​Hollis L. Albright, MD ’31 Symposium

George Q. Daley is the dean of Harvard Medical School. A world-renowned physician-scientist and educator, his achievements span basic science, translational research, and clinical medicine. Daley’s work is at the forefront of stem cell science and cancer biology, and his discoveries have twice been cited in Science’s Top 10 Breakthroughs of the Year. His research paved the way for Gleevec, a “magic bullet” drug for chronic myeloid leukemia; generated stem cell models for more than a dozen human diseases; and advanced our understanding of tissue regeneration and bone marrow transplantation therapies. He has also been a central force in establishing international guidelines for the conduct of stem cell research. Daley earned his AB and MD degrees from Harvard and a PhD in biology from MIT, and has worked as a trainee, fellow, and staff physician at several HMS-affiliated hospitals.

Marinka Zitnik is an associate professor in Harvard Medical School’s Department of Biomedical Informatics and an associate faculty member at the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University. She investigates the foundations of AI to enhance scientific discovery and facilitate individualized diagnosis and treatment in medicine.

Before joining Harvard, Zitnik was a postdoctoral scholar in computer science at Stanford University and a member of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub at Stanford. She received her bachelor’s degree with a double major in computer science and mathematics and, three years later, earned a PhD in computer science from the University of Ljubljana while also conducting research at Imperial College London, the University of Toronto, Baylor College of Medicine, and Stanford University.

Her research has received best paper and research awards from the International Society for Computational Biology, Bayer Early Excellence in Science Award, Amazon Faculty Research Award, Google Faculty Research Scholar Award, Roche Alliance with Distinguished Scientists Award, Sanofi iDEA-iTECH Award, Rising Star Award in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), and Next Generation Recognition in Biomedicine. Zitnik received the Kavli Fellowship from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Kaneb Fellowship Award at HMS. She also received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

Zitnik is an ELLIS Scholar in the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS) Society and a member of the Science Working Group at NASA Space Biology. She is also a 2025 member of the Senior Common Room at Leverett House at Harvard University.

Zitnik co-founded Therapeutics Data Commons and serves as the faculty lead for the AI4Science initiative. She is the recipient of the 2022 Young Mentor Award at HMS.

Besmira Alija was born in Albania and raised in New York City. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Hunter College, majoring in biological sciences and interdisciplinary studies. Prior to attending medical school, Alija spent four years conducting basic science research on the epigenetic mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia.

In 2022, she began her studies at Harvard Medical School, where she has continued a strong trajectory in research and clinical care. At Harvard, Alija has taken on several leadership roles, including involvement in the HOPE Scholars Program, the Medical Justice Alliance, the Massachusetts General Hospital Austen Surgical Society, and the HMS Surgical Education Committee. She is also a recipient of the Society of Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) Medical Student Research Grant, which has supported her research on postoperative outcomes in general surgery across different races and sexes. Alija is pursuing a career in general surgery, with a specific focus on surgical oncology, and aims to leverage her background in genomics and research on disparities to advance health equity in precision oncology.

Aparna Nair-Kanneganti is a fourth-year medical student in the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and a native of Cleveland and New York City. She holds a Bachelor of Science in applied physics from Yale, and her undergraduate work seeded an interest in the physics of soft biological systems. Funded by the Harvard Medical School Martin Prince Fellowship, Nair-Kanneganti investigates physics-based reconstruction for medical ultrasound images. She aims to deliver accurate images at minimal cost, enabling surgical planning for resource-deprived patients.

From 2021 to 2025, Nair-Kanneganti oversaw a portfolio of projects at the mission:BRAIN Foundation focused on surgical workforce and technology development in low-income settings. Most notably, she coordinated a successful partnership with Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health to launch the country's first neurosurgical service. At Harvard, Nair-Kanneganti has also organized for single-payer health care, COVID vaccine equity, and Palestinian health justice.

At present, Nair-Kanneganti co-chairs the HMS Austen Surgical Society and co-directs a free foot clinic for unhoused patients in respite care. She plans for a career at the nexus of global surgery and frugal medical device design.

2025: George Q. Daley, AB ’82, MD ’91, PhD, and Bernard S. Chang, AB ’93, MD, MMSc ’05
2024: Adeline Boatin, AB ’04, MPH ’09, MD, and Bethany Hedt-Gauthier, SM ’05, PhD ’08
2023: Vikram Patel, MBBS, MSc, PhD
2022: Robert Gentleman, PhD, and Mark Namchuk, PhD
2021: Shelly F. Greenfield, MD ’86, MPH
2020: Postponed
2019: Sharon K. Inouye, MD, MPH, and Bruce A. Yankner, MD, PhD
2018: Arlene H. Sharpe, AB ’75, AM ’76, PhD ’81, MD ’82, and Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD ’69
2017: David M. Altshuler, MD ’90, PhD ’90, and Laurie H. Glimcher, AB ’72, MD ’76
2016: Dennis A. Ausiello, AM ’67, MD, and Nancy E. Oriol, MD ’79
2015: Edward M. Hundert, MD ’84, and George Q. Daley, AB ’82, MD ’91, PhD
2013: Lewis C. Cantley, PhD and Peter K. Sorger, AB ’83, PhD
2012: Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD, and John A. Parrish, MD
2011: Eric S. Lander, PhD, and Vamsi K. Mootha, MD ’98
2010: Robert S. Langer Jr., PhD, ScD, and David T. Scadden, MD
2009: Edward J. Benz Jr., MD ’72, and Robert A. Weinberg, PhD
2008: Atul A. Gawande, MD ’94, MPH ’99, Tom J. Brady, MD, and John E. Abele
2007: Peter Libby, MD, and Michael B. Brenner, MD
2006: Judah M. Folkman, MD ’57, and Robert S. Langer Jr., PhD, ScD
2005: Edward M. Scolnick, MD ’65, and Todd R. Golub, MD
2004: George Q. Daley, AB ’82, MD ’91, PhD, David T. Scadden, MD, and Rudolf Jaenisch, MD
2003: Gary J. Nabel, MD ’79, PhD ’82
2002: Steven E. Hyman, MD ’80, and Carla J. Shatz, PhD ’76, MPhil
2001: Eric S. Lander, PhD, and Raju Kucherlapati, MD, PhD

2025: Marta Williams, MD ’25
2024: Tarika Srinivasan, MD ’25
2023: Colby Hyland, MD ’23, and Akash Premkumar, MD ’23
2022: Moustafa Abdalla, MD ’22
2021: Troy Amen, MD ’21, MBA ’21
2020: Selena Shi-Yao Li, AB ’15, MD ’20
2019: Samantha M. Landino , MD ’19
2018: Jennifer Bido, MPH ’17, MD ’18
2017: Irene Y. Zhang, MD ’17
2016: Derek S. Stenquist, MD ’16
2015: Shakina Elmore, MD ’14
2013: Sophia K. McKinley, AB ’06, EdM ’13, MD ’13
2012: Benedict U. Nwachukwu, MBA ’13, MD ’13
2011: Dayron Rodriguez, MD ’12, MPH ’12
2010: Regan Bergmark, MD ’11
2009: Carolyn Schook, MD ’11
2008: Theodore Nyame, MD ’09
2007: Eric Feins, MD ’08
2006: Sarah Psutka, AB ’03, MD ’07
2005: Dzifa Kpodzo, MD ’05, MPH ’06
2004: Elisabeth Tomlinson Tracy, AB ’99, MD ’05
2003: Coleen Sabatini, MD ’03, MPH ’04
2002: Jeffrey Edwards, MD ’03
2001: Melody Hou, MD ’03, MPH ’08