Mission

The Life Sciences Division was established in 2004, bringing together previously separate disciplines in the biological, chemical, physical and psychological sciences, with the goal of making Harvard the best place for teaching and research in the life sciences. Our Charge: to radically revise how teaching and research are conducted in the life sciences. The division is working to improve the quality of teaching and advising for undergraduate and graduate students and to increase the quality and availability of research laboratory experiences.

Departments & Centers

The Life Sciences Division includes the Departments of

The Division is also affiliated with a number of research centers and institutes, including

The Center for Brain Science (CBS).

The FAS Center for Systems Biology

The Center for Modular Biology

Council

The Life Sciences Council is the main administrative decision making body in the Life Sciences in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The Council is currently chaired by Douglas A. Melton, Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences, and includes as representatives the department chairs of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Biological Anthropology and Psychology. The Council meets bi- weekly throughout the academic year. All inquiries related to the Life Sciences Council can be directed to Raymond_Coderre [-at-] harvard [dot] edu

Summary of Council Discussions: September – November 2006

Reviewed the previous academic year’s accomplishments and organized priorities for the current year.

Reviewed the UPCSE report’s recommendations and discussed each department’s faculty meeting feedback. This feedback was then discussed by the council, recommendations were made, and sent to the President’s office.

Discussed graduate education and the current training grant programs and decided to support a proposal that would unify the current programs and would allow each to be a track in the program. Andrew Murray is spearheading this effort. The council will revisit the issue in January.

Discussed instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research and decided to enroll our graduate students and post docs in the medical school’s program.

Reviewed a summary of divisional search authorizations with each department’s chair and discussed space requirements and condensing as well as the potential for joint appointments.

Reviewed a draft proposal that would utilize existing data to examine the relationship between faculty space, teaching effort and grant dollars, and determined that such a study would be beneficial.

Discussed the general education requirements with the co-chairs of the committee. The council recommended increasing the emphasis on science in the report’s recommendations, in particular, integrating ‘science as a way of knowing’ into all general education course offerings. The report’s recommendations will be discussed at the faculty meeting on November 14. The council encourages all life sciences faculty to attend.

Contact

Please direct all inquiries related to the Life Sciences Division or the Life Sciences Council to Raymond Coderre, Executive Assistant of the Life Sciences Division.

Raymond Coderre
Room 271
Sherman Fairchild Biochemistry Building
7 Divinity Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
Ph: 617-495-1097
Fx: 617-812-0063
E-mail: Raymond_Coderre [-at-] harvard [dot] edu

Life Sciences Division Staff Directory

Life Sciences Executive Office

Douglas A. Melton
Chairman of the FAS Life Sciences Council
Phone: 617-495-1812
E-mail: dmelton [-at-] mcb [dot] harvard [dot] edu

Russ Porter
Executive Director of the Life Sciences Division
Phone: 617-496-1542
E-mail: russ_porter [-at-] harvard [dot] edu

Raymond Coderre
Executive Assistant to the Life Sciences Division
Phone: 617-495-1097
E-mail: raymond_coderre [-at-] harvard [dot] edu

Life Sciences Education Office

Robert Lue
Director of Life Sciences Education
Phone: 617-495-9924
E-mail: robert_lue [-at-] harvard [dot] edu

Tamara Brenner
Assistant Director of Life Sciences Education
Phone: 617-384-7525
E-mail: tamara_brenner [-at-] harvard [dot] edu

Haley Hemen
Coordinator
Phone: 617-495-1996
E-mail: haley_hemen [-at-] harvard [dot] edu

Leigh Stimolo
Senior Web Developer
Media Project Manager
Phone: 617-496-7093
E-mail: stimolo [-at-] fas [dot] harvard [dot] edu

Ann Georgi
Life Sciences Research Administrator
Phone: 617-495-9533
E-mail: ageorgi [-at-] fas [dot] harvard [dot] edu

Life Sciences Information Technology Group

Life Sciences Help Desk
Phone: 6-2727
BioLabs 4070
E-mail: support [-at-] lsdiv [dot] harvard [dot] edu

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