1. Towards the end of his medical training in the early 1980s, Gokhan Hotamisligil was working on a unique tumor case on a patient and found they were comprised primarily of fat cells. The fatty tumors were due to a rare condition, Proteus Syndrome. Working in the field of metabolic regulation Hotamisligil began to explore the underlying pathways for insulin resistance. In his dissertation he discovered that the fat tissue of obese animals and humans were capable of producing inflammatory mediators. His research helped shape the current view of fat tissue as a “discrete, active organ in its own right, continuously exchanging messages with the rest of the body by way of the bloodstream.” By early 2002 Hotamisligil and his laboratory made several groundbreaking discoveries linking inflammation, to obesity, diabetes, and related cardiovascular problems. Hotamisligil’s publications have appeared numerous times in all of the major scientific journals, including Nature and Science. In 2004, Hotamisligil was able to demonstrate that excess fat, by itself can cause stress signals and medical problems. In the field of metabolic health and disease it is clear that Hotamisligil has played an extremely important role in its development, with his numerous contributions and many publications in the field. Since starting his career back in the 80s he helped to shape the modern view of metabolic health and took important steps towards understanding underlying causes of Type 2 diabetes and metabolic disease.

2. The agreements between Syndexa and Harvard were complex because the agreements required exemptions to many of Harvard’s internal policies and issues on conflicts of interest. Although both Harvard and Syndexa recognized that a simultaneous execution of a license and sponsored research agreement was necessary. The negotiations between Syndexa and Harvard was not atypical,