The annual fall retreat, organized by the program students and staff, is the most important collegial activity of the academic year. First held in 1983, this retreat takes place at a local New England conference center. HMS sponsors the retreat, with financial assistance from industry donors. Faculty members active on program committees are also invited. The retreat is highly interactive. The program varies from year to year, but usually includes oral presentations and posters by students about their thesis research, and discussions about postgraduate training and career choices. In addition, a prominent physician-scientist is invited to give a keynote lecture, named for Eva Neer, M.D., a strong faculty supporter of the program who died of breast cancer in 2000.

The 2025 MD-PhD Retreat will be held on September 26th-28th

The Eva Neer Memorial Lecture will be delivered by

Wendy K. Chung, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital
Mary Ellen Avery Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

 

 

 

The 42nd Retreat was held on

September 27-29, 2024

The Eva Neer Memorial Lecture was delivered by

Kerry Ressler, M.D., Ph.D.

"Translating the Neuroscience of Fear and PTSD: From Cells to Communities"

Lat year's lecture was delivered by Dr. Kerry Ressler, Chief Scientific Officer and James and Patricia Poitras Chair in Psychiatry at McLean Hospital and Professor at Harvard Medical School.  A 1997 graduate of our program, he is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, former HHMI Investigator, and a national leader in academic Psychiatry.  His work focuses on translating neuroscience and genetics underlying fear and threat towards novel approaches to treatment and prevention of PTSD and other stress disorders.