Harvard Medical School (HMS)

Since the School was established in 1782, faculty members have improved human health by innovating in their roles as physicians, mentors and scholars. They’ve piloted educational models, developed new curricula to address emerging needs in health care, and produced thousands of leaders and compassionate caregivers who are shaping the fields of science and medicine throughout the world with their expertise and passion.

Our Mission

To nurture a diverse, inclusive community dedicated to alleviating suffering and improving health and well-being for all through excellence in teaching and learning, discovery and scholarship, and service and leadership.

Members of the Harvard Medical School community have also excelled in the research arena. Faculty members have been making paradigm-shifting discoveries and achieving “firsts” since 1799, when HMS Professor Benjamin Waterhouse introduced the smallpox vaccine to the United States. Their accomplishments are recognized internationally, and, in fact, 15 researchers have shared in nine Nobel prizes for work completed while at the School.

The Faculty of Medicine includes more than 11,000 individuals working to advance the boundaries of knowledge in labs, classrooms and clinics. The School’s main quadrangle in Boston houses nearly 200 tenured and tenure-track faculty members in basic and social science departments as well as in classrooms where students spend their first two years of medical school.