MEMP PhD students enrolled through MIT can work in the labs of any Harvard or MIT faculty member, including those at the many local institutions affiliated with Harvard and with MIT. 

Current areas of thesis research

Students gain foundational knowledge from their chosen MEMP concentration area and the rest of their academic training, developing the rigorous engineering and quantitative skills needed to address pressing challenges in human health and medicine. 

Guided by their faculty advisors, students apply this expertise to original thesis research spanning a broad and interdisciplinary range of fields include the following:

Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Biomedical Research

Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Biomedical Research encompasses machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and related computational techniques that analyze health-related data to augment human decision-making across clinical care, biomedical research, and population health. The HST graduate program (MEMP) trains scholars who are interested in developing next generation tools that address unmet needs in medicine, rather than simply straightforward applications of existing deep learning models. 

Biomedical imaging, signal processing, and inference 

Biomedical imaging, signal processing, and inference encompasses the acquisition, processing, and analysis of medical images and biological signals to reveal the structure, function, and pathology of tissues and organ systems, supporting both clinical decision-making and biomedical discovery.

Biophysics and Fluid Physics

Biophysics is the application of physical principles and methods to understand biological systems across molecular, cellular, microorganisms, tissue, organ, and organismal scales. Fluid dynamics is the branch of physics that studies the motion of liquids and gases and the forces that govern their behavior.  Applications of fluid physics dynamics in biomedicine include the study of fluid flow and transport phenomena with respect to blood circulation, airflow in the lungs, cerebrospinal fluid motion, and the movement of biological fluids through tissues and medical devices, and the environment, and how such movement or phase change shifts the biophysics and transport and response of elements, cells/microorganisms, or infectious pathogens.

Extreme Environments and Space Medicine 

Extreme Environments and Space Medicine is devoted to understanding the effects of extreme terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments on human physiology, health, and performance, and to developing the diagnostics, technologies, and medical countermeasures needed to enable safe exploration while advancing knowledge of human biology and disease.

Immunobiology and Infectious Diseases

Immunobiology and Infectious Diseases is devoted to understanding the immune system, infectious pathogens, and their interactions to elucidate the mechanisms of health and disease, and to develop innovative diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics, and prevention strategies that improve human health.

Medical Devices and Healthcare Technology

Medical Devices and Healthcare Technology is devoted to the development, evaluation, and translation of innovative medical devices and healthcare technologies that improve the prevention, diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of disease, advancing patient care and transforming healthcare delivery.

Neuroscience and Neuroengineering

Neuroscience and Neuroengineering is devoted to understanding the structure, function, and disorders of the nervous system, and to developing innovative technologies, computational methods, and therapeutic interventions that advance the diagnosis, treatment, and restoration of neurological health.

Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering

Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering is devoted to understanding the mechanisms of tissue development, repair, and regeneration, and to developing innovative biomaterials, engineered tissues, and regenerative therapies that restore the structure and function of damaged cells, tissues, and organs.