As 2022 draws to a close, the Mass General Research Institute will bid farewell to Harry W. Orf, PhD, Senior Vice President for Research, and wish him the best in his well-deserved retirement.

We recently caught up with Dr. Orf to learn more about how research has changed since he first arrived at Massachusetts General Hospital four decades ago and see what’s next for him.

Research at Mass General has undergone some drastic changes since the early 1980s, when Orf first met Howard M. Goodman, PhD, the founder of the hospital’s new Department of Molecular Biology.

Orf was the Director of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Harvard at that time, and he had just overseen the construction of the department’s new home, the Fairchild Biochemical Laboratories.

Goodman, who was working with Mass General administrators to plan out lab space for molecular biology researchers on the top half of the Wellman (now Thier) Building, came for a tour of the Fairchild Labs.

Goodman ended up hiring Orf and his partner as consultants to create a master plan for the new lab space in the Wellman Building, which was then under construction.

When that consulting agreement ended, Goodman convinced Orf to come to Mass General to manage the newly opened research space and build the administrative and financial structure for the new department.

For the next 21 years, Goodman and Orf worked together to recruit world class fundamental scientists and integrate the scientific and operational expertise of molecular biology into the fabric of the entire MGH research community.

In 2003, Orf’s U.S. Army reserve unit was activated, and he spent a year in Iraq on active duty as a Colonel and Senior Nuclear Medical Officer with the 804^th Medical Brigade during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Shortly after returning home in 2004, he was named Vice President for Scientific Operations and Professor of Chemistry at the Scripps Research Institute, where he spent the next eight years building and then leading the Scripps Florida Palm Beach County campus.

In February of 2012, Dr. Orf returned to Mass General as Senior Vice President for Research.

One of his first tasks in this new role was to develop a strategic plan for the future of research at Mass General, which he did in collaboration with Robert Kingston, PhD, then-chair of the Executive Committee on Research, Merit Cudkowicz, MD, MSC, Chief of Neurology and other research leaders.

Out of that came three major initiatives:

● The formation of the Mass General Research Institute to serve as a front door for research and an umbrella for all research programs at the hospital

● The creation of the Translational Research Center to conduct first-in-human trials in collaboration with industry

● The establishment a “Life Registry” (an initiative now merged with the Mass General Brigham Biobank) to study how genes, lifestyle and other factors affect people’s health and contribute to disease

Of the 21 proposals for the future of Mass General submitted by departments and stakeholders across the hospital at that time, the trustees approved eight of them, including all three of the research initiatives. “I considered that a great victory for the research community,” Orf says.

The establishment of the Mass General Research Institute occurred at a time of significant growth for research at the hospital—research operations increased from $800M in FY2012 to more than $1.3B in FY2022, cementing the Mass General’s spot as home to the largest hospital-based research program in the United States.

Much of this growth has been driven by programs that integrate multiple aspects of fundamental, translational, clinical and outcomes/population-based research.

“If you look at the areas of growth, they’re in the collaborative areas,” Orf says. “Fundamental research has grown, but clinical research and clinical trials are now slightly over half of our research in terms of funding.

“It’s been gradual, but I think this integration has really turned us into a powerhouse.”

13 Things You Didn’t Know About Harry:

What’s an Interesting Fact About You That Few Would Know?

I’ve written and copyrighted three songs. I also still hold the record for the softball throw at my high school (310 feet). But the reason for that is that five years after I graduated, my high school closed! 

Favorite Band or Music?

More modern? Harry Styles. More classic? Bobby Caldwell.

Title of Your PhD Thesis?

Computer-Assisted Synthetic Analysis.

It was the third thesis on the world’s first computer program (LHASA, for Logic and Heuristics Applied to Synthetic Analysis) that analyzed complicated molecules and worked backwards to figure out what simpler chemical components could be used to make the complicated molecules.

Favorite Movie?

Caddyshack.

Can You Tell Us About Your Dogs?

They’re both very old. Ginger (a ginger-colored Cocker Spaniel) is going on 17. She’s a daddy’s girl. She has followed me everywhere since I started to work remotely. Cody is a 15-year-old black and white Cocker Spaniel, was named by our son after the penguin in the movie Surf’s Up. He’s more of a momma’s boy.

Where Do You Hope to Live in The Future?

I think long term we’d like to have a residence in Florida, but still maintain a small place up here and do a little back and forth long term.

Once Place You Hope to Visit That You’ve Never Been?

I’ve always wanted to see the pyramids.

How Many Grandchildren Do You Have?

Five.

Favorite Hobby?

Bowling.

Favorite Board Game?

Monopoly is probably our favorite board game, but our favorite game to play right now is Mexican Train Dominoes.

Favorite Trip to Date?

I have to put it in two categories. For the military, my favorite trip was to SHAPE – Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Belgium. With the family, we’ve had some really nice Caribbean and Alaskan cruises.

Place You’ve Been That You’ll Never Go Again?

Iraq, hopefully.

The Best Part About Massachusetts General Hospital?

The people, no question about it. Phenomenal people at every level. That was the easiest question you asked.

About the Mass General Research Institute
Research at Massachusetts General Hospital is interwoven through more than 30 different departments, centers and institutes. Our research includes fundamental, lab-based science; clinical trials to test new drugs, devices and diagnostic tools; and community and population-based research to improve health outcomes across populations and eliminate disparities in care.
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