Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology

A photo of gloved hands holding a small square dish containing a blue substance lit from behind.

Superstain for SDS-PAGE gels. (Photo courtesy of LianaAn on Flickr.)


Founded more than 30 years ago, HST is one of the oldest and largest biomedical engineering and physician-scientist training programs in the United States and the longest-standing collaboration between Harvard and MIT.

From the beginning, HST pioneered a new way of thinking about the very processes that govern life and disease, breaking down barriers that impede interdisciplinary education and collaborative research and creating an environment that brings innovation from the laboratory bench to the bedside, and clinical insight from the bedside to the bench.

HST students work with eminent faculty from throughout the Harvard and MIT communities; and are trained to have a deep understanding of engineering, physical sciences and the biological sciences, complemented with hands-on experience in the clinic or industry. Students become conversant with the underlying quantitative and molecular aspects of medicine and biomedical science.

HST's research enterprise leverages the extraordinary resources of Harvard and MIT, as well as those of its affiliated teaching hospitals and research centers, to train scientists who are committed to exploring the fundamental principles underlying health and diseases, and who are seeking new pharmaceuticals and devices to alleviate human suffering.

HST's research initiatives build on interdisciplinary areas that focus on advancing improvements in human health. HST has three targeted focus areas:

  • Biomedical Imaging
  • Biomedical Informatics and Integrative Biology
  • Regenerative and Functional Biomedical Technologies

Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology Courses

Course # Course Title Level
HST.410J Projects in Microscale Engineering for the Life Sciences Undergraduate
HST.422J A Clinical Approach to the Human Brain Undergraduate
HST.541J Quantitative Physiology: Cells and Tissues Undergraduate
HST.542J Quantitative Physiology: Organ Transport Systems Undergraduate
HST.021 Musculoskeletal Pathophysiology Graduate
HST.035 Principle and Practice of Human Pathology Graduate
HST.071 Human Reproductive Biology Graduate
HST.121 Gastroenterology Graduate
HST.131 Introduction to Neuroscience Graduate
HST.151 Principles of Pharmacology Graduate
HST.161 Molecular Biology and Genetics in Modern Medicine Graduate
HST.176 Cellular and Molecular Immunology Graduate
HST.452J Statistical Physics in Biology Graduate
HST.502 Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series: Topics in Medical Ethics and Responsible Conduct in Research (Fall 2005) Graduate
HST.502 Survival Skills for Researchers: The Responsible Conduct of Research Graduate
HST.506J Foundations of Computational and Systems Biology Graduate
HST.507 Computational Biology Graduate
HST.508 Quantitative Genomics Graduate
HST.508 Genomics and Computational Biology Graduate
HST.510 Genomics, Computing, Economics, and Society Graduate
HST.512 Genomic Medicine Graduate
HST.514J Sensory-Neural Systems: Spatial Orientation from End Organs to Behavior and Adaptation Graduate
HST.515J Aerospace Biomedical and Life Support Engineering Graduate
HST.522J Biomaterials-Tissue Interactions Graduate
HST.523J Cell-Matrix Mechanics Graduate
HST.524J Design of Medical Devices and Implants Graduate
HST.525J Tumor Pathophysiology and Transport Phenomena Graduate
HST.535 Principles and Practice of Tissue Engineering Graduate
HST.560J Principles of Radiation Interactions Graduate
HST.561J Noninvasive Imaging in Biology and Medicine Graduate
HST.582J Biomedical Signal and Image Processing Graduate
HST.583 Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Data Acquisition and Analysis Graduate
HST.584J Magnetic Resonance Analytic, Biochemical, and Imaging Techniques Graduate
HST.590 Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series: Developing Professional Skills Graduate
HST.590 Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series: Topics in Medical Ethics and Responsible Conduct in Research (Fall 2005) Graduate
HST.710J Speech Communication Graduate
HST.712J Laboratory on the Physiology, Acoustics, and Perception of Speech Graduate
HST.714J Acoustics of Speech and Hearing Graduate
HST.720 Physiology of the Ear Graduate
HST.721 The Peripheral Auditory System Graduate
HST.722J Brain Mechanisms for Hearing and Speech Graduate
HST.723J Neural Coding and Perception of Sound Graduate
HST.725 Music Perception and Cognition Graduate
HST.727J The Lexicon and Its Features Graduate
HST.730 Molecular Biology for the Auditory System Graduate
HST.750 Modeling Issues in Speech and Hearing Graduate
HST.920J Principles and Practice of Drug Development Graduate
HST.921 Information Technology in the Health Care System of the Future (Spring 2009) Graduate
HST.922 Information Technology in the Health Care System of the Future (Spring 2009) Graduate
HST.926J Seminar on Health Care Systems Innovation Graduate
HST.930J Social Studies of Bioscience and Biotech Graduate
HST.934J Introduction to Global Medicine: Bioscience, Technologies, Disparities, Strategies Graduate
HST.935 Narrative Ethics: Literary Texts and Moral Issues in Medicine Graduate
HST.939 Designing and Sustaining Technology Innovation for Global Health Practice Graduate
HST.947 Medical Artificial Intelligence Graduate
HST.949J Computational Evolutionary Biology Graduate
HST.950J Biomedical Computing Graduate
HST.950J Medical Computing Graduate
HST.951J Medical Decision Support (Fall 2005) Graduate
HST.951J Medical Decision Support (Spring 2003) Graduate
HST.952 Computing for Biomedical Scientists Graduate
HST.958J Biomedical Information Technology Graduate
HST.S14 Health Information Systems to Improve Quality of Care in Resource-Poor Settings Graduate

Archived Health Sciences and Technology Courses

Some prior versions of courses listed above have been archived in OCW's DSpace@MIT repository for long-term access and preservation. Links to archived prior versions of a course may be found on that course's "Other Versions" tab.

Additionally, the Archived Health Sciences and Technology Courses page has links to every archived course from this department.