Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology

What Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology does

Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) is an academic educational program jointly operated by Harvard Medical School and MIT, established in approximately 1970. The program trains clinician-scientists and engineers who translate research from science, engineering, and medicine into clinical practice. HST operates across two physical locations: the MIT campus at 77 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, MA (housed within the MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, IMES), and Harvard Medical School at 260 Longwood Avenue in Boston, MA (Irving M. London Society). It offers three primary academic tracks: an MD program (conferred through Harvard Medical School), the Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) PhD program (conferred through MIT), the Certificate of Graduate Education and Medical Sciences, and the HST-Wellman Summer Institute for Biomedical Optics. Specialized graduate courses cover biomedical ethics, high-throughput drug discovery, biopharma research experience, and tumor microenvironment.

HST's go-to-market is a highly selective admissions process targeting top-tier pre-medical and pre-science students interested in combined MD-PhD or research-intensive PhD training. Clinical training is delivered through Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals including Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's, Beth Israel Deaconess, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Boston Children's Hospital. Research training occurs in MIT laboratories and partner institutes such as the Ragon Institute, Broad Institute, and Wellman Center for Photomedicine. HST does not sell commercial products or generate commercial revenue; tuition flows to Harvard Medical School and MIT individually, while research is supported by grants from NIH, the Ragon Institute, the Jeffrey Modell Foundation, and the Mark and Lisa Schwartz AI/ML Initiative.

HST's output is best characterized as a talent and research pipeline. The Class of 2026 produced 54 clinician-scientists (31 MDs, 22 MEMP PhDs, 1 Certificate). Notable recent research outputs include the MUNIS machine-learning tool for T-cell epitope prediction in vaccine development, machine-learning methods for cancer dependency prediction, deep-learning algorithms for ultrasound and EEG analysis, and polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) intravascular imaging innovations (SIPS-OCT, CapSeg, DepOFDI). Students have published in Cell, Nature Communications, and other leading journals, and alumni hold leadership positions at Dana-Farber, MGH, Broad Institute, and Mass General Brigham. The program is led by Collin M. Stultz (Co-director) and Alex K. Shalek (Director, IMES), with associate directors covering admissions, clinical learning, MD advising, and education.

Name

Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology

Legal name

Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology

Website

https://hst.mit.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology is a joint Harvard-MIT academic program established ~1970 that trains clinician-scientists through MD, MEMP PhD, and biomedical optics tracks, combining Harvard Medical School clinical training with MIT research labs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Hispanic-Serving Community Colleges (HSIs) (EDAHADAJ)

Keywords

• Medical education programs
• MD-PhD training
• Biomedical engineering degree
• Physician-scientist training
• Health sciences research

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: HST operates as a joint Harvard-MIT educational program. Students pay tuition to their respective institutions (Harvard Medical School for MD students, MIT for PhD students). Funding for research is obtained through grants and fellowships.
2. Research Funding and Grants: Faculty and students obtain research funding from various sources including NIH, foundations (Ragon Institute, Jeffrey Modell Foundation, Mark and Lisa Schwartz AI/ML Initiative), and government agencies for biomedical research.
3. Fellowship Programs: Students receive fellowship support including Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships providing up to $90,000 in tuition and stipend support for graduate studies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) is a joint academic educational program between Harvard Medical School and MIT that trains clinician-scientists and engineers. It offers an MD program, a Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) PhD program, and the HST-Wellman Summer Institute for Biomedical Optics, preparing students to translate research findings at the intersection of science, engineering, and medicine into clinical practice.

Product overview

Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) is an academic educational program, not a commercial product company. HST offers a unified platform of educational programs including the MD Program, the Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) PhD Program, and the HST-Wellman Summer Institute for Biomedical Optics. These programs are complemented by specialized courses covering biomedical ethics, drug discovery, and tumor microenvironment research. The program empowers future pioneers in human health by integrating science, engineering, and medicine education to translate research into clinical practice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MD Program: Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology MD Program for training physician-scientists
• MEMP PhD Program
• HST-Wellman Summer Institute for Biomedical Optics
• TWiHST Newsletter

Products and services

• MD Program Medical degree program training future clinician-scientists to translate research findings into clinical practice, offered through Harvard Medical School with clinical rotations at Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals.
• Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) PhD Program Doctoral program focusing on engineering and physics applications in medicine, producing physician-scientists and engineers through research training in MIT laboratories.
• HST-Wellman Summer Institute for Biomedical Optics Summer program providing intensive training in biomedical optics research and applications for students and researchers.
• Critical Issues in Tumor Microenvironment Course Annual CME course covering angiogenesis, metastasis, immunology, metabolism, microbiome, CAR T-cell therapies, and AI in oncology.
• 7.930/20.930/CSB.930 Research Experience in Biopharma Graduate course offering mentored projects in pharmaceutical industry settings with weekly guest lectures.
• 10.584 High-Throughput Platforms for Drug Discovery Graduate course covering fundamentals and applications of high-throughput systems for drug discovery including single-cell genomics, protein display, and robotics.
• HST.978 Healthcare Ventures Graduate Course Graduate course on healthcare ventures providing entrepreneurial training within the HST curriculum.

Quantifiable outcome

• 55+ years of continuous operation as a premier MD-PhD training program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Harvard Medical SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarvard Medical School is the co-institutional partner in the HST program, providing MD training, clinical training sites at Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals, and HMS faculty for instruction and research mentorship.
• MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMES serves as HST's home at MIT, providing administrative infrastructure, PhD training through the MEMP program, and research laboratory facilities for HST students and faculty.
• Mass General Hospital (MGH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMGH is a primary clinical training site for HST students, providing clinical rotations, research opportunities, and faculty mentorship. Home to the Wellman Center for Photomedicine where many HST researchers conduct work.
• Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and HarvardmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-institutional research institute focused on immunology and infectious diseases. HST students and faculty collaborate on research projects including vaccine development. Houses the PRISM outreach program.
• Broad Institute of Harvard and MITmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch institute where HST alumni and faculty hold institute memberships and conduct genomics and biomedical research.
• Harvard-affiliated Teaching HospitalscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of teaching hospitals including Brigham and Women's, Beth Israel Deaconess, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children's Hospital providing clinical training for HST MD students.
• Wellman Center for Photomedicine (MGH)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch center focused on biomedical optics and photonics. Key site for HST MEMP PhD research including work on PS-OCT imaging and other optical technologies.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Stanford Medical Scientist Training Program: Stanford's MD-PhD program is a top-tier competitor to HST, especially in the medical engineering and AI/ML for medicine domains where Stanford has built a strong reputation. Both programs emphasize interdisciplinary training at the intersection of medicine and technology.
• Perelman School of Medicine MD-PhD Program (Penn MSTP): University of Pennsylvania's MD-PhD program is a leading NIH-funded MSTP and a direct competitor to HST for pre-medical and biomedical engineering students. Both programs are recognized for producing physician-scientists across a wide range of disciplines.
• Duke Medical Scientist Training Program: Duke's MD-PhD program is a leading NIH-funded MSTP that competes with HST for top-tier applicants. Both programs emphasize rigorous research training combined with clinical excellence.
• UCSF Medical Scientist Training Program: UCSF's MD-PhD program is a leading NIH-funded MSTP on the West Coast, competing for clinician-scientist candidates globally. Both programs aim to train physician-scientists who can translate research into clinical practice.
• Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan Kettering Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program: The Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program in New York is a direct competitor to HST, particularly in the medical engineering and biomedical research spaces. It combines Weill Cornell Medical College, Rockefeller University, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
• Columbia University MD-PhD Program: Columbia's MD-PhD program offers NIH-funded physician-scientist training in New York City and competes directly with HST for high-caliber applicants interested in biomedical research combined with clinical practice.
• Johns Hopkins Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP): Johns Hopkins' NIH-funded MD-PhD program is one of the oldest and most prestigious MSTPs in the U.S., directly competing with HST for top-tier applicants seeking dual physician-scientist training. Both programs emphasize rigorous research combined with clinical training at top teaching hospitals.

Regional players

• MIT Department of Biological Engineering: MIT's standalone Department of Biological Engineering competes with HST's MEMP PhD program for engineering-minded PhD students interested in biomedical research. Both are housed at MIT and share faculty/research infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Vanderbilt Medical Scientist Training Program: Vanderbilt's MD-PhD program is a fast-growing NIH-funded MSTP that competes with HST for clinician-scientist candidates. Both programs train physician-scientists across multiple disciplines.
• Washington University in St. Louis MSTP: Washington University's MD-PhD program is a leading NIH-funded MSTP that competes with HST for top-tier applicants seeking biomedical research training. Both programs emphasize translational research and clinical excellence.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mit_hst
• Facebookfacebook.com/Harvard-MIT-Health-Sciences-and-Technology-HST-100426975783259
• Instagraminstagram.com/mitpics/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology