Our History

Please enjoy browsing the HST Photo Collection on Flickr.  Also, we're excited to share composite photos from the first decade of HST cohorts, with later years on Flickr: 
1971 MD Incoming Class
1972 MD Incoming Class
1973 MD Incoming Class
1974 MD Incoming Class
1975 MD Incoming Class
1976 MD Incoming Class
1977 MD Incoming Class
1978 MD & MEMP Incoming Class
1979 MD & MEMP Incoming Class
1980 MD Incoming Class
MEMP students enrolled as of 1985

• This slide show was developed as part of HST’s 55th Anniversary Celebration. It includes images from throughout HST’s history and was first shown during a gala dinner at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 11/8/2025.
• HST 55th Anniversary - Remarks by Richard J. Cohen, MD, PhD from the November 8, 2025 celebration dinner at the MFA, reflecting on the 1st HST MD class entering in 1970, of which Dr. Cohen was a member.
• Dr. Irving London's remarks at the event to celebrate the hanging of his portrait in the lobby of MIT building E25, 10/06/2006.  
• HST.010: Human Anatomy - We're delighted to share these lectures given by the legendary Professor Farish Jenkins.
  • Introduction to Head and Neck, 11/03/2000 - Please drop us a note at hst-history [at] mit.edu (hst-history[at]mit[dot]edu) if you have any information about the unexpected slides that unnerve Professor Jenkins during minute 7 of this recording.
  • Review of the Cranial Nerves, 12/01/2000
  • Introduction to the Extremities, 09/19/2001 - This lecture opens with Professor Jenkins quoting from Leonardo da Vinci
  • Introduction to Human Gait, 10/10/2001 - Tune in at 1:02:25 to hear Professor Jenkins speak about Giovanni Alfonso Borelli and other pioneers in human biomechanics.
  • Review of the Cranial Nerves, 11/30/2001 - This was Professor Jenkins's last HST.010 lecture before retirement.  Start watching at 57:30 to hear his final words and see how students expressed their appreciation.
• HST Graduation Celebrations
  • 2020 - You won't want to miss Justin Rice's (HST MD '20) extremely entertaining address to his classmates.
  • 2021
• HST Community Awards
  • 2020
  • 2021
  • 2022
• Pandemic-era materials for prospective students
  • Why HST?
  • Virtual lab tours 

For more than two decades, HST printed a paper newsletter that was mailed to all alumni, students, faculty and staff.  Now we publish This Week in HST (TWiHST), a weekly e-newsletter for the community.

Summer 1988 
Fall 1988 
Summer 1989 
Fall/Winter 1989-1990
Spring/Summer 1990
Fall/Winter 1990-1991
Spring/Summer 1991
Spring/Summer 1994
Fall/Winter 1994
Spring/Summer 1995
Fall/Winter 1995-1996
Spring/Summer 1996
Fall/Winter 1996-1997
Summer 1997
Winter 1998
June 1998
Winter 1999
June 1999
November 1999
March 2000
June 2000
September 2000
January 2001
March 2001
June 2001
September 2001
January 2002
Spring 2002
Fall 2002
Winter 2002-2003
Winter 2002-2003 insert
Spring 2003
Summer 2003
Fall 2003
Winter 2003-2004
Spring 2004
Summer 2004
Fall 2004
Winter 2004-2005
Spring 2005
Summer 2005
Fall 2005
Winter 2005-2006
Summer 2006
Summer 2008
Spring 2009

Notable News Items and Publications

London to Direct Whitaker College, MIT Tech Talk, May 10, 1978

Partners Across the River, HMS Alumni Bulletin, Summer 1978

Training PhD researchers to translate science to clinical medicine: Closing the gap from the other side, ML Gray and JV Bonventre, Nature Medicine 8(5), May 2002

List of HST Directors, plus related news items 

Irving London (HMS/MIT): 1970-1985

• HST society renamed for founding director Irving London
• Remembering Dr. Irving M. London, Founding Director of the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program

Richard Kitz (HMS): 1985-1990

• Dr. Richard J. Kitz, former HST co-director and anesthetist, dies at 88

Roger Mark (MIT): 1985-1995

• Faculty Profile: Right on the Mark (from Spring 2004 HST Newsletter)

Walter Abelmann (HMS, interim): 1990-1992

• Walter H Abelmann (1921-2011)

Michael Rosenblatt (HMS): 1992-1998

Martha Gray (MIT): 1995-2008

• HST Director Martha Gray steps down

Lee Gehrke (MIT, interim): 2008-2009

Joseph Bonventre (HMS): 1998-2007

• Bonventre named co-director of Harvard-MIT HST Program
• HST Director Joe Bonventre to Step Down

David Cohen (HMS): 2007-2016

• David Cohen Named HST Co-Director
• David Cohen steps down as HST Director

Ram Sasisekaran (MIT): 2009-2012

Wolfram Goessling (HMS): 2016-2025

• Wolfram Goessling welcomed as new HST Director

Emery Brown (MIT): 2012-2022

• HST Fall Dinner honors Emery N. Brown

Collin Stultz (MIT): 2022-date  

• Professor Collin M. Stultz named co-director of HST
• New Harvard-MIT HST Co-Director

Collin Stultz (HMS, interim): 2025-date