September 16, 2026
Alumni Updates: Summer/Fall 2026
Highlights of recent accomplishments from Harvard Griffin GSAS alumni, including a $300 million quantum funding round, leadership appointments, major foundation prizes, and health clinic endowments.
Intellectual Leadership in Uncertain Times
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) appointed Silvana Tenreyro, PhD ’02, economics, economic counsellor and director of the research department. The position makes Tenreyro the IMF’s chief economist, leader of the organization’s research efforts, and one of the world’s leading voices on policy.
The James E. Meade Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, Tenreyro’s research has been widely published in leading journals and recognized with international honors.
"Silvana is a globally respected economist who combines outstanding academic achievements with extensive policymaking experience and a close engagement with leading international institutions," said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in a press release on the Fund’s website. "At a time of profound transformation and heightened uncertainty in the global economy, Silvana’s mix of intellectual leadership and policy experience will help ensure that the Fund’s analytical work and multilateral surveillance and policy advice will remain at the cutting edge in support of our membership."
Read the full text of the IMF’s press release on the IMF website.
More Alumni News
Image
Oratomic, a quantum computing startup led by Dolev Bluvstein, PhD ’25, physics, raised $300 million in Series A funding to build what it calls the first utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer. The funds will support the company’s efforts to scale from its current laboratory demonstrations of 6,000 trapped atoms to a fully integrated system of 10,000 to 20,000 qubits with operational error correction. | Image
Lauren E. Brandt, PhD ’09, history of American civilization, was appointed inaugural secretary of Harvard College, a new senior role within the leadership team of Dean David Deming, PhD ’10. The office will be responsible for the operations of the Administrative Board and Honor Council and serve as the primary custodian of policies and procedures related to student discipline and academic exceptions. |
Image
The Neuroimmunology of Pain, a project led by Harvard Medical School’s Isaac Chiu, PhD ’09, immunology, received a $2 million grant from the Warren Alpert Foundation, supporting the effort to explore how the nervous and immune systems work together to generate—and potentially quiet—chronic pain, which affects tens of millions of people in the United States. | Image
Riyad Insanally, PhD ’90, romance languages and literatures, was elected commissioner of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights by the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS). From 2016 to 2021, Insanally served as Guyana’s eighth ambassador to the United States of America and fourth permanent representative to the OAS, as well as ambassador-designate, nonresident, to Mexico. |
Image
Jeffrey R. Long, PhD ’95, chemistry, has been named Harvard’s inaugural Thomas C. Foley Professor of Energy and the Environment and director of the Harvard Materials Initiative, a new effort to address challenging problems in energy science. The initiative will connect faculty from different departments and Schools, creating an interdisciplinary environment that can foster transformative research. | Image
Gregory Nagy, PhD ’66, classics, was part of the 2026 cohort of "Great Immigrants, Great Americans" honored by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, which marked Independence Day in the US by recognizing a group of naturalized citizens whose contributions have strengthened the nation. |
Image
Vijay Sankaran, PhD ’09, genetics, was one of five scientists awarded the 2026 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize for their work leading to curative genetic therapies for two major blood disorders: sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. The $500,000 prize recognizes individuals whose breakthroughs in biomedicine have led to the understanding, prevention, cure, or treatment of human disease. | Image
Ruth Simmons, PhD ’73, romance languages and literatures, established the Nora B. Wilson Endowment and Health Clinic at Texas Southern University. The new endowment will support the university’s Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention Center, which provides prevention and early detection resources to women in nine counties throughout Southeast Texas. |
