Multiple myeloma research crusader Kathy Giusti to speak at HBS Class Day

The founder of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation will speak at Harvard Business School Class Day.

Kathy Giusti

Kathy Giusti, M.B.A. ’85, founder and CEO of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), will address this year's imminent graduates of Harvard Business School as Class Day speaker. She founded the MMRF in 1998 after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma. This spring, Time magazine named her one of the "100 most influential people" in the world. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells—white blood cells that produce antibodies; it affects from one to four people per 100,000 and constitutes 1 percent of all cancers. Before starting MMRF, Giusti was an executive with pharmaceutical companies, and she has sought to encourage the development of drugs to treat the disease using a business model, rather than an academic model, of drug development. The MMRF is the world's top funder of myeloma research: it has raised more than $165 million to fund research.  

Related topics

You might also like

Sustainability on the Menu

Harvard’s sustainable meals program aims to support local farms, protect oceans, and limit waste.

Harvard Research Funding Will Resume, Government Signals

Notices of grant reinstatements follow a court ruling, but the Trump administration could still appeal. 

At Harvard College Convocation, an Emphasis on Open-Mindedness

Garber, other leaders sidestep politics but welcome international students.

Most popular

Two Years of Doxxing at Harvard

What happens when students are publicly named and shamed for their views?

What of the Humble Pencil?

Review: At the Harvard Art Museums’ new exhibit, drawing takes center stage

A New Narrative of Civil Rights

Political philosopher Brandon Terry’s vision of racial progress

Explore More From Current Issue

Vivian W. Rong sitting on bench outdoors.

Highlighting Harvard Magazine’s Fellows

The 2025-2026 Ledecky and Summer Undergraduate Fellows

People sit in lawn chairs near a rustic barn at Cider Garden in New Salem on a sunny day.

CiderDays Festival Celebrates All Things Apple

Visiting small-batch cideries and orchards in Massachusetts

Colorful illustration of woman multitasking with laptop, baby bottle, toy, and checklist.

Motherhood and Ambition in a Pronatalist World

Gen Z is confronting the age-old question of balance—with a new twist.