Mark Charles Fishman

Mark Fishman is Professor in the Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and Chief of the Pathways Clinical Service service at the MGH for patients with complex medical disorders. His current research focus is on the genes that guide social behavior, using genetics of the zebrafish. In the 1990’s, by harnessing the first large-scale genetic screens in zebrafish (performed in collaboration with W. Driever and contemporaneously with C. Nuesslein-Volhard), and by providing much of the early genomic infrastructure, Fishman’s lab helped to make the zebrafish a cornerstone of developmental biology, and led to revelation of many of the pathways that guide vertebrate organ development, particularly the heart and vessels. From 2002-2016 Fishman was the founding President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR). During his tenure, NIBR discovered and brought through successful clinical trials 90 new medicines in more than 120 indications. He brought a particular focus on regenerative medicines as treatments for disorders of aging. Fishman graduated from Yale College and Harvard Medical School and trained in medicine and Cardiology at the MGH. Prior to his time at NIBR, he was the Founding Director of the Cardiovascular Research Center and Chief of Cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital.