Raphael Reyes, a research fellow in the Batista Lab at the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard, has been selected as a recipient of the 2026 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar Fellowship in Immunotherapy. The fellowship provides two years of funding to support his research investigating how the immune system helps maintain a healthy vaginal microbiome.

Reyes’s project, titled “Unraveling the role of host humoral immunity in vaginal microbiome homeostasis,” focuses on understanding the role B cells and the antibodies they produce play in the female genital tract. In other parts of the body governed by microbial communities, such as the gut, the immune system develops specialized B cell responses tailored to the local environment. Reyes aims to determine whether similar mechanisms operate in the vagina, and how they contribute to maintaining microbial balance. His project is part of a collaboration between the Ragon’s Batista and Kwon labs, demonstrating the Ragon’s unique role in bringing scientists and research projects together.

This work addresses a significant gap in women’s health research. A healthy vaginal microbiota is dominated by Lactobacillus species, which produce antimicrobial compounds and maintain a low pH that protects against infection. Disruptions can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes and increased susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Despite this, the vagina remains understudied, and scientists still have a limited understanding of how a healthy vaginal microbiota is maintained.

Specifically, Reyes will work to define the local B cell compartment in the human female genital tract, investigate how B cell immunity functions in that environment, and assess the contribution of B cells to maintaining vaginal microbiome health. 

The Warren Alpert Foundation is a philanthropic organization dedicated to improving public health through grants and programmatic activities that advance medical treatments and cures through basic research, translational research, and health education. Since its inception in 1986, the foundation has committed over $200 million to its core mission of promoting medical science, supporting institutions including Harvard Medical School, Brown University, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.