Alumni Spotlights

Jeff Behrens, course director for HST 590, has founded a few start-ups in his time, and has also studied the obstacles to starting and funding successful biotech companies as part of his doctoral research. “In tech, it is common for first-time entrepreneurs to launch companies and raise significant capital; however, in life sciences this is much more rare,” he says. “And I wanted to learn, why is that?”

Mark D. Price’s colleagues will tell you that he is a top-notch guy—a stellar student who earned both MD and Ph.D. degrees from the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program (HST) and an all-around fascinating human being who is a Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves, received the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in combat operations in Afghanistan, and in the past year became the Head Team Physician and Medical Director for the New England Patriots.

If you ask Caroline Boudoux what influenced her most during her time as an HST student, she says her most meaningful takeaway was the importance of finding the right mentors. She emphasizes that multiple mentors are needed for different aspects of life. “You can’t expect one person to have all of the experiences that you need for your life.”

Towards the end of Biju Parekkadan’s tenure in HST’s Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) PhD program, he received a wake-up call. He had traveled to India to observe medical practices and the healthcare system as a whole. During the visit, he presented his latest research about using cell therapy to reverse acute liver injury.

A local doctor asked, “When can I use this?” Parekkadan had no answer. “I realized there was more I could do to advance this technology. I was leaving a lot on the table.”

Meet Nina Menezes. Currently the Associate Director of Healthcare Strategy at Becton Dickinson (BD)—a global medical technology company that seeks to advance healthcare by improving medical discovery, diagnostics, and delivery of care—she admits that pursuing a medical career was never her dream. But with strong influences in her family and her own thoughtful consideration of the viability of such a career, she entered university intending to study medicine.