Harvard Catalyst Profiles

M. William Lensch, PhD, is Associate Provost for Research at Harvard University, a Member of the Center for Bioethics and a Lecturer (part-time) in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical school (HMS). Dr. Lensch is a past Fellow of the Center for Bioethics.

He earned his B.S. in Biology from Utah State University and his Ph.D. in the Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics at Oregon Health Sciences University, where he studied pediatric bone marrow failure, the onset of myeloid leukemia and rare diseases of the blood at the Portland Veteran’s Administration Medical Center. His post-doctoral work at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and as a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Career-Development Fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital used various types of human cells and tissue as platforms for understanding the genetics, development and diseases of the blood-forming system. His work in bioethics includes issues related to rare diseases, genetic modification, use of human tissues in research, stem cell biology, human/animal chimeras, and the disposition of human remains in museum collections.

His professional portfolio within the provost’s office spans the schools of Harvard and provides high level management/guidance for interfaculty research and educational initiatives (IFIs) in the physical, life, and social sciences. Dr. Lensch's experience in research, education, administration, science policy, intellectual property, consulting and outreach combine in support of scientific discovery. Prior to assuming his current role, Dr. Lensch was Strategic Advisor to the Dean of Harvard Medical School and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Consortium on Pandemic Readiness (MassCPR), an HMS-led, multi-institutional response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. He has additionally served the Harvard community as Chief of Staff to the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Executive Director of the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology (SCRB), Faculty Director of Education for the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), and as Instructor in Pediatrics at HMS/Boston Children’s Hospital.

As part of his work to promote biomedical science in the service of patients, their families and the understanding of our own bodies in health and disease, Dr. Lensch has served in various external roles including as a gubernatorial appointee to the State of Connecticut’s Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee, a member of the Public Education Committee of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, and as Chair of the Bioethics Subcommittee of the national American Heart Association. His recognition includes multiple Certificates of Distinction in Teaching from Harvard’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, the Starr Family Prize for Excellence in Student Advising, and HMS’s Daniel D. Federman Staff Award for Exceptional Service, the latter for his role in the founding, operation, and ongoing strategy of the Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness (MassCPR) during the global COVID-19 pandemic.