At Harvard Medical School, a rise through the ranks
When Becky Ward walked through the airy cafeteria spanning Harvard Medical School’s (HMS) Goldenson and Armenise buildings, she noticed cashier Calixto Sáenz taking a break, a textbook open on the table in front of him. As she passed, Ward asked Sáenz what he was studying. “Biopolymers,” he replied. The answer got the attention of Ward, executive director of the Department of Systems Biology. She told Sáenz about a new facility being developed at HMS — a microfluidics core. The shared facility was intended to connect researchers at the School and affiliated hospitals with new techniques making their way into labs across the country. Microfluidics allows scientists to conduct microscale research, cutting costs by reducing the volume of chemicals needed, freeing up space so that several experiments can run at once, and even accelerating results. A director had been hired for the initiative, Ward told Sáenz, and the School was considering adding a paid intern...