The Ragon supports a set of centralized resources specific to immunology and infectious disease research, allowing our labs to conduct studies that would be otherwise inaccessible to them. These resources are available as either cores or platforms. Cores, which charge for their services, are available for external partners to use. Platforms, which are funded by the Ragon, are only available for Ragon workforce members.
The Ragon BSL3 core provides biosafety level-3 laboratory space, training, and consultation for academic and industrial researchers working with risk group-3 pathogens, such as M. tuberculosis, SARS-CoV-2, Chikungunya virus, West Nile virus, Powassan virus, Japanese Encephalitis virus, Dabie bandavirus, Heartland virus and Bhanja virus.
The Ragon Institute Flow Core provides access to a range of different instrumentation for flow cytometry, a technique that enables researchers to identify and quantify different cell types within a sample by measuring the presence of markers used to label the cells.
Humanized immune system mice have played an essential role in medications and vaccine preclinical analysis and development for the last thirty years. These mice have also served as models for studies undercovering physiologic and pathologic mechanisms in vivo.
The Ragon Microscopy Core provides cutting-edge imaging technologies to answer fundamental questions in immunology and infectious disease research.
The Biostatistics Platform provides researchers within the Ragon Institute with expertise in planning, conducting, and analyzing research.
The Cellular Immunology Database is a centralized and secure database essential to the Ragon’s clinical coordinators, central processing lab, regulatory and research staff.
The Clinical Platform recruits and enrolls subjects into Ragon specimen collection studies and first-in-human clinical trials.
The Processing Lab processes clinical samples so they can be studied by researchers across the Ragon Institute.
The Protein Production team produces recombinant proteins, such as the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, upon request to Ragon Members and Core Members.
The System Serology Lab focuses on the development of biological tools to determine individual antibody responses to a number of infectious diseases, such as HIV, Ebola virus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, malaria, and SARS-CoV-2. This approached, deemed Systems Serology, allows us to understand what specific antibody features track with favorable patient outcomes as they battle infection with these diseases.
The Tissue Platform supports research of tissue-specific immunity and human disease. The team provides fresh and fixed tissue samples for research and training for the processing of human samples.
Laboratory mouse work is an essential aspect of the scientific process, and the Ragon Institute is committed to using mice responsibly and ethically.
The Administrative and Operations team manages the Ragon’s operations, administrative, and logistical functions.
The Ragon Institute is committed to developing a thriving community which intentionally supports and welcomes every member of our diverse workforce.
The Ragon Institute brings together diverse researchers from across Mass General, MIT, and Harvard.