Scientific Director’s Office

Frederick W. Alt, Ph.D., serves as Scientific Director of the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Immune Disease Institute. In this position, he oversees research and training activities, and leads principal investigators in the establishment of institutional research goals. He also works closely with President Theodore M. Cronin and with the board of trustees on the Institute's strategic planning.

Alt is an internationally recognized leader in the fields of immunology and cancer biology. He has been a senior investigator at PCMM/IDI since 1991, and he is also the Charles A. Janeway Professor of Pediatrics, a Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Children’s Hospital Boston.

He is renowned for his path-breaking research into the vast intricacies of genetic repair systems and how breakdowns in those processes can lead to cancer. Alt's interest in medical research occurred in childhood, when his mother and father died of cancer by his 11th birthday. He decided then to devote his professional career to working on the disease.

Fred Alt has received numerous awards for his work in the areas of Cancer Biology and Immunology including election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, both in 1994. He serves on numerous editorial boards and is Editor in Chief of Advances in Immunology. He also serves on many national and international advisory boards and is a past chair of the Board of Scientific Councilors (basic) of the National Cancer Institute. In 2007, he was selected to receive i) the Novartis Prize for Basic Immunology along with his colleagues Klaus Rajewsky, M.D., (PCMM/IDI) and Fritz Melchers, Ph.D. (Max Planck- Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin), ii) the American Association of Immunologists American Academy of Immunologists-Huang Meritorious Career Award, and iii) the Alfred Knudson Award for pioneering contributions that have revolutionized the field of Cancer Genetics from the National Cancer Institute.

He has mentored over 100 students and research fellows, many of whom have become leaders in the fields of immunology, genetics, and cancer biology. In recognition of his training accomplishments, Alt received the 2003 American Association of Immunologists Excellence in Mentoring Award.

Chief Scientific Administrative Officer
Margaret K. Bradley, Ph.D., M.B.A.
200 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
p: 617.278.3237
f: 617.278.3131
brad...@idi.harvard.edu

Administrative Assistant to the Scientific Director’s Office
Zachary DiPasquale
200 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
p: p: 617.278.3226
f: 617.278.3131
dipa...@idi.harvard.edu