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Tuesday, December 16th, 2014
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| 12:00a |
In a body that rebels, the search for a delicate balance When Elliot Akama-Garren was in high school and tried to envision his future, his path was by no means clear to him.
“Growing up, I was interested in nearly every subject,” he says. “I could see myself becoming a historian, a journalist, a scientist, a physicist, or a chemist,” he says.
Now a senior at MIT nearing the completion of his biology degree, Akama-Garren has found and cultivated his passions, which range from research to ice hockey to teaching. Recently selected as one of this year’s 32 American recipients of the Rhodes Scholarship, Akama-Garren — along with two other MIT recipients — will spend the next academic year pursuing studies and research at Oxford University.
Akama-Garren’s research interests lie in immunology, a fascination that began before his junior year of high school. That summer he worked with Bill Robinson, an associate professor of medicine at Stanford University, to study rheumatoid arthritis — an autoimmune disease that typically results in inflamed and painful joints.
He loved the experience. “Working in the lab early in my high-school career allowed me to put my schoolwork in proper perspective. I was fortunate enough to see how much of what one learns in school can impact not just one’s own life, but also other people’s lives,” he says. “Instead of the result being a grade on a test, the results in science are discoveries and new therapies.”
Akama-Garren continued working on the project even after the summer research program had finished; each day, as soon as his classes ended, he would bike to the lab, where he would stay for hours, working with mice and examining samples. His work was later published in the Journal of Immunology. “I had no lab experience before that, but Bill let me join his lab, and that’s how my interests in immunology were formed,” Akama-Garren says. “I owe a lot to Bill for giving me that opportunity.”
Having grown up on the other side of the country, in Palo Alto, Calif., Akama-Garren didn’t know much about MIT before visiting. But when he came to campus for the first time, he began to feel that it might be just the place for him.
An avid ice hockey player who has loved skating since he was 7 years old, Akama-Garren was excited to discover MIT’s ice rink in the middle of campus and a vibrant, competitive men’s ice hockey team. And a short stroll away, across the Charles River, he could glimpse Massachusetts General Hospital, where he hoped to learn more about medicine.
His visit solidified his decision. “The kind of values that MIT adopts aligned greatly with what I want to do. The Institute’s emphasis on discovery, innovation, and advancing humanity — these are all things that motivate me,” Akama-Garren says.
Self versus anti-self
One month into his freshman year, Akama-Garren joined the lab of Tyler Jacks, the David H. Koch Professor of Biology and director of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, where he began work on a project related to cancer immunology.
“The immune system is designed to discriminate against millions of pathogens that humans are exposed to,” Akama-Garren explains. “By the same token, the immune system should be able to distinguish between tumors and healthy cells. If we can promote this type of response, the potential is huge, as we’ve already seen with recent advances in cancer immunotherapy.”
While the immune system may be uniquely poised as a tool to attack tumors, it faces the same basic challenge as all cancer research: Cancers are an overgrowth of the body itself, and targeting tumor cells without harming their healthy counterparts is difficult. It’s always about finding a balance — give enough treatment to kill the cancerous cells, but in low-enough doses to keep the body functioning. In the case of cancer immunology, that balance is between immunity — immune cells attacking the tumor — and tolerance, preventing immune cells from attacking healthy cells.
The mechanism that Akama-Garren studied involved a type of immune cell called regulatory T cells, or “Tregs,” which suppress autoimmune responses. When all is well, Tregs prevent the body from turning on itself by attacking its own cells. But when cancer develops, Tregs pave the way for uncontrolled cell growth.
“What has been observed in immune responses against cancer is that Tregs are doing their job — they’re suppressing immune responses — but that can actually be to the detriment of self, by suppressing anti-tumor immune responses and allowing tumors to grow,” Akama-Garren explains.
Akama-Garren was studying how Tregs respond to lung cancer. Using genetic sequences engineered in the DNA of lab mice, researchers in the Jacks lab have been able to gain tighter control over the immune system; in the study of Tregs, they were able to use genetically-engineered mice to eliminate Tregs.
Because the Tregs are no longer blocking the immune response to the lung cancer, the immune system takes action against the tumor. The problem, of course, is that an intense autoimmune response is unleashed, and the body also takes action against its healthy parts.
“What we’re doing is an extreme; we’re getting rid of all Tregs,” Akama-Garren says. “But certainly there’s a threshold between the two extremes. If one could get rid of some Tregs, especially Tregs specifically in the tumor’s vicinity, that might be of more benefit without autoimmune harm.”
His four years in Jacks’ lab have been impactful in many ways, Akama-Garren says. “Tyler has been a major influence. He’s made an effort to get to know me — not only as a scientist or student, but as a person,” Akama-Garren says. “The way Tyler runs his lab, the way he comes up with ideas that challenge the status quo and new ways to approach problems, is something that has been simultaneously educational and inspiring.”
Through outreach, learning, and teaching
While Akama-Garren was approaching medical problems from inside the lab, he also took time during his years at MIT to observe the real-life applications of medical research. He would often bike across the river to Mass General to shadow surgeons, oncologists, neurologists, and residents, staying on-call overnight at times. “I was interested in observing the relationship between the research I was doing and clinical practice,” he says.
The hours he spent at the hospital spurred his motivation to find new and more effective ways to improve treatments using the immune system.
“I remember meeting a patient whose cancer had responded to treatment, but whose tumor acquired a resistance mutation, overcoming treatment and growing back,” Akama-Garren says. “Resistance mutations are something I did not know about, at least from lab work, but in clinical practice they are a big problem. Even with advances in targeted therapies, cancers find ways to evade therapy. There really is a need for something better, and these types of observations made me appreciate the potential for immunotherapy.”
As he learned more about biology and immunology through his classes, lab work, and time at the hospital, Akama-Garren began to try on the role of teacher. Through MIT’s Educational Studies Program (ESP), he taught summer and weekend courses on immunology to middle- and high-school students.
“I have seen how much of an impact professors, teachers, and mentors can have on people’s lives, and have had on my life. Over the past 18 years I have had outstanding teachers who not only taught me facts, but also inspired me to approach the world with curiosity,” he says. “My goal through ESP was to get kids excited about something, to get them motivated and pass on the curiosity my teachers gave me. In this regard, teaching provides an opportunity to give back.”
Pushing forward
Akama-Garren spends countless hours in lab, in the hospital, working as editor-in-chief of the MIT Undergraduate Research Journal, and volunteering — all activities close to his heart. But the time he feels most at home is when he’s with the hockey team, from 5-7 p.m. every day of the week. He’s been a member since his freshman year and is now president of the team. “The people on the team are among my closest friends at MIT,” Akama-Garren says.
And he loves the ice. “I think we’re really lucky here at MIT. We have an ice rink in the middle of campus that the school provides for — that’s hard to find at many other schools,” Akama-Garren says.
Men’s ice hockey is one of the oldest sports teams at MIT. With five practices and one to two games a week, Akama-Garren finds hockey to be a welcome respite from a demanding schedule. “When you’re playing ice hockey, when you’re with the team, when you’re in the locker room, you can’t really think about anything else,” he says. “You can’t think about problem sets, you can’t think about lab work — you’re just in the moment.”
While he may live in the moment on the ice, in other aspects of his life, Akama-Garren is constantly working toward a better future. As he talks about the potential of immunology to combat cancer and other diseases, his excitement is eminently tangible. At Oxford next year, he will pursue an MSc in integrated immunology; after that, he hopes to pursue an MD-PhD and, one day, lead his own lab.
“Pushing things forward and coming up with creative ideas that can be channeled into scientific discoveries and hopefully therapies is something Tyler does really well, and it’s something I hope to do with my life,” Akama-Garren says. | | 10:55a |
Lorraine Goffe-Rush named vice president for human resources Lorraine A. Goffe-Rush, who is now vice chancellor for human resources at Washington University in St. Louis, will join MIT in February as its next vice president for human resources. Israel Ruiz, executive vice president and treasurer, announced the news today in an email to MIT faculty and staff.
“Lorraine brings a deep understanding of the university environment, organization, and community; broad and progressive HR experience; and a collaborative leadership style,” Ruiz says. “I am delighted that she will be joining MIT.”
Goffe-Rush has worked in human resources at Washington University since 2000. Before assuming her current role this past January, she was assistant vice chancellor for human resources from 2010 to 2013; director of human resources from 2006 to 2010; and director of employee relations from 2000 to 2006.
“Throughout the recruitment process, I have been impressed by the talented individuals I’ve met, from the search committee to the leadership team, and I am honored to be joining MIT,” Goffe-Rush says. “I am committed to talent development, teamwork, and aligning HR strategies to organizational goals. I look forward to working collaboratively with all members of the Institute in support of the groundbreaking work being done at MIT.”
As Washington University’s top human resources official, Goffe-Rush has led efforts to streamline retirement fund options; redesigned health plans to reduce expenses and improve outcomes; designed and implemented employee wellness initiatives; and negotiated two collective bargaining agreements.
Previously, as assistant vice chancellor, she was responsible for the development and implementation of policies, programs, and services in the areas of employment, employee relations, human resources management systems, faculty records, staff diversity and inclusion, and learning and organizational development. She has also been responsible for ensuring institutional compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and with meeting the diverse needs of a large campus community.
“At MIT, living up to our mission requires superb talent united in extraordinarily effective teams, all across the Institute,” MIT President L. Rafael Reif says. “Given her impressive record of success in another highly decentralized university, we are fortunate that Lorraine Goffe-Rush has agreed to join us in meeting this challenge.”
Goffe-Rush holds a BA in business administration from William Woods University in Fulton, Mo., awarded in 1986; later, in 1992, she earned an MBA from National University in San Diego. Her first job after college was as a manager of operations, customer service, and purchasing at a small medical supply company in St. Louis — a role that led her to pursue a career in human resources.
After marrying and moving to San Diego, Goffe-Rush accepted her first human resources job at Fornaca Family Bakery, then the largest privately-owned bakery in Southern California. In 1992, she joined San Diego Gas & Electric Co., where she was promoted to a supervisory human resources role, overseeing compensation, benefits, and employee relations for approximately 4,000 employees.
Goffe-Rush returned to St. Louis with her husband in 1998 to be closer to family, joining Barnes-Jewish Hospital as a senior human resources consultant. In 1999, she became manager of human resources at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, overseeing compensation, benefits, recruitment support, and employee activities.
Since joining Washington University in 2000, Goffe-Rush has helped implement improvements in human resources processes and make more effective use of technology, including the development of an electronic document-management system. She has led the university’s Affirmative Action Compliance Review Team and outsourced paper-intensive employment- and income-verification processes, allowing for more efficient use of staff resources.
Goffe-Rush earned certification as a senior professional in human resources in 2003. She is a member of professional organizations including the National Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, and the Society for Human Resource Management. | | 11:15a |
New law for superconductors MIT researchers have discovered a new mathematical relationship — between material thickness, temperature, and electrical resistance — that appears to hold in all superconductors. They describe their findings in the latest issue of Physical Review B.
The result could shed light on the nature of superconductivity and could also lead to better-engineered superconducting circuits for applications like quantum computing and ultralow-power computing.
“We were able to use this knowledge to make larger-area devices, which were not really possible to do previously, and the yield of the devices increased significantly,” says Yachin Ivry, a postdoc in MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics, and the first author on the paper.
Ivry works in the Quantum Nanostructures and Nanofabrication Group, which is led by Karl Berggren, a professor of electrical engineering and one of Ivry’s co-authors on the paper. Among other things, the group studies thin films of superconductors.
Superconductors are materials that, at temperatures near absolute zero, exhibit no electrical resistance; this means that it takes very little energy to induce an electrical current in them. A single photon will do the trick, which is why they’re useful as quantum photodetectors. And a computer chip built from superconducting circuits would, in principle, consume about one-hundredth as much energy as a conventional chip.
“Thin films are interesting scientifically because they allow you to get closer to what we call the superconducting-to-insulating transition,” Ivry says. “Superconductivity is a phenomenon that relies on the collective behavior of the electrons. So if you go to smaller and smaller dimensions, you get to the onset of the collective behavior.”
Vexing variation
Specifically, Ivry studied niobium nitride, a material favored by researchers because, in its bulk form, it has a relatively high “critical temperature” — the temperature at which it switches from an ordinary metal to a superconductor. But like most superconductors, it has a lower critical temperature when it’s deposited in the thin films on which nanodevices rely.
Previous theoretical work had characterized niobium nitride’s critical temperature as a function of either the thickness of the film or its measured resistivity at room temperature. But neither theory seemed to explain the results Ivry was getting. “We saw large scatter and no clear trend,” he says. “It made no sense, because we grew them in the lab under the same conditions.”
So the researchers conducted a series of experiments in which they held constant either thickness or “sheet resistance,” the material’s resistance per unit area, while varying the other parameter; they then measured the ensuing changes in critical temperature. A clear pattern emerged: Thickness times critical temperature equaled a constant — call it A — divided by sheet resistance raised to a particular power — call it B.
After deriving that formula, Ivry checked it against other results reported in the superconductor literature. His initial excitement evaporated, however, with the first outside paper he consulted. Though most of the results it reported fit his formula perfectly, two of them were dramatically awry. Then a colleague who was familiar with the paper pointed out that its authors had acknowledged in a footnote that those two measurements might reflect experimental error: When building their test device, the researchers had forgotten to turn on one of the gases they used to deposit their films.
Broadening the scope
The other niobium nitride papers Ivry consulted bore out his predictions, so he began to expand to other superconductors. Each new material he investigated required him to adjust the formula’s constants — A and B. But the general form of the equation held across results reported for roughly three dozen different superconductors.
It wasn’t necessarily surprising that each superconductor should have its own associated constant, but Ivry and Berggren weren’t happy that their equation required two of them. When Ivry graphed A against B for all the materials he’d investigated, however, the results fell on a straight line.
Finding a direct relationship between the constants allowed him to rely on only one of them in the general form of his equation. But perhaps more interestingly, the materials at either end of the line had distinct physical properties. Those at the top had highly disordered — or, technically, “amorphous” — crystalline structures; those at the bottom were more orderly, or “granular.” So Ivry’s initial attempt to banish an inelegance in his equation may already provide some insight into the physics of superconductors at small scales.
“None of the admitted theory up to now explains with such a broad class of materials the relation of critical temperature with sheet resistance and thickness,” says Claude Chapelier, a superconductivity researcher at France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission. “There are several models that do not predict the same things.”
Chapelier says he would like to see a theoretical explanation for that relationship. But in the meantime, “this is very convenient for technical applications,” he says, “because there is a lot of spreading of the results, and nobody knows whether they will get good films for superconducting devices. By putting a material into this law, you know already whether it’s a good superconducting film or not.” | | 4:00p |
How information moves between cultures By analyzing data on multilingual Twitter users and Wikipedia editors and on 30 years’ worth of book translations in 150 countries, researchers at MIT, Harvard University, Northeastern University, and Aix Marseille University have developed network maps that they say represent the strength of the cultural connections between speakers of different languages.
This week, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they show that a language’s centrality in their network — as defined by both the number and the strength of its connections — better predicts the global fame of its speakers than either the population or the wealth of the countries in which it is spoken.
“The network of languages that are being translated is an aggregation of the social network of the planet,” says Cesar Hidalgo, the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation Career Development Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences and senior author on the paper. “Not everybody shares a language with everyone else, and therefore the global social network is structured through these circuitous paths in which people in some language groups are by definition way more central than others. That gives them a disproportionate power and responsibility. On the one hand, they have a much easier time disseminating the content that they produce. On the other hand, as information flows through people, it gets colored by the ideas and the biases that those people have.”
Plotting polyglots
Hidalgo and his students Shahar Ronen — first author on the new paper — and Kevin Hu, together with Harvard’s Steven Pinker, Bruno Gonçalves of Aix Marseille University, and Alessandro Vespignani of Northeastern, included a given Twitter user in their data set if he or she had at least three sentence-long tweets in a language other than his or her primary language. That left them with 17 million of Twitter’s roughly 280 million users. They had similar thresholds for Wikipedia users who had edited entries in more than one language, which gave them a data set of 2.2 million Wikipedia editors.
In both cases, the strength of the connection between any two languages was determined by the number of users who had demonstrated facility with both of them.
The translation data came from UNESCO’s Index Translationum, which catalogues 2.2 million book translations, in more than 1,000 languages, published between 1979 and 2011. There, the strength of the connection between two languages was determined by the number of translations between them.
The researchers also used two different definitions of global fame. One was the measure that Hidalgo’s group had used in its earlier Pantheon project, which also looked at global cultural production. Pantheon had identified everyone with (at the time) Wikipedia entries in at least 26 languages — 11,340 people in all.
The other fame measure was inclusion among the 4,002 people profiled in the book “Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800 BC to 1950,” by the American political scientist Charles Murray. Murray’s list was based on the frequency with which people’s names were mentioned in 167 reference texts — encyclopedias and historical surveys — published worldwide.
Relative correlatives
There were, naturally, differences between the networks produced from the separate data sets and their correlations with the two fame measures. For instance, in the network produced from Wikipedia data, German is much more central than Spanish; in the Twitter network, the opposite is true.
Similarly, the network produced from UNESCO’s translation data correlated better with Murray’s fame index, which, as the subtitle of his book indicates, concentrated on science and the arts. The Wikipedia and Twitter networks correlated better with the Pantheon index, which included many more pop-culture figures.
But with both fame measures, at least one of the networks, taken in isolation, provided better correlation than the number of speakers of a language and the GDPs of the countries in which it is spoken. And when the networks were combined with population and income data, the correlations were higher still.
“We have to be very clear about what we’re talking about,” Hidalgo says. “This paper is not about global languages. All three networks are representative of elites. But those elites are the ones that drive the transfer of information across cultures.”
"This thought-provoking paper expands the intersection between big-data network science and linguistics," writes Kenneth Wachter, a professor of demography and statistics at the University of California at Berkeley. "It offers reproducible criteria for a language to serve as a global hub and is likely to stimulate many alternative perspectives." |
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