Mass General Brigham ‘Research Wrapped’ for 2024

Dec 30, 2024

4 minute read

Research

Collage of photos of cell scans, brain scans,and researchers in the lab.

Highlighting a year of research milestones from across the system

In 2024, Mass General Brigham investigators led the way in research advancements and discoveries.

Experts from across our academic medical centers and specialty hospitals played key roles in many of the biggest medical news stories of 2024. With over 85 Highly Cited Researchers™, publications from this year, especially in basic and foundational research, may lay the groundwork for breakthroughs in the decades ahead.

Check out some highlights of the Year in Research below.

21,500+ scientific papers

published throughout the year.

$2.66 billion

in research operations funding.

737 patents received

for new innovations in research.

In the news

National Geographic: ‘Weekend Warrior’ Physical Activity May Help Protect Against More Than 200 Diseases

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital found that as little as one to two days of exercise a week may reduce disease risk.
New York Times: Higher Brain Care Score Found to Improve Brain Health Regardless of Genetic Risk

A tool created by Mass General Brigham researchers can help individuals assess and improve their brain health over time.
CNN: Experimental gene therapy restores some vision in patients with inherited blindness

Researchers from Mass Eye and Ear used CRISPR gene editing to restore vision in patients with a genetic form of blindness.
USA Today: High doses of Adderall linked to this rare mental health risk: What to know

A McLean-led research team found a heightened risk of psychosis associated with higher doses of ADHD medications.
TODAY: A beginner’s guide to the Mediterranean diet — what to eat and what to avoid

Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers found that women who followed the Mediterranean diet had a lower risk of death over 25 years.
ABC News: Children with genetic deafness have hearing restored with gene therapy

A clinical trial led by Mass Eye and Ear investigators used a gene therapy to restore hearing to children.

The year in photos

March 13, 2024: Members of the Mass General Cancer Center INCIPIENT team that conducted the first trial of CAR-T therapy for glioblastoma at Mass General Brigham.

Six members of the INCIPIENT Team, two in lab coats, in front of a museum exhibit about cancer treatment.

June 20, 2024: Yakeel Quiroz, PhD (left), shown here working with research participant from a large Colombian family with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease, helped to identify a gene variant that can stave off early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Three women posing beside an MRI machine, with one woman sitting on the MRI bed.

July 24, 2024: Julia Hum, a Mass General Brigham patient, received an innovative course of treatment with deep brain stimulation, which helped her overcome a near decade-long fight with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

A young girl in a blue shirt that says OCD Walk, standing beside a banner for the OCD Walk.

September 28, 2024: The Massachusetts Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (MADRC) celebrated 40 years of research.

People in evening clothes pose on a grand staircase in front of a huge window at Harvard.

December 5, 2024: Susan Slaugenhaupt, PhD, accepts the Fierce Biotech Fierce 50 award on behalf of the Mass General Research Institute.

Two women in evening clothes pose with their Fierce 50 trophy.

A bowing man presents the Nobel Prize to a second man as the audience gives a standing ovation.

December 11, 2024: Hadine Joffe, MD, MSc (second from right), executive director of the Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women’s Healthy and Gender Biology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and others at the first-ever White House Conference on Women’s Health Research.

Five women posing in fromt of a doorway that's decorated for Christmas, with a presidential flag beside them and a stunning pink merry-go-round made of glass ornaments in the room behind them.

float tank
cryo pod
red light bed