Brigham Research Institute (BRI) – Research, Discovery & Innovation Website

We are pleased to announce that as of October 1, 2016, Elizabeth (Lisa) Henske, MD, is the newest director of the Brigham Research Institute (BRI). Lisa has previously been co-director of the BRI and will serve as BRI Director for the next two years.

Lisa is best known for her groundbreaking discovery that mutations in the TSC2 gene cause the sporadic form of lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). This provided the foundation for pivotal clinical trials demonstrating the efficacy mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors for the treatment of LAM. Her laboratory has also discovered that autophagy plays a critical role in the pathogenesis and therapy of LAM, leading to an ongoing clinical trial called the “SAIL” trial: Sirolimus and Autophagy Inhibition in LAM.

Visit her laboratory website to learn more about her research.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 5PM, Cabot Atrium

The Brigham Research Institute (BRI) capped off a decade of supporting discovery and innovation last week with a celebration honoring its community and accomplishments. At a reception in Cabot Atrium on June 1, 2016, members of the research community gathered to share food and drink and hear remarks from the BRI’s past and current directors.

“The Brigham Research Institute was originally conceived of as an experiment. Today, it is a powerful force of collaboration.”
Thomas Kupper, MD, Chair, Department of Dermatology, Inaugural Director of the Brigham Research Institute

Kupper highlighted research funding programs, such as the Fund to Sustain Research Excellence (FSRE), which provides interim support to sustain research projects that are likely to receive federal funding in the future. Through the FSRE, the BRI has distributed more than $6 million to 95 investigators. In turn, award recipients have used that to attain more than $200 million in funding.

“I’m proud to have launched the Fund to Sustain Research Excellence (FSRE) and to have been on the committee that hired our Executive Director, Jacqueline M. Slavik, PhD, MMSc.
Thomas Kupper, MD, Chair, Department of Dermatology, Inaugural Director of the Brigham Research Institute

In total, the BRI has distributed more than $10 million in awards since 2006 through the FSRE, micro-grants and other competitive funding programs, such as the BRI Director’s $500K Transformative Award, BRIght Futures Fund and BWH Health & Technology Innovation Fund.

Slavik, who has served as executive director since the BRI launched, introduced each of the BRI’s past and present directors, including Kupper, Cynthia Morton, PhD, Joseph Loscalzo, MD, PhD (in absentia), Christine Seidman, PhD, and Richard Blumberg, MD, who highlighted milestones and achievements from their tenure as directors.

During the celebration, attendees were encouraged to submit one-word answers to the question, “What does the BRI mean to you?” By providing this feedback to the BRI, attendees could be entered into a raffle for prizes.