leonard Nettey almost said no to an opportunity that would transform not only his life, but the lives of hundreds of students across the country. When classmate Ashley Kyalwazi asked him to help lead a national nonprofit addressing the stark underrepresentation of Black physicians and biomedical scientists in medicine, Leonard hesitated—already stretched between his role as executive director of HMS’s Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program and his MD-PhD training. But the statistics told a compelling story: while Black Americans represent 12% of the U.S. population, only 6% of physicians are Black. When Ashley asked again, Leonard accepted—and never looked back. Today, MV3 Foundation—“Mobilizing Voices Through Education, Service, and Advocacy”—has mentored over 175 undergraduates nationwide after winning the Harvard Business School New Venture Competition in 2023.Meanwhile, Leonard’s research on T cells in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease earned him the 2024 Jeffrey Modell Prize for excellence in immunology. As he completes his MD and begins an internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Leonard embodies the “physician-plus” ideal: balancing rigorous research, patient care, and mentorship for the next generation. **Read the full story** **Make a Gift →** ##### Office of Alumni Affairs and Development ###### 25 Shattuck Street Boston, MA 02115 ###### giving@hms.harvard.edu **Digital Accessibility** **Privacy Policy**