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From inquiry to action, harvard business school & the case method, homepage section.

Since the 1920s, the case method has been the foundational teaching practice at Harvard Business School (HBS). Based on participant-centered learning, the instructional approach facilitates discussions about real-life problems encountered in business, to prepare students for roles as leaders, managers, and decision makers. The case method encourages students to plan a course of inquiry—analyze, listen, compare other perspectives—and choose a course of action. For over 100 years, HBS has been an innovative leader in the development and refinement of teaching with the case method, helping to shape business education programs and business leaders around the world. “While cases may look different in the future,” HBS Dean Srikant Datar observes, “the fundamental approach of discussion, debate, and deliberation will undoubtedly last into the next century.” 1 Drawing on materials from the HBS Archives, From Inquiry to Action explores the introduction of the case method in the teaching of business administration and highlights the School’s early contributions that have led to the enduring influence of this participant-centered teaching practice.

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"The General Shoe Company," 1921

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Expansion of The Case Method

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1 Dean Srikant Datar in “Dean Datar Introduces the Case Method Centennial,” 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI1-K2nECTo. Accessed 2/2/22.

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The History of the Case Study at Harvard Business School

faculty and student engaged in a classroom case discussion

28 Feb 2017

Many first-time HBS Online participants are surprised to learn that, often, the professor is not at the center of their learning experience. Instead of long faculty lectures, the HBS Online learning model centers on smaller, more digestible pieces of content that require participants to interact with each other, test concepts, and learn from real-world examples.

Often, the professor fades into the background and lets the focus shift to interviews with executives, industry leaders, and small business owners. Some students might be left thinking, "Wait, where did that professor go? Why am I learning about a grocery store in Harvard Square?"

In the words of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , “Don’t panic.” These interviews, or cases, feature leaders at companies of all sizes and provide valuable examples of business concepts in action. This case study method forms the backbone of the Harvard Business School curriculum.

Back in the 1920s, HBS professors decided to develop and experiment with innovative and unique business instruction methods. As the first school in the world to design a signature, distinctive program in business, later to be called the MBA, there was a need for a teaching method that would benefit this novel approach.

HBS professors selected and took a few pages to summarize recent events, momentous challenges, strategic planning, and important decisions undertaken by major companies and organizations. The idea was, and remains to this day, that through direct contact with a real-world case, students will think independently about those facts, discuss and compare their perspectives and findings with their peers, and eventually discover a new concept on their own.

Central to the case method is the idea that students are not provided the "answer" or resolution to the problem at hand. Instead, just like a board member, CEO, or manager, the student is forced to analyze a situation and find solutions without full knowledge of all methods and facts. Without excluding more traditional aspects, such as interaction with professors and textbooks, the case method provides the student with the opportunity to think and act like managers.

Since 1924, the case method has been the most widely applied and successful teaching instrument to come out of HBS, and it is used today in almost all MBA and Executive Education courses there, as well as in hundreds of other top business schools around the world. The application of the case method is so extensive that HBS students will often choose to rely on cases, instead of textbooks or other material, for their research. Large corporations use the case method as well to approach their own challenges, while competing universities create their own versions for their students.

This is what the case method does—it puts students straight into the game, and ensures they acquire not just skills and abstract knowledge, but also a solid understanding of the outside world.

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Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Case-Based Teaching & Learning Initiative

Teaching cases & active learning resources for public health education, the case study handbook, revised edition: a student's guide.

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Using our case library

Access to cases.

Many of our cases are available for sale through Harvard Business Publishing in the Harvard T.H. Chan case collection . Others are free to download through this website .

Cases in this collection may be used free of charge by Harvard Chan course instructors in their teaching. Contact Allison Bodznick , Harvard Chan Case Library administrator, for access.

Access to teaching notes

Teaching notes are available as supporting material to many of the cases in the Harvard Chan Case Library. Teaching notes provide an overview of the case and suggested discussion questions, as well as a roadmap for using the case in the classroom.

Access to teaching notes is limited to course instructors only.

Teaching notes for cases available through Harvard Business Publishing may be downloaded after registering for an Educator account .
To request teaching notes for cases that are available for free through this website, look for the "Teaching note available for faculty/instructors " link accompanying the abstract for the case you are interested in; you'll be asked to complete a brief survey verifying your affiliation as an instructor.

Using the Harvard Business Publishing site

Faculty and instructors with university affiliations can register for Educator access on the Harvard Business Publishing website, where many of our cases are available . An Educator account provides access to teaching notes, full-text review copies of cases, articles, simulations, course planning tools, and discounted pricing for your students.

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Normative Case Studies

What are normative case studies?

Normative case studies (NCS) are a research and teaching tool developed by Meira Levinson, the Juliana W. and William Foss Thompson Professor of Education and Society at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), and used by educators around the globe.

NCS are “richly described, realistic accounts of complex ethical dilemmas that arise within practice or policy contexts,” focused on a particular decision point in which the right course of action is unclear. They help diverse groups of people discuss challenging ethical questions in a nuanced and inclusive way.

Written in clear and accessible prose, often narrative in form, normative case studies are designed to be read in about 10 minutes and then immediately discussed in an educational, professional, or community context.

What is their purpose?

Normative case studies enable users to explore the meaning, relevance, and applicability of multiple values as well as to discuss how to balance or realize those values in light of a range of practical challenges.

NCS are not written to lead participants to a single correct answer or one specific “aha!” Rather, they aim to help diverse participants engage with one another about real-world ethical challenges, understand others’ perspectives and appreciate their insights even if/as they continue to disagree, and deepen their own capacity and inclination for ethical reflection.

Explore Case Studies

A forced reckoning.

“A Forced Reckoning,” by Orelia Jonathan, Caroline Tucker, and Meira Levinson, explores the challenges of engaging students in learning about Harvard’s ties to the institution of slavery. It is a tool for faculty, staff, students, alumni, and others interested in considering the following questions: What responsibility does the University have to teach this history, and what are our personal responsibilities to learn? How might different approaches to teaching this history promote versus impede equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging on campus?

What’s in a Name?

“What’s in a Name?” by Caroline Tucker, Orelia Jonathan, and Meira Levinson, explores the challenges universities face in confronting issues of memorialization and naming on their campuses. In this fictional case, discussion participants will consider the following questions: What responsibilities do universities have to reconsider who they memorialize? How should they weigh different stakeholder perspectives? How might different approaches to naming promote versus impede equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging on campus?

The Duty of Universities and the Right to the City: Balancing Campus Expansion with Community Impacts

“The Duty of Universities and the Right to the City: Balancing Campus Expansion with Community Impacts,” by Mitsuki Nishimoto, examines the ethical challenges that arise when universities expand their campus footprints. In this nonfiction case, discussion participants will explore how university expansion efforts often result in harm to and tensions with surrounding communities and the tradeoffs to consider so that universities can balance their duties to their students and to their communities.

A Fork in the “Rhodes”

“A Fork in the ‘Rhodes,’” by Kate Daversa, is a fictional case focusing on Layla, an African American college student with South African and Zimbabwean ancestry, grappling with whether to apply for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, knowing that its creator and primary funder spread white supremacy and imperialism across the African continent. Discussion participants will navigate the question of whether Cecil Rhodes’s historical legacy should impact her decision—and if so, in what direction?

How are NCS supporting engagement with Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery?

In interviews conducted by the H&LS curriculum subcommittee, University stakeholders consistently requested materials that could convey accurate historical information while also helping participants discuss difficult topics in a supportive and inclusive way, regardless of their background knowledge. Normative case studies are designed to do exactly that.

Levinson and the HGSE PhD students Orelia Jonathan and Caroline Tucker have thus been researching and writing new normative case studies focused on issues raised by universities’ entanglement with and legacies of slavery.

Who can use these cases?

H&LS normative case study materials can be used by students, faculty, staff, alumni, other University affiliates, and members of the larger community to guide collective inquiry about Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery. They are also designed to be of use to non-Harvard affiliates who are interested in exploring the impact and legacy of enslavement and colonialism in higher education more broadly.

Click here to access the case “A Forced Reckoning,” a facilitation guide, and additional resources.

How can cases be used?

NCS may be used in: high school, undergraduate, and graduate courses (particularly but not only in history, education, public policy, philosophy, and general education); orientation programming; cocurricular and extracurricular settings; professional development workshops for staff and/or faculty; alumni events; and other small group facilitation settings.

We recommend using the cases to initiate open conversations about ethical issues at stake in confronting the history and legacy of slavery in higher education. More important than providing answers to a limited number of scenarios, they are effective means of surfacing the right kinds of questions and of provoking searching, collaborative inquiry into the principles, values, and practices that do—and that should —guide institutions of higher education around the globe.

What resources are available for supporting NCS discussions?

Each case page includes a Facilitation Guide to support NCS teaching and learning. Case discussion facilitators may also find it helpful to use the NCS Discussion Protocol . If you plan to use the case in a self-facilitated conversation or one-off event, we also recommend that you take time to review “ Leveraging Norms for Challenging Conversations ” (2016).

International Case Method Institute

Enhancing the future of business education, learning in practice, transforming global business education.

ICMI is committed to helping global institutions improve their work through interactive analysis of the challenges they face in the 21st century.

Tailoring Solutions to Individual Clients

ICMI uses the Harvard Business School model to develop tailored case studies for our clients based on their individual learning needs.

Training Educators Across the World

ICMI works with educators of all kinds to to develop teaching plans for tailored cases, improve their classroom skills, and train them on the case method and other types of interactive learning.

Why the case method?

"cases however are the stuff of real life.".

The case method of instruction was begun in the late 1800’s by Dean Christopher Columbus Langdell at the Harvard Law School. Langdell believed that cases were a better way to teach law than were textbooks: “Textbooks explicitly state the rule of law and explain why it exists. Cases however are the stuff of real life.”

The case method was later adopted at the Harvard Business School (HBS) and is practiced in much the same way today as it was nearly 100 years ago.

"Participants cannot help but be engaged"

With case learning, participants cannot help but be engaged. The situational analysis involved in dissecting each case study helps to building problem solving and critical thinking skills while the dynamic classroom discussion forces participants to clearly verbalize their conclusions and provide data to support their answers. This in turn improves their verbal communication skills and their ability to persuade others of the merits of their well-reasoned arguments.

About the institute

Dr. susan harmeling.

Founder and Principal

A threefold mission.

Led by Dr. Susan Harmeling, a Harvard-trained expert in innovative business curriculum design, the professionals at International Case Method Institute LLC (“ICMI”) are dedicated to a threefold mission.

First, we work to improve global business education, making it more effective, more interactive and more relevant to a changing international marketplace.

Second, we help a wide range of institutions to improve their own work through guided learning that challenges established processes and practices.

Finally, we develop tailored case studies and other interactive materials that play an important role in any institution’s arsenal of teaching tools. These materials can also help investors, donors and employees alike to evaluate the institution’s work from various points of view.

ICMI’s experienced team has provided top-quality service to a wide range of clients including Booz Allen Hamilton, Harvard Business School, McKinsey Consulting, the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation and the Advisory Board Company.

Let us do the same for you.

Clients hire the International Case Method Institute (ICMI) to improve both the content and the process of learning within their organizations.

Simply put, our clients’ current training is at best nowhere near as effective as it could be and at worst, an exorbitantly expensive waste of time. We cannot tell you how often we have heard from managers, training directors, and college students about ineffective, uninteresting or outright boring classes or training sessions.

They will often tell us that the lessons are not relevant to their jobs, their careers or their lives. Skilled case instruction inevitably leaves participants wanting more of this type of training and less of the passive, Power Point lecture-style instruction to which they have become all too accustomed.

Dr. Harmeling & Harvard Business School

On the challenges and rewards of teaching by the case method

ICMI develops custom case studies for our clients through data extensive data gathering, field research, and other qualitative and quantitative research methods. Cases are based on real-world experiences of global practitioners in many fields from business to economic development to health care to insurance.

ICMI offers one and two-day seminars in the case method of instruction and other interactive modes of learning. Topics include the background of the case method, how to research and develop case studies, adult learning styles, and how to incorporate role plays and Socratic discussion into the learning experience.

ICMI will “train your trainers” on how to teach by the case method. Using custom cases developed for clients, we will help you develop teaching plans, and coach your staff on how to best present the cases we have developed together.

ICMI trains executives through tailored seminars based on the cases developed by our team. Using the case method and other interactive learning techniques, we enlighten managers and top executives on the problems and challenges facing their organization, and on ways to remove obstacles, create value and develop innovative plans for future growth.

ICMI has worked with universities across the globe to develop a more interactive and innovative curriculum. From Lagos to Innsbruck, from Geneva to Kampala, from Budapest to London, ICMI has helped a wide range of educational institutions and professional organizations develop a 21st century classroom experience for their clients worldwide.

Featured Projects

Mckinsey & company.

Researched and wrote a four-case series on three managers at the Bank of Montreal for McKinsey’s corporate training program

Harvard Business School

Wrote dozens of case studies at Harvard Business School on a range of companies from E*Trade to Eli Lilly, Mexico to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

Deloitte & Touche

Taught five sessions of the Kendallville Bank case study on accounting fraud to hundreds of young AY4 audit managers at Deloitte University in Dallas

The World Bank

Completed a wide range of case projects for international institutions such as the IFC and the World Bank on topics ranging from municipal simplification in Latin America to the energy sector in West Africa to furniture production in Vietnam to procurement in India

USC Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

Wrote two cases and teaching notes on Southern California entrepreneurs for the Greif Center as part of a case series on California businesses published jointly with Harvard Business Publishing

Testimonials

“Dr. Harmeling has not only maintained one of the highest levels of preparation in comparison with other programs in our organization but she has also inspired all of the participants to use the case method regularly in their teaching activities."

Director of Large University Management Program in Europe

"Dr. Harmeling has an unusual combination of talents. She combines a sharp intellect with broad, deep understanding of business and strategic issues and great skill and methodology for teaching and coaching. She does not merely impart information; she uses dynamic language, current, varied examples and the students’ own experiences to bring scenarios, issues and concepts to life."

Senior Investment Advisor, IFC

Dr. Harmeling showed me a number of concrete ways to dramatically improve my use of case studies in the classroom. Her detailed planning, guidance and class management processes enabled me to be far more effective almost immediately after the course. I look forward to attending the advanced session soon!

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The last soviet famine, 1946/47: mass death across ukraine, moldova and russia in war’s aftermath, date: , location: , a lecture by, hiroaki kuromiya , emeritus professor of history, indiana university, yuri ivanovych shapoval , professor and head of the center for historical political studies, institute of political and ethnic studies, national academy of sciences of ukraine, filip slaveski , senior lecturer in russian/soviet and east european history, australian national university, moderated by serhii plokhii , mykhailo s. hrushevs'kyi professor of ukrainian history and director of the ukrainian research institute at harvard university.

IN-PERSON and ONLINE via Zoom Webinar (live). Registration is required to attend online.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE

About the Lecture

This project explores the most recent famine in Soviet and European History, which killed at least one million people in 1946-47, mostly in Ukraine and Moldova, but about which we know very little. The Soviet state repressed news of the 1946/47 famine at the time, and it remains largely absent in English-language scholarship and relatively neglected in Russian and Ukrainian scholarship compared to the Holodomor of 1932/33. Our project operates from archival sources across the former Soviet space to explore the interaction of numerous factors in understanding famine causation, duration, mortality, and its broader consequences, which endured for decades afterward.

About the Speakers

Hiroaki Kuromiya is a Japanese-American historian and Emeritus Professor in the Department of History, University of Indiana, studies modern and contemporary Ukraine in a wider context of Eurasian history. He has written on the Donbas, historical and contemporary, the Holodomor, the Great Terror, and other subjects mainly during the Stalin era. His publications include books Freedom and Terror in the Donbas: A Ukrainian-Russian Borderland, 1870s–1990s, The Voices of the Dead: Stalin's Great Terror in the 1930s , and The Eurasian Triangle: Russia, the Caucasus, and Japan, 1904-1945 (with Georges Mamoulia), as well as numerous articles.

Yuri Ivanovych Shapoval is a Professor and head of the Center for Historical Political Studies, Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv. He is the author of hundreds of publications on the history of Communist totalitarianism in Soviet Ukraine; Polish-Ukrainian and Jewish-Ukrainian relations and famine.

Filip Slaveski is a Senior Lecturer in Russian/Soviet and East European History at the Australian National University. He is a historian of Soviet Empire, primarily of Ukraine and Russia, his work focuses on the entanglements of mass conflict, famine and political repression, their aftermath and contemporary echoes across the former Soviet space. Some of his publications include, Slaveski, F. and Shapoval, Y. (2024) Stalin’s Liquidation Game. The unlikely case of Oleksandr Shums’kyi . HURI: Harvard University Press. in press; Slaveski, F. (2021) Remaking Ukraine after WWII: The clash of central and local Soviet power, 1944-1953 . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; Slaveski, F. (2013) The soviet occupation of Germany: hunger, mass violence and the struggle for peace, 1945-1947 . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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This event is organized by Harvard's Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI) as part of the Ukraine Study Group event series.

Persons with disabilities who wish to request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact Megan Duncan Smith, HURI Programs Coordinator, at [email protected] at least two weeks in advance of the session.

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Younger votes still lean toward Biden — but it’s complicated

Introduction

By Christina Pazzanese | Harvard Staff Writer April 19, 2024

Younger voters turned out in historic numbers to help lift Joe Biden past Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. This year, the match-up is the same, but the feelings are much more complicated.

Gen Z and late Millennial voters (ages 18-29) are more dissatisfied with their choices and worried over kitchen table issues such as inflation and housing. But most still support Biden over Trump, contrary to some earlier polls, and they do still intend to make their voices heard in November, according to a new Harvard Youth Poll released Thursday.

John Della Volpe, the IOP's longtime polling director, said he sees "seismic mood swings" in the results as young people feel "angst" over a host of issues.

"They're deeply concerned … about the direction of the country. They are deeply concerned about their own economic well-being, the cost of housing, inflation, [the] day-to-day cost of living. They're concerned about conflicts around the world," he said. "But at the same time, the choice between Donald Trump and Joe Biden isn't necessarily close."

The poll surveyed just over 2,000 Americans nationwide between the ages of 18 and 29 from March 14-21. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.02 points. Launched in 2000, the Harvard Youth Poll is the largest political survey of young Americans and is administered by the Harvard Public Opinion Project, an undergraduate-run organization.

In a head-to-head matchup, Biden leads Trump by eight points (45 percent-37 percent). Among those most likely to vote, his lead expands to 19 points (56 percent-37 percent). That’s considerably smaller than Biden's advantage in spring 2020 when he was up by 23 points among all young voters and 30 points among likely voters.

When third-party and independent candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jill Stein, and Cornel West are included, Biden's lead over Trump shrinks from 19 to 13 points among likely voters.

Trump enjoys significant enthusiasm (76 percent) from those who already favor him but can’t seem to garner more than 37 percent of support from young voters.

The outcome of his current criminal trial in New York City, however, could damage that support.

Trump has been charged with falsifying business records to conceal an extramarital affair in 2016 in a case prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg '95, J.D. '99. The survey showed that if Trump is found guilty, Biden would get a nine-point bump among likely voters and a 10-point bump among all young people.

Asked whether the country is on the right or wrong track, more than half (58 percent) said the wrong track, and nearly one-third were unsure. Only 9 percent said the country is moving in the right direction, the first time this number was in the single digits in the poll's 24-year history, organizers said. Four years ago, 21 percent said the nation was headed in the right direction.

Some Democrats have voiced concerns that significant numbers of young voters, dissatisfied with their election choices, might sit out the 2024 election. According to the poll, 53 percent say they'll "definitely" vote this fall, compared to 54 percent who said the same and did so in numbers that helped propel Biden to victory in 2020.

Poll results showed that two issues closely associated with under-30 voters — the Israel-Hamas war and student debt relief — may not be especially consequential ones when it comes to casting votes.

Biden gets good marks (39 percent) for his efforts to reduce student debt, and poor marks for his handling of the war in Gaza (18 percent). But young people ranked these as least important among the issues facing the country. The majority said inflation, healthcare, and housing were the top three matters, followed by gun violence, according to the poll.

Confidence in the nation's institutions has plummeted among younger Americans over the last two election cycles. Since 2015, trust in the presidency has dropped 60 points and in the Supreme Court by 55. Wall Street (9 percent) and the media (10 percent) are trusted least, but even the U.S. military, once considered largely above doubt, is now trusted by only 36 percent surveyed.

Photo by Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto via AP

Read the original article here.

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Lessons from Beyoncé on Navigating Exclusion

Ella F. Washington,
Hildana Haileyesus,
Laura Morgan Roberts

The star’s path from CMA Awards backlash to Cowboy Carter is a case study in strategic response.

In 2016, Beyoncé’s performance at the CMA Awards sparked backlash from fans complaining about everything from her attire to her lack of connection to the genre. This year, she released her first country album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Her actions over the past eight years have been a case study in how to navigate workplace exclusion. As a first step, it often makes sense to exit the conversation and wait for a better moment to respond. Then, work behind the scenes, ideally with collaborators, to push for change. Finally, consider focusing on your own authenticity and strengths to create your own lane within your organization or outside it.

Beyoncé, the globally revered singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur, last month released her new album Cowboy Carter. However, this project is much more than another musical release from a leading star. It offers a case study in how to navigate workplace exclusion.

Ella F. Washington is an organizational psychologist; the founder and CEO of Ellavate Solutions, a DEI strategy firm; and a professor of practice at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. She is the author of The Necessary Journey: Making Real Progress on Equity and Inclusion (HBR Press, November 2022) and Unspoken: A Guide to Cracking the Hidden Corporate Code (Forbes Books, May 2024).
Hildana Haileyesus is a DEI consultant at Ellavate Solutions with a background in training and facilitation, client strategy, and research. She has worked across higher education and business and applies a sociological lens to equity-driven change efforts.
Laura Morgan Roberts is a Frank M. Sands Sr. Associate Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. She is an organizational psychologist and the coeditor of Race, Work and Leadership: New Perspectives on the Black Experience (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019).

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Clinical Trial by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, HCA Healthcare, UCI Health and CDC Identifies Strategy to Rapidly Detect and Respond to Hospital Outbreaks Using Algorithm-Driven Technology

An automated outbreak detection tool reduced the size of outbreaks by 64% in the trial period preceding the COVID-19 pandemic in a study of 82 hospitals

BOSTON & NASHVILLE, Tenn. & ORANGE, Calif. & ATLANTA --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- An automated tool that improves outbreak detection for hundreds of pathogens successfully served as an early warning system to find and respond to potential hospital outbreaks, as reported today in NEJM Evidence.

A Trial of Automated Outbreak Detection to Reduce Hospital Pathogen Spread

The large multi-state, real-world study was conducted in 82 hospitals and led by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute , HCA Healthcare , University of California, Irvine (UCI) Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ).

Contagious bacteria and other pathogens can spread in hospitals, increasing the risk of harmful infections in patients. While hospitals and health systems work to prevent infections and reduce the opportunity for outbreaks to occur, there is no standardized approach for detecting transmission. Early detection can lead to a rapid response that reduces the chance for outbreaks to occur.

"Despite significant progress in reducing healthcare-associated infection outbreaks, including of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, they remain an industry challenge and can present as clusters that signal potential for transmission to patients,” said Joseph Perz , DrPH, MA, Senior Advisor for Public Health Programs in CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion , and committee member for the CDC’s Council for Outbreak Response : Healthcare-Associated Infections. “The CLUSTER trial provides evidence that early detection powered by automation tools and quick action can prevent outbreaks from growing."

Most hospitals focus on a small number of antibiotic-resistant organisms and miss outbreaks from other pathogens. To address this, investigators developed an algorithm-driven statistical outbreak detection tool that used clinical laboratory data to provide real-time alerts to hospital infection prevention programs about potential transmission of over 100 bacterial and fungal species. This method relied on an automated review of organisms grown from patients’ clinical cultures and a statistical assessment of whether an increase was seen compared to prior experience. Detected increases triggered an automatic notification for hospital personnel to implement a response protocol to prevent additional cases.

“Outbreaks in hospitals are often missed or detected late, after preventable infections have occurred. This study provides a practical and standardized approach to identify early transmission and halt events that could become an outbreak in hospitals,” said lead investigator, Meghan A. Baker , MD, ScD, Harvard Medical School assistant professor of population medicine at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute .

The automated outbreak detection method was tested from 2019-2022 in a randomized clinical trial in 82 hospitals across 16 states in the HCA Healthcare system, a leader in real-world evidence-based research. Half of the hospitals implemented the automated early detection method, and the other half continued with usual care. Hospitals that were assigned to receive and respond to the automated alerts experienced a 64% reduction in the size of potential outbreaks until the trial was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, personnel were not able to respond as effectively to automated alerts, and across the combined pre-pandemic and pandemic trial period, there was no overall effect. Nevertheless, in analyses restricted to the pre-pandemic period, the outbreak detection tool was associated with a demonstrable and significant reduction in cases. While the actual risks of an outbreak are low, even one outbreak can be significant. The automated system notified hospitals about possible events approximately three times per year per hospital so early preventative responses could be taken to maximize patient safety.

“This ongoing collaboration continues to leverage our scale – both the number of our hospitals and our advanced data ecosystem – as we work to rapidly answer clinical questions that benefit patients everywhere,” said Kenneth Sands , MD, MPH, chief epidemiologist at HCA Healthcare . “We are using this detection tool in the hospitals where we tested it and are evaluating implementation more widely across our system.”

The underlying software is available for free to all hospital systems but must be integrated into their respective electronic health record system or other clinical workflow platforms.

The study was funded by CDC and conducted through a longstanding scientific consortium, including HCA Healthcare , Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute's Department of Population Medicine , the University of California, Irvine and the CDC’s Prevention Epicenters Program . It is part of a growing body of work by the partners to improve patient care and reduce risk of healthcare-associated infections.

About Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute’s Department of Population Medicine

The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute's Department of Population Medicine is a unique collaboration between Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Harvard Medical School . Created in 1992, it is the first appointing medical school department in the United States based in a health plan. The Institute focuses on improving health care delivery and population health through innovative research and education, in partnership with health plans, delivery systems, and public health agencies. Point32Health is the parent company of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn .

About HCA Healthcare

Nashville -based HCA Healthcare is one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services comprising 186hospitals and approximately 2,400 ambulatory sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, and physician clinics, in 20 states and the United Kingdom . With its founding in 1968, HCA Healthcare created a new model for hospital care in the United States , using combined resources to strengthen hospitals, deliver patient-focused care and improve the practice of medicine. With a robust system for analyzing clinical data across large and diverse patient populations, HCA Healthcare is a leader in pragmatic research like the Swap Out, ABATE and REDUCE MRSA trials that can help identify new standards of care. HCA Healthcare is a learning health system that uses its more than 43 million annual patient encounters to advance science, improve patient care and save lives.

About UCI Health

UCI Health is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine , and the only academic health system in Orange County . Patients can access UCI Health at primary and specialty care offices across Orange County and at its main campus, UCI Medical Center in Orange , Calif. The 459-bed, acute care hospital, listed among America’s Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for 22 consecutive years, provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, behavioral health and rehabilitation services. UCI Medical Center is home to Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute -designated comprehensive cancer center , high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County , western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County . Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and Twitter .

About the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC )

Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC’s world-leading experts protect lives and livelihoods, national security and the U.S. economy by providing timely, commonsense information, and rapidly identifying and responding to diseases, including outbreaks and illnesses. CDC drives science, public health research, and data innovation in communities across the country by investing in local initiatives to protect everyone’s health.

View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240423503926/en/

HCA HEALTHCARE : Investor Contact Frank Morgan 615-344-2688

Media Contact Harlow Sumerford 615-344-1851

UCI HEALTH: Sophia Papa 661-369-6968 [email protected]

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION : Martha Sharan 404-998-1787 [email protected]

HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTH CARE INSTITUTE: Maya Dutta-Linn [email protected]

Jessica Meuleman [email protected]

Source: HCA Healthcare

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Gender and Politics: Keynote Conversation with Maura T. Healey

Thursday, April 25, 2024 4 PM ET
Map Location Knafel Center OR Online on Zoom 10 Garden Street Cambridge, MA 02138

Join us for a keynote and Q and A with Massachusetts governor Maura T. Healey and award-winning political journalist Alison King . Healey and King will discuss their perspectives on gender and politics, focusing on both systemic issues and personal experiences. In an intimate, conversational setting, they will talk about attaining and holding office; the role of the media; supporting community, families, and young people; and being, at times, the only woman in the room.

We plan to post the recording on our website in early May.

Maura T. Healey is the 73rd governor of Massachusetts and the first woman and first LGBTQ+ person to be elected to the position. She is committed to making Massachusetts more affordable, competitive, and equitable. In her first year in office, she signed into law Massachusetts' first tax cuts in 20 years, including an expanded child and family tax credit. She has also introduced a historic housing bill, invested heavily to make child care more affordable and accessible for families, protected reproductive rights, appointed the nation's first cabinet-level climate chief, made community college free for students aged 25 and older, and made universal school meals permanent. Governor Healey previously served two terms as Massachusetts Attorney General. She is a graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges and Northeastern University School of Law and played professional basketball in Austria.

Alison King is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years of experience in the broadcasting industry. She spent most of her career covering politics in New England including leading the local, state, and regional political coverage for NBC Boston/NECN from 1995 until her retirement from TV in March 2023. She has covered seven presidential elections and interviewed every Republican and Democratic presidential candidate since 1996. King has also reported and produced three documentaries, including one about the late Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. Most recently, she executive produced and reported on the docu-series, "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of New Hampshire." King has won several awards for her reporting including from the Emmys, Gracies, and Associated Press. She received her BA in English from Colgate University and a MA in journalism from New York University.

The conference agenda is subject to change and may be updated periodically.

Thursday, April 25, 2024

4 PM Welcome

Tomiko Brown-Nagin , dean, Harvard Radcliffe Institute; Daniel P.S. Paul Professor of Constitutional Law, Harvard Law School; and professor of history, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences

4:10 PM Keynote Conversation

Maura T. Healey , governor, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Discussant: Alison King , Institute of Politics Fellow and Goldsmith Fellow, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School; former political reporter, NBC Boston/NECN

4:55 PM Audience Q&A

5:15 PM Close of program

This event is cosponsored by the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard Kennedy School.

Harvard Radcliffe Institute gratefully acknowledges the Perrin Moorhead Grayson and Bruns Grayson Dean's Leadership Fund for Academic Ventures, which is supporting this event.

S ee " Gender and Politics: Navigating Power and Perception ” for event information on the full-day conference on Friday, April 26, 2024.

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Scientists uncover 95 regions of the genome linked to PTSD

Findings from the largest genetic study of PTSD to date could help explain why only some people develop the condition after experiencing trauma.

Graphic showing a person's silhouette against a background of DNA bases.

Genetic roots

Previous twin and genetic studies, including an investigation by the same team in 2017 and an expanded study in 2019, showed that PTSD has a genetic component, and that many genes contribute to the condition.

But these analyses pointed to different genetic loci across datasets, and many studies struggled to distinguish loci that were specific to PTSD risk from those that were also linked to conditions such as depression and cardiovascular disease. Genetic datasets have also historically focused on people of European ancestry, even though there is a disproportionately high burden of trauma and PTSD among people of African, Native American, and Latin American ancestry in the United States and globally.

In the new study, Nievergelt, Koenen, and other researchers from the PGC compiled data from 88 different genome-wide association studies, which use genetic data from large groups of people to look for associations between regions of the genome and the chance of developing a condition or trait. In all, the dataset contained information about the risk of developing PTSD from more than 1.2 million individuals of European ancestry (including about 140,000 with PTSD), about 50,000 with African ancestry (including about 12,000 with PTSD), and about 7,000 with Native American ancestry (about 2,000 with PTSD).

Meta-analysis of the data revealed 95 loci strongly associated with PTSD, including 80 that had not been identified previously. Forty three genes appeared to play a role in causing PTSD, including some that affect brain cells called neurons, brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, ion channels (which allow ions to pass in and out of cells), connections between neurons called synapses, and the endocrine and immune systems. The researchers found that PTSD shared many genetic features with depression, as well as several PTSD-specific loci.

Although previous studies found a higher prevalence of PTSD in females than males, the researchers did not find evidence for this in their data. They examined the X chromosome, which earlier studies did not do, and found five loci linked with PTSD. But they add that these changes on the X chromosome would have similar effects in males and females.

To more deeply probe how PTSD genetics affect the brain, the team studied gene expression data and found that the cerebellum, the brain region that controls movement and balance, may be involved in the disorder in addition to regions scientists have previously connected with PTSD, such as the cortex and amygdala. In particular, the research team found that interneurons, which connect motor and sensory neurons, were involved in PTSD risk. Future studies could help determine how key genes in these tissues and cells affect PTSD symptoms and behaviors.

“For the first time, we are approaching a genetic architecture for PTSD, which both validates prior understanding of some of the critical biology underlying trauma-related disorders, while also pointing towards exciting and novel new targets and mechanisms,” said Kerry Ressler , a co-leader of the PGC - PTSD working group, chief scientific officer at McLean Hospital, and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “These data are an important first step in next generation approaches to novel interventions for PTSD.”

In line with previous findings, Nievergelt, Koenen, and their colleagues also found that polygenic scores — a calculation of a person’s genetic chance of developing a certain condition based on millions of single-letter changes in their DNA — for PTSD risk are not readily translatable across populations. The researchers say this disparity highlights the importance of continuing to expand the depth and diversity of populations included in future studies of PTSD.

“We know that trauma and PTSD disproportionately affect under-resourced populations globally, particularly African ancestry populations,” said Koenen. “Our next steps will focus on addressing that inequity through partnerships with African scientists to make sure research in PTSD genetics benefits everyone equally.”

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, Cohen Veterans Bioscience, and the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute.

Paper cited:

Nievergelt CM, Maihofer AX et al. Genome-wide association analyses identify 95 risk loci and provide insights into the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder . Nature Genetics . Online April 18, 2024. DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01707-9.

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Publications in Radiation Oncology and Medical Physics

Yan S, Lu HM, Flanz J, Adams J, Trofimov A, Bortfeld T. Reassessment of the necessity of the proton gantry: analysis of beam orientations from 4332 treatments at the F.H. Burr proton center over the past 10 years. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2016

Moteabbed M, Trofimov A, Sharp GC, Wang Y, Zietman AL, Efstathiou JA, Lu HM. A prospective comparison of the effects of interfractional variations on proton therapy and IMRT for prostate cancer. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2016

Patel AV, Lane AM, Morrison MA, Trofimov AV, Shih HA, Gragoudas ES, Kim IK. Visual Outcomes after Proton Beam Irradiation for Choroidal Melanomas Involving the Fovea. Ophthalmology 2015

M oteabbed M, Sharp GC, Wang Y, Trofimov A, Efstathiou JA, Lu HM. Validation of a deformable image registration technique for cone beam CT-based dose verification. Medical Physics 2015;42:196-205

Cheney MD, Chen YL, Lim R, Winrich BK, Grosu AL, Trofimov AV, Depauw N, Shih HA, Schwab JH, Hornicek FJ, DeLaney TF. 18F-FMISO PET/CT visualization of tumor hypoxia in patients with chordoma of the mobile and sacrococcygeal spine. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2014

Safai S, Trofimov A, Adams JA, Engelsman M, Bortfeld T. The rationale for intensity-modulated proton therapy in geometrically challenging cases. Physics in Medicine and Biology 2013;58:6337-6353.

Giantsoudi D, Grassberger C, Craft D, Niemierko A, Trofimov A, Paganetti H. Linear energy transfer (LET)-Guided Optimization in intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT): feasibility study and clinical potential. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2013;87:216-222.

Wang. Y, Efstathiou JE, Lu H, Sharp GC, Trofimov A. Hypofractionated proton therapy for prostate cancer: dose delivery uncertainty due to inter-fractional motion. Medical Physics 2013;40:071714

Zeng C, Giantsoudi D, Grassberger C, Goldberg S, Niemierko A, Paganetti H, Efstathiou JA, Trofimov A. Maximizing the biological effect of proton dose delivered with scanned beams via inhomogeneous daily dose distributions. Medical Physics 2013;40:051708.

De Amorim Bernstein K, Sethi R, Trofimov A, Zeng C, Fullerton B, Yeap BY, Ebb D, Tarbell NJ, Yock TI, Macdonald SM. Early clinical outcomes using proton radiation for children with central nervous system atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2013;86:114-20.

Trofimov A, Unkelbach J, DeLaney TF, Bortfeld T. Visualization of a variety of possible dosimetric outcomes in radiation therapy using dose-volume histogram bands. Practical Radiation Oncology 2012;2:164-171.

Chen W, Unkelbach J, Trofimov A, Madden T, Kooy H, Bortfeld T, Craft D. Including robustness in multi-criteria optimization for intensity-modulated proton therapy. Physics in Medicine and Biology 2012;57:591-608.

Wang Y, Efstathiou J, Sharp G, Lu HM, Ciernik IF, Trofimov A. Evaluation of the dosimetric impact of inter-fractional anatomical variations on prostate proton therapy using daily in-room CT images. Medical Physics 2011

Grassberger C, Trofimov A, Lomax A, Paganetti H. Variations in linear energy transfer within clinical proton therapy fields and the potential for biological treatment planning. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2011

Trofimov A, NguyenPL, EfstathiouJA, Wang Y, LuHM, EngelsmanM, MerrickS, ChengCW, WongJR, ZietmanAL. Interfractional variations in the set-up of pelvic bony anatomy and soft tissue, and their implication on the delivery of proton therapy for localized prostate cancer. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2011; 80:928-937.

Ding A, Gu J, Trofimov A, Xu XG. Monte Carlo calculation of imaging doses from diagnostic multi-detector CT and kilovoltage cone-beam CT as part of prostate cancer treatment plans. Medical Physics 2010; 37:6199-6204.

MacDonald SM, Trofimov A, Safai S, Adams J, Fullerton B, Ebb D, Tarbell NJ, Yock T. Proton Radiotherapy for Pediatric Central Nervous System Germ Cell Tumors: Early Clinical Outcomes. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2011; 79:121-129

Nguyen PL, Chen RC, Hoffman KE, Trofimov A, Efstathiou JA, Coen JJ, Shipley WU, Zietman AL, Talcott JA. Rectal Dose-Volume Histogram Parameters Are Associated with Long-Term Patient-Reported Gastrointestinal Quality of Life After Conventional and High-Dose Radiation for Prostate Cancer: A Subgroup Analysis of a Randomized Trial. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2010; 78:1081-5

Suit H, Delaney T, Goldberg S, Paganetti H, Clasie B, Gerweck L, Niemierko A, Hall E, Flanz J, Hallman J, Trofimov A. Proton vs carbon ion beams in the definitive radiation treatment of cancer patients. Radiotherapy and Oncology 2010; 95:3-22.

Kooy HM, Clasie BM, Lu HM, Madden TM, Bentefour H, Depauw N, Adams JA, Trofimov AV, Demaret D, Delaney TF, Flanz JB. A case study in proton pencil-beam scanning delivery. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics. 2010; 76:624-30.

Efstathiou JA, Trofimov AV, Zietman AL. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of protons: an evidence-based review of the role of particle therapy in the treatment of prostate cancer. Cancer J. 2009; 15:312-8.

Seco J, Robinson D, Trofimov A, Paganetti H. Breathing interplay effects during proton beam scanning: simulation and statistical analysis. Physics in Medicine and Biology 2009; 54:N283-294.

Vrancic C, Trofimov A, Chan TCY, Sharp G, Bortfeld T. Experimental evaluation of a robust optimization method for IMRT of moving targets. Physics in Medicine and Biology 2009; 54: 2901-2914.

Bortfeld T, Chan TCY, Trofimov A, Tsitsiklis JN. Robust management of motion uncertainty in intensity-modulated radiation therapy. Operations Research 2008; 56:1461-1473

Nguyen PL, Trofimov A, Zietman AL. Proton beam or intensity-modulated therapy in the treatment of prostate cancer? Oncology 2008; 22:748-754.

Trofimov A, Vrancic C, Chan TCY, Sharp GC, Bortfeld T. Tumor trailing startegy for intensity-modulated radiation therapy of moving targets. Medical Physics 2008; 35:1718-1733

MacDonald SM, Safai S, Trofimov A, Wolfgang J, Fullerton B, Yeap BY, Bortfeld T, Tarbell NJ, Yock T. Proton radiotherapy for childhood ependymoma: initial clinical outcomes and dose comparisons. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2008; 71:979-987

Suit H, Kooy H,Trofimov A, Farr J, Munzenrider J, DeLaney T, Loeffler J, Clasie B, Safai S, Paganetti H. Should positive phase III clinical trial data be required before proton beam therapy is more widely adopted? No. Radiotherapy and Oncology 2008; 86:148-153.

Trofimov A, Nguyen PL, Coen JJ, Doppke KP, Schneider RJ, Adams JA, Bortfeld TR, Zietman AL, DeLaney TF, Shipley WU. Radiotherapy treatment of early stage prostate cancer with IMRT and protons: a treatment planning comparsion. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2007; 69:444-453 (follow-up: Letter to the Editor. In reply to Ms.Albertini et al. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2007; 69:1334-1335)

Sharp GC, Lu HM, Trofimov A, Tang X, Jiang SB, Turcotte J, Gierga DP, Chen GTY, Hong TS. Assessing residual motion for gated proton-beam radiotherapy.Journal of Radiation Research 2007; 48:A55-59.

Censor Y, Bortfeld T, Martin B, Trofimov A. A unified approach for inversion problems in intensity-modulated radiation therapy. Physics in Medicine and Biology 2006; 51:2353-65.

Trofimov A, Rietzel E, Lu H, Martin B, Jiang S, Chen G, Bortfeld T. Temporo-spatial IMRT optimization: Concepts, implementation and initial results. Physics in Medicine and Biology 2005; 50:2779-98.

Paganetti H, Jiang H, Trofimov A. 4D Monte Carlo simulation of proton beam scanning: modeling of variations in time and space to study the interplay between scanning pattern and time-dependent patient geometry. Physics in Medicine and Biology 2005; 50:983-90.

DeLaney TF, Trofimov AV, Engelsman M, Suit HD. Advanced-technology radiation therapy in the management of bone and soft tissue sarcomas. Cancer Control 2005; 12:27-35

Weber DC, Trofimov AV, Delaney TF, Bortfeld T. A treatment planning comparison of intensity modulated photon and proton therapy for paraspinal sarcomas. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2004; 58:1596-606.

Suit H, Goldberg S, Niemierko A, Trofimov A, Adams J, Paganetti H, Chen GTY, Bortfeld T, Rosenthal S, Loeffler J, DeLaney T. Protons to Replace Photon Beams in Radical Dose Treatments. Acta Oncologica 2003; 42:800-8.

Trofimov A, Bortfeld T. Optimization of beam parameters and treatment planning for intensity modulated proton therapy. Technology in Cancer Research and Treatment 2003; 2:437-44.

Trofimov A, Bortfeld T. Beam delivery sequencing for intensity modulated proton therapy. Physics in Medicine and Biology 2003; 48:1321-31.

Publications in High-Energy Physics (with g-2 Collaboration, Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Bennett GW, et al. Improved limit on the muon electric dipole moment. Physical Review D 2009; 80:052008.

Bennett GW et al. Search for Lorentz and CPT violation effects in muon spin precession. Physical Review Letters 2008; 100:091602.

Bennett GW et al Statistical equations and methods applied to the precision muon (g-2) experiment at BNL. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 2007; 579:1096-1116.

Bennett GW et al. Final report of the E821 muon anomalous magnetic moment measurement at BNL. Physical Review D 2006; 73:072003.

Bennett GW et al. Measurement of the negative muon anomalous moment to 0.7 ppm. Physical Review Letters 2004; 92:161802.

Bennett GW et al. Measurement of the positive muon anomalous moment to 0.7 ppm. Physical Review Letters 2002; 89:101804.

Brown HN et al. Precise measurement of the positive muon anomalous magnetic moment. Physical Review Letters 2001; 86:2227-31.

Sedykh SA et al. Electromagnetic calorimeters for the BNL muon (g-2) experiment. Nuclear Instruments and Methods A 2000; 455:346-60.

Brown HN et al. Improved measurement of the positive muon anomalous magnetic moment. Physical Review D 2000; 62:091101.

Carey RM et al. New measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the positive muon. Physical Review Letters 1999; 82:1632-35.

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Student Experience

David Moss is the Paul Whiton Cherington Professor at Harvard Business School and the founder of the Case Method Institute. Before joining the Harvard Business School faculty in 1993, he received his B.A. from Cornell University and his Ph.D. from Yale. David is the author of numerous books, articles, and case studies , mainly on the history of economic policy and democratic governance in the United States. He is the recipient of many honors, including the Student Association Faculty Award for outstanding teaching at Harvard Business School (twelve times) and the American Risk and Insurance Association’s Annual Kulp-Wright Book Award for the “most influential text published on the economics of risk management and insurance.” He also helped to create the Tobin Project, a nonprofit research organization, which received the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

In 2013, David launched a case-based course on the history of American democracy for Harvard undergraduates and MBA students. The success of this course inspired Professor Moss’s 2017 book, Democracy: A Case Study , as well as the creation of the Case Method Project at Harvard Business School in 2015 and, subsequently, the Case Method Institute for Education and Democracy in 2020.

Joanna Beinhorn

Joanna Beinhorn is the program coordinator for the Case Method Project. She assists with facilitating ongoing work in the areas of curriculum development and teacher education, and she plays a direct role in providing support for participating teachers. Joanna has worked for Harvard Business School in various administrative capacities since 2008. In her free time, she likes to garden and travel.

Lisa Chaderjian

Sophia di giorgio.

Walter Friedman

Walter Friedman is a Lecturer at Harvard Business School and directs curriculum development for the Case Method Project. He received his Ph.D. in history from Columbia University and is author of Birth of a Salesman: The Transformation of Selling in America (2004) and Fortune Tellers: The Story of America's First Economic Forecasters (2013), which won the Hagley Prize in Business History. At Harvard Business School, Walter is co-editor of Business History Review and directs the school's Business History Initiative. He is a past president of the Business History Conference.

Dean Grodzins

Dean Grodzins writes case studies and develops curricular material for the Case Method Project. He received his A.B. in history from Williams College and his Ph.D. in history from Harvard University. He has served as Lecturer in History and Literature at Harvard, Professor of History at Meadville Lombard Theological School, and Editor of The Journal of Unitarian Universalist History , and has held fellowships from Yale University and the Massachusetts Historical Society. Dean has published widely on American history and is the author of American Heretic: Theodore Parker and Transcendentalism (2003), which won the Alan Nevins Prize from the Society of American Historians. He has been working with David Moss since 2013, co-writing case studies with him and others, seven of which were used in David's History of American Democracy course at Harvard and published in David’s book Democracy: A Case Study (2017). Dean also drew a comic strip for twenty years.

Tim Lambert

Tim Lambert is a writer, researcher, and curriculum developer for the Case Method Project. A native of Amherst, Massachusetts, he received his A.B. in social studies from Harvard College and currently lives in San Francisco, California. Motivated by the belief that everyone deserves a first-rate education, Tim focuses on improving the accessibility of the Case Method Project’s case materials and helping teachers adapt case method teaching to diverse high schools settings. He is an avid consumer of hard science fiction and a restless explorer of the great outdoors.

Grace MacNeill

Julia Monaco

Julia Monaco works with the teacher support team, and partners with teachers to enable successful implementation of the Case Method in high school classrooms. Originally from California, Julia received her B.A. in American History and French language from Wellesley College, where her history studies focused on the establishment of democratic institutions and inspired the belief that history education should be engaging. Julia spends her weekends freelancing as a professional sports and wedding photographer.

Lani O'Donnell

Lani O'Donnell is the staff assistant for the High School Case Method Project where she works with teacher support and survey processing. Prior to working with the Harvard Business School, she assisted with a fellowship that trained data analysts in education policy with the Strategic Data Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Lani also has a passion for history, having worked and volunteered at the Medford Historical Society since 2016. Lani has received her M.A. in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins and her M.A. in History from the Harvard Extension School. In her free time, Lani likes swing dancing, playing board games, and spending time with her four ferrets.

Maureen O’Hern

Maureen O'Hern works with the Case Method Project on teacher outreach and mentorship, and is also a history teacher at Boston Collegiate Charter School. Originally from the Bay Area, Maureen received her A.B. in history at Princeton University and her M.Ed at Harvard University before beginning her teaching career at Boston Collegiate. Maureen teaches a combination of high school A.P. and semester-based electives, including a fully case-based course entitled Democracy in America, and is working with the Program to support teachers as they embrace the case method in their courses. In her time outside of the classroom, Maureen can be found cheering on the San Francisco Giants, or out on the field herself, playing softball on Boston-area teams.

Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen is a retired lawyer who now works on numerous aspects of the Case Method Project, including recruiting and assembling cohorts of teachers for each pilot program. His passion for the Case Method Project comes from a background of political engagement, love of history and democracy, and desire for all students to appreciate their importance within civic life.

Melanie Wachtell Stinnett

Melanie Wachtell Stinnett is Managing Director of the Case Method Institute. Previously, she served for five years as a director of the Tobin Project, a research nonprofit in Cambridge, MA, and practiced appellate law at Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart and Sullivan LLP. She has authored and/or edited several books and articles in the fields of law and public policy. Melanie holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School and a B.A. from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and lives in Boston, MA, with her husband, two children, and one dog.

Victor Mukhin

Scientific Program

Title : Active carbons as nanoporous materials for solving of environmental problems

However, up to now, the main carriers of catalytic additives have been mineral sorbents: silica gels, alumogels. This is obviously due to the fact that they consist of pure homogeneous components SiO2 and Al2O3, respectively. It is generally known that impurities, especially the ash elements, are catalytic poisons that reduce the effectiveness of the catalyst. Therefore, carbon sorbents with 5-15% by weight of ash elements in their composition are not used in the above mentioned technologies. However, in such an important field as a gas-mask technique, carbon sorbents (active carbons) are carriers of catalytic additives, providing effective protection of a person against any types of potent poisonous substances (PPS). In ESPE “JSC "Neorganika" there has been developed the technology of unique ashless spherical carbon carrier-catalysts by the method of liquid forming of furfural copolymers with subsequent gas-vapor activation, brand PAC. Active carbons PAC have 100% qualitative characteristics of the three main properties of carbon sorbents: strength - 100%, the proportion of sorbing pores in the pore space – 100%, purity - 100% (ash content is close to zero). A particularly outstanding feature of active PAC carbons is their uniquely high mechanical compressive strength of 740 ± 40 MPa, which is 3-7 times larger than that of such materials as granite, quartzite, electric coal, and is comparable to the value for cast iron - 400-1000 MPa. This allows the PAC to operate under severe conditions in moving and fluidized beds. Obviously, it is time to actively develop catalysts based on PAC sorbents for oil refining, petrochemicals, gas processing and various technologies of organic synthesis.

Victor M. Mukhin was born in 1946 in the town of Orsk, Russia. In 1970 he graduated the Technological Institute in Leningrad. Victor M. Mukhin was directed to work to the scientific-industrial organization "Neorganika" (Elektrostal, Moscow region) where he is working during 47 years, at present as the head of the laboratory of carbon sorbents. Victor M. Mukhin defended a Ph. D. thesis and a doctoral thesis at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (in 1979 and 1997 accordingly). Professor of Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia. Scientific interests: production, investigation and application of active carbons, technological and ecological carbon-adsorptive processes, environmental protection, production of ecologically clean food.

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Live Case Studies Demystified

Explore more.

Case Teaching
Experiential Learning

L ive case studies bring real companies with real business issues into the classroom. Not only can these experiences bring business frameworks to life for students, but they also surface unpredictable situations that further learning.

In a typical live case, a leader or team from a local company visits the classroom and presents a business problem the organization is facing. Students are then tasked to develop solutions. Sometimes they do so in a consulting team throughout the semester and then present their solutions to the professor, their classmates, and company representatives. In some instances, teams with the best ideas might present to an executive advisory board, which then chooses the strongest solution.

Bringing Real Business Issues to Light

Why live cases.

Live case studies offer a learning process that today’s students expect, according to a research paper published in 2017 by Sylvain Charlebois and Lianne Foti. Whether it is business ethics students facing a moral dilemma or commerce students designing a strategy for entering a new market, real-life situations provide added context and complexities. Live cases can also “offer incentives to students, beyond the grade, which enhance the effect of co-opetition.”

“Students are tackling and solving real-world problems,” he says. “There are no teaching notes and no solutions. Students are tasked with coming up with the solution on their own,” he says.

A few years ago, Rapp partnered with IGS Energy to conduct a live case study.

“They wanted to understand how to sell and market to millennials,” says Rapp. “Their service is deregulated energy–the idea that you have an energy choice and can select who you have as your provider.”

When IGS entered the classroom, they asked if students knew they could choose their energy provider. One out of 40 students knew, explains Rapp. “Then they went into more detail about the potential market and how much money they could generate in profit and how they could help customers. And the light switches really went on.”

"Students are tackling and solving real-world problems. There are no teaching notes and no solutions." Adam Rapp

Why It Works: Real-World Application

Working with clients lets students develop strategies and proposals and make real decisions. These interactions also improve students’ critical thinking and quantitative literacy.

In class, students learn about abstract business concepts. But when a company visits and lays out a specific problem—like how to restructure its incentive program—students are suddenly put inside the business. They must develop different solutions and strategies, think about their implications, and then apply real performance and sales numbers to see how their proposed solutions affect salaries and compensation rates.

Rapp notes, “That real-world application helps them get a much deeper and more meaningful understanding of the topic.”

Live cases also force students to think about how they would explain their solution to a manager or company owner. “When students know they have to defend their choices to a real client, there is a level of ownership and involvement with the process that I’ve never seen students express otherwise,” says Jessica Ogilvie, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Marquette University. Ogilvie helped build the Schey program at Ohio University and is currently designing and serving as associate director of a similar program at Marquette. “To me, they put forward a lot more work and effort—because there’s not just a grade on the line, but their reputation and persona when they stand up in front of a company and talk about it.”

What Students and Partners Are Saying

Ogilvie shares feedback from her students and companies she has partnered with on the value of live cases:

"The live case study helped me understand how an organization thinks and strategizes. This helped me understand how to navigate a sales organization with my first job." —Former student now working for LinkedIn

"The live case study made leading my first conversations with clients easier, and I could focus more on what mattered. It also cut my ramp-up time in half compared to other new hires at the company." —Former student now working for IBM

"The value of seeing a student in a ‘real life’ sales scenario is immeasurable." —Corporate partner in the tech industry

"Students bring a new perspective and find value in things we had missed." —Corporate partner in the industrial chemical industry

For the IGS Energy case, Rapp says, his students came up with some solutions the company has since implemented. These solutions included the creation of brand ambassadors—finding students from different universities to help circulate information about IGS across their campuses, dorm sponsorships at college campuses that help educate students about energy selection, and social media ads and sponsored ads that target the millennial market.

Live cases are most impactful when the company is trying to solve a problem and is open to hearing a new perspective, adds Ogilvie, recalling a partnership with a company that was having trouble retaining millennial hires. “This company knew it had a problem with something in that onboarding process—employees were leaving after two years no matter what they did. By asking students this question, they gained insight into the next generation and the future of the workforce,” she says. “That’s what makes these more successful projects for both the students and the company.”

“When students know they have to defend their choices to a real client, there is a level of ownership and involvement with the process that I’ve never seen students express otherwise.” Jessica Ogilvie

How to Involve Companies: Chicken or Egg?

When planning live cases, is it better to first map out a curriculum or to start by getting a company involved? Rapp prefers to have at least some curriculum in place before deciding on and reaching out to potential companies.

“Companies are interested in coming into the classroom and talking to students. But if you don’t have a footprint, it’s tough to offer a lot of value to the company other than just getting into the classroom,” he says. “I find it’s the curriculum and the student piece first. And then you have something to show to the company to get them excited and motivated.”

In contrast, Rapp says when companies come in and try to build academic curricula, it can be too practical and lack the educational components such as the psychology and theory—the why—behind it.

Either way, it’s important to first determine what topic this live experience should address to ensure it’s applicable to the class. “We make sure it’s a relevant topic and we explain that [the company] needs to be on campus a couple times during the semester, that they are going to have to listen in and evaluate these presentations, and they will have to host us during a final presentation in front of their executive staff,” Rapp says.

The experience is written into the syllabus, and students are prepped beforehand. “They sign a student contract, so they know they have to execute on this process with an outside group,” he adds.

Prior to the company first entering the classroom to present the problem, Rapp gives an overview of the company and students do research on the company’s representatives. This ensures that students spend more time on the problem and have more meaningful discussions with the company.

Ogilvie also presents her live cases as semester-long activities. Companies present students with the problem during the second or third week of class. Each subsequent section of the course provides information students can apply to the live case question. “What you see is a more comprehensive solution with more creative and in-depth ideas,” she says.

“Live cases are most impactful when the company is genuinely trying to solve a problem and is open to hearing a new perspective.” Jessica Ogilvie

What to Know: Be Prepared

Without a teaching note or a textbook to rely on, professors who plan to use a live case must know what is happening in the marketplace and the business landscape.

“Once the company leaves, the students will ask you 100 different questions about the problem, the situation, and the things that were talked about in the classroom,” says Rapp.

It’s also important to be prepared, to add value, and to be relevant to students. “If you are not, students will see through it very quickly,” he says.

Rapp usually meets three to five times with different people at the company prior to the start of the semester to understand the challenges and where the problem originated. He also does his own research on things like competitors, pricing, and the company’s value proposition.

Live Case Teaching Tips

Build company rapport. With the companies you invite to the classroom, get their buy-in beforehand. Consider asking for a small financial commitment to make sure they are invested at every level. To gain access to budget, they need permission from other people within their organization—so once you have that sign off, you know you have their commitment.

Set expectations. Understand a company’s boundaries, what you need participants to do, and how engaged you want them to be with students. It takes a lot of time, effort, and involvement from them to make live cases successful. Lay out their involvement from the beginning. “Where some companies aren’t as involved or engaged, it makes a really challenging and painful experience for students,” says Rapp. “I’ve had others where the company was all in, and it was unbelievable. IGS was a great partner because they had representatives visit campus multiple times and were available to answer questions.”

Define the problem. Define the business problem at the beginning of the semester and stick to that question throughout the term.

“When I craft live case experiences,” says Ogilvie, “my biggest thing is making sure there is value in the exercise—either in the experience or in the outcome, or ideally both—beyond the grade my students are going to get for it.”

Adam Rapp is a professor of marketing at Ohio University’s College of Business and the executive director of The Ralph and Luci Schey Sales Centre. His research focuses on factors influencing the performance of front-line service and sales personnel. He has taught in and built sales institutes, and most recently developed an extensive curriculum around the topic of managing millennials and sales team performance.

Jessica Ogilvie is an assistant professor of marketing in the College of Business Administration and associate director of the sales program at Marquette University where she teaches marketing and professional selling courses. She is also an area editor at the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. Her primary areas of research include strategic issues related to frontline management, sales, and service topics.

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COMMENTS

Case Method Project
The Case Method Project is an initiative formed to achieve two goals: Bring case method teaching to high schools and colleges. Use this methodology to deepen students' understanding of American democracy. Based on the highly successful experience of Harvard Business School and other graduate and professional programs that use case-based ...
Cases
The Case Analysis Coach is an interactive tutorial on reading and analyzing a case study. The Case Study Handbook covers key skills students need to read, understand, discuss and write about cases. The Case Study Handbook is also available as individual chapters to help your students focus on specific skills.
The HBS Case Method
Discuss the case. Each morning, you'll bring your ideas to a small team of classmates from diverse professional backgrounds, your discussion group, to share your findings and listen to theirs. ... Harvard Business School Spangler Welcome Center (Spangler 107) Boston, MA 02163 Phone: 1.617.495.6128
Teaching with Cases
Key strategies and practical advice for engaging students using the case method. Getting Started with Case Teaching ... Harvard Business School, June 21 - 22, 2024 ... April 26, 2024. View All. Inspiring Minds. View All Articles. CASE TEACHING. 7 Favorite Business Case Studies to Teach Undergrads—and Why. Educators Share Their Top Case ...
Case Method
Since the 1920s, the case method has been the foundational teaching practice at Harvard Business School (HBS). Based on participant-centered learning, the instructional approach facilitates discussions about real-life problems encountered in business, to prepare students for roles as leaders, managers, and decision makers. The case method ...
What the Case Study Method Really Teaches
It's been 100 years since Harvard Business School began using the case study method. Beyond teaching specific subject matter, the case study method excels in instilling meta-skills in students.
Teaching History Through the Case Method
Teaching History Through the Case Method. 21 Cases to Boost Civic Engagement and Deepen Students' Understanding of US Democracy. featuring David Moss. November 7, 2020. T he case method is typically synonymous with business school curriculum. Through active case discussion, students put themselves in the proverbial shoes of a case protagonist ...
The History of the Case Study at Harvard Business School
This case study method forms the backbone of the Harvard Business School curriculum. Back in the 1920s, HBS professors decided to develop and experiment with innovative and unique business instruction methods. As the first school in the world to design a signature, distinctive program in business, later to be called the MBA, there was a need ...
The Case Study Handbook, Revised Edition: A Student's Guide
Teaching notes are available as supporting material to many of the cases in the Harvard Chan Case Library. Teaching notes provide an overview of the case and suggested discussion questions, as well as a roadmap for using the case in the classroom. Access to teaching notes is limited to course instructors only.
Case Studies
Normative case studies (NCS) are a research and teaching tool developed by Meira Levinson, the Juliana W. and William Foss Thompson Professor of Education and Society at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), and used by educators around the globe. NCS are "richly described, realistic accounts of complex ethical dilemmas that arise ...
International Case Method Institute
Led by Dr. Susan Harmeling, a Harvard-trained expert in innovative business curriculum design, the professionals at International Case Method Institute LLC ("ICMI") are dedicated to a threefold mission. First, we work to improve global business education, making it more effective, more interactive and more relevant to a changing ...
The Last Soviet Famine, 1946/47: Mass Death across Ukraine, Moldova and
A lecture by Hiroaki Kuromiya, Emeritus Professor of History, Indiana University Yuri Ivanovych Shapoval, Professor and head of the Center for Historical Political Studies, Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Filip Slaveski, Senior Lecturer in Russian/Soviet and East European History, Australian National University Moderated by Serhii Plokhii ...
What If We're Telling the Wrong Story about Climate Change?
According to Chika Okafor, the 2023-2024 Edna Newman Shapiro, Class of 1936, and Robert Newman Shapiro, Class of 1972, Graduate Student Fellow at Harvard Radcliffe Institute, climate disaster stories employ what's called a "deficit-based approach" to communication, which might be problematic when it comes to mobilizing support to fight ...
Case Method 100 Years
During the 2021-2022 academic year, HBS celebrates 100 years of teaching and learning by the case method at the School. Case Method 100 Years. Harvard Business School. Boston, MA 02163. → Map & Directions.
Younger votes still lean toward Biden
By Christina Pazzanese | Harvard Staff WriterApril 19, 2024Younger voters turned out in historic numbers to help lift Joe Biden past Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. This year, the match-up is the same, but the feelings are much more complicated.Gen Z and late Millennial voters (ages 18-29) are more dissatisfied with their choices and worried over kitchen table issues such as ...
Harnessing the Potential of Manufactured Housing to Expand Entry-Level
However, our case studies reveal that various challenges can decrease and even eliminate these time savings. While some slowdowns are unavoidable, inefficiencies related to a lack of familiarity with manufactured housing - on the part of community members and officials, inspectors and permitting offices, and the developers themselves - may ...
Lessons from Beyoncé on Navigating Exclusion
She is an organizational psychologist and the coeditor of Race, Work and Leadership: New Perspectives on the Black Experience (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019).
Clinical Trial by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, HCA ...
The large multi-state, real-world study was conducted in 82 hospitals and led by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, HCA Healthcare, University of California, Irvine (UCI) Health and the ...
Case Teaching
Jeremy B. Dann is a lecturer at USC's Marshall School of Business and the founding director of the case study program at the school's Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Dann was named Outstanding Case Writer and winner of The Case Centre's 2021 global case writing competition. He graduated from Harvard Business School in 1998 ...
Gender and Politics: Keynote Conversation with Maura T. Healey
Program. The conference agenda is subject to change and may be updated periodically. Thursday, April 25, 2024. 4 PM Welcome. Tomiko Brown-Nagin, dean, Harvard Radcliffe Institute; Daniel P.S. Paul Professor of Constitutional Law, Harvard Law School; and professor of history, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences . 4:10 PM
Scientists uncover 95 regions of the genome linked to PTSD
The NeuroGAP-Psychosis project, a collaboration between the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to study the genetics of severe mental illness, has recruited more than 42,000 participants in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa.
People Directory
Physics in Medicine and Biology 2013;58:6337-6353. Giantsoudi D, Grassberger C, Craft D, Niemierko A, Trofimov A, Paganetti H. Linear energy transfer (LET)-Guided Optimization in intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT): feasibility study and clinical potential.
Team
David Moss is the Paul Whiton Cherington Professor at Harvard Business School and the founder of the Case Method Institute. Before joining the Harvard Business School faculty in 1993, he received his B.A. from Cornell University and his Ph.D. from Yale. David is the author of numerous books, articles, and case studies, mainly on the history of ...
Homogenizing instrumental earthquake catalogs
The creation of a homogenized earthquake catalog is a fundamental step in seismic hazard analysis. The homogenization procedure, however, is complex and requires a good understanding of the heterogeneities among the available bulletins. Common events within the bulletins have to be identified and assigned with the most suitable origin time and location solution, while all the events have to be ...
Concept of Social Entrepreneurship in the Development of Creative
Social entrepreneurship is currently viewed as a solution to address various social issues, including welfare, healthcare, education, poverty alleviation, and community empowerment, among others. This research aims to develop a social entrepreneurship concept suitable for Cirendeu Village. The concept of social entrepreneurship is closely related to the 8th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG ...
Active carbons as nanoporous materials for solving of environmental
Biography: Victor M. Mukhin was born in 1946 in the town of Orsk, Russia. In 1970 he graduated the Technological Institute in Leningrad. Victor M. Mukhin was directed to work to the scientific-industrial organization "Neorganika" (Elektrostal, Moscow region) where he is working during 47 years, at present as the head of the laboratory of carbon sorbents.
Live Case Studies Demystified
June 7, 2019. L ive case studies bring real companies with real business issues into the classroom. Not only can these experiences bring business frameworks to life for students, but they also surface unpredictable situations that further learning. In a typical live case, a leader or team from a local company visits the classroom and presents a ...
A Neuro-Symbolic Explainer for Rare Events: A Case Study on Predictive
Predictive Maintenance applications are increasingly complex, with interactions between many components. Black box models are popular approaches based on deep learning techniques due to their predictive accuracy. This paper proposes a neural-symbolic architecture that uses an online rule-learning algorithm to explain when the black box model predicts failures. The proposed system solves two ...