By the time you read this our 39th reunion (a.k.a. our 40th) will have come and gone and the best news of all is that I will have gotten at least a year’s worth of material to write about—lots of updates, sightings and of course stories to share. So stay tuned for that.


From the mailbag via our own Dave Cook comes news that Richard Lifton just was awarded one of the most prestigious awards in medicine. As reported by the Yale School of Medicine, Richard who is the chair and Sterling Professor of Genetics and professor of medicine “was among six scientists awarded the Life Sciences Prize by the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Foundation on December 12. The prize, which carries an award of $3 million, honors Lifton’s breakthrough work in genetics. Lifton, a Howard Hughes Medical investigator, uses genetic approaches to identify the genes and pathways that contribute to common human diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular, renal and bone disease. The prize also recognizes his pioneering work in identifying the genetic and biochemical underpinnings of high blood pressure, which affects more than 1 billion people worldwide and is the most prevalent risk factor for heart attacks, heart failure and stroke.” The prize is funded by Sergey Brin of Google and his wife, Steve Wojcicki, Jack Ma, Yuri Milner and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It’s an amazing accomplishment, to say the least.


Well that’s all for now. If we don’t see you at reunion, do let us know what you’re up to. Enjoy the rest of the summer; fall will be here soon enough. Nanc sends her best, as do I.


—Jim Bildner, 5 Boardman Ave., Manchester, MA 01944; (617) 495-6513; jim_bildner@harvard.edu