Principal Investigator
Member (currently on leave of absence as VP of Immunology Research at Moderna)
Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard
Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Co-Director
Harvard University Center for AIDS Research (CFAR)
(857) 268-7003
400TS 784
Note: As of October 2022, Dr. Alter is currently on an extended leave of absence as vice president of Immunology Research at Moderna.
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The Alter 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 Alter lab develops and uses systems biology tools to define the correlates of immunity against infectious diseases that ravage the globe. To this end, we developed a novel, ever-evolving approach to probing humoral immunity that she termed ‘systems serology’. We use this novel -omics platform to profile the remarkable diversity of antibodies generated in response to pathogens or vaccines and their abilities to leverage the immune system to fight disease. Our group interrogates antibody profiles, using machine learning and other high dimensional tools to define the specific antibody profiles/features that track with favorable patient outcomes in diseases such as HIV, Ebola virus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, malaria, and SARS-CoV-2.
Dr. Alter has received the MGH Research Scholar Award and Financial Support and Glycobiology Significant Achievement Award (2018). Her lab has also received significant support for their SARS-CoV-2 work.
Dr. Alter was born in Israel and raised in Canada, and graduated and completed PhD training in Experimental Medicine at McGill University. She then completed her postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts General Hospital, where she became an Instructor in 2008.
Caroline Atyeo
Graduate Student
Biana Bernshtein
Research Fellow
Carolyn Boudreau
Graduate Student
Deniz Cizmeci
Research Fellow
Leela Davies
Research Fellow
Brandon Davis
Senior Research Technologist
Christine Davis
Graduate Student
Elizabeth DeRiso
Research Fellow
Jonathan Fallon
Research Specialist
Brooke Fenderson
Research Technician I
Stephanie Fischinger
Graduate Research Assistant
Laura Fontana
Program Manager
Daritza Germosen
Research Technician I
Matthew Gorman
Research Fellow
Patricia Grace
Research Fellow
Wenyue (Judy) Guo
Senior Research Technologist
Jonathan Herman
Research Scientist
Jeff Hsiao
Graduate Student
Edward Irvine
Graduate Student
Anita Iyer
Research Fellow
Jessica Lee
Research Technician I
Wonyeong Jung
Research Fellow
Jaewon Kang
Research Technician I
Paulina Kaplonek
Research Fellow
Wiktor Karpinski
Research Technician I
Benjamin Kellman
Research Fellow
Ryan MacVicar
Research Technician I
Jenny Maron
Graduate Student
Ryan McNamara
Senior Research Scientist
Shreya Nair
Undergraduate Student
Nadege Nziza
Research Fellow
Krista Pullen
Graduate Student
Vicky Roy
Research Specialist
Sally Shin
Research Technician II
Sameed Siddiqui
Graduate Student
Marianna Spatola
Research Fellow
Daniel Stein
Undergraduate Student
Xin Tong
Research Fellow
Nicholas Webb
Research Fellow
Menbere Wolde
Research Scientist
Dansu Yuan
Research Technician I
Daniel Zhu
Graduate Student
Tomer Zohar
Graduate Student
Yonathan Zur
Research Technician I
Our people are our greatest asset. We are committed to creating a supportive and inclusive environment that is welcoming for all.
The Ragon Institute brings together diverse researchers from across Mass General, MIT, and Harvard.
The Ragon’s research creates knowledge from our collaborative, cross-disciplinary approach, breaking down the silos of academia.