Ragon Institute
May 6, 2025 Features
To understand what drives disease progression in tissues, scientists need more than just a snapshot of cells in isolation — they need to see where the cells are, how they interact, and how that spatial organization shifts across disease states. A new computational method called MESA (Multiomics and Ecological Spatial Analysis), detailed in a study […]
Apr 8, 2025 Features
The Ragon Institute is proud to announce the launch of our new initiative, the Global Ragon-Africa Scholars Program (GRASP), generously supported by the Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation. GRASP provides scholarships of up to $5,000 in travel and seed funding, offering Ragon-based graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research scientists, and administrative staff opportunities to directly engage with […]
Apr 4, 2025 Features
A healthy vaginal environment dominated by Lactobacillus crispatus is associated with a lower risk of HIV acquisition among women. However, only a fraction of women worldwide, and even fewer in Africa, have vaginal microbiomes dominated by Lactobacillus crispatus. Now, a groundbreaking study led by Drs. Anke Hemmerling and Craig Cohen from UCSF’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive […]
Mar 17, 2025 Features
Earlier this month, the Ragon Institute welcomed leadership from Biohaven for an insightful visit and discussion with our team. Biohaven CEO Vlad Coric, MD, and board member John Childs toured the Institute and met with Bruce Walker, MD, the Ragon Institute’s founding director, to explore mutual interests and opportunities in the fields of immunology, infectious […]
Mar 14, 2025 Features
The Ragon Institute is pleased to announce the launch of our internal Scientific Editing Platform. Created with the support of the scientific director Facundo Batista, PhD, the platform aims to assist our research community in developing impactful and compelling grant applications. The platform provides scientific editing to enhance our Institute’s grant submissions. The services are […]
Feb 13, 2025 Features
Xu Yu, MD, a faculty member at the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard, and Harvard Medical School, has been selected as a Featured Speaker at IAS 2025, the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science. This prestigious international event, taking place from July 13–17 in Kigali, Rwanda, brings together leading HIV scientists […]
Feb 12, 2025 Features
Dabbagh discusses her research at the Ragon Institute, the impact of the MIT Ibn Khaldun Fellowship, and her goals for the future. Deemah Dabbagh, PhD, a junior faculty member at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia, has spent years studying infectious diseases, with a particular focus on HIV. Through the MIT Ibn Khaldun Fellowship for […]
Feb 11, 2025 Awards
The Ragon Institute is proud to announce that faculty member and Early Independence Fellow Brandon DeKosky, PhD, has been awarded a prestigious AAI ASPIRE Award by the American Association of Immunologists (AAI). This award recognizes outstanding early-career investigators who have made significant contributions to immunology research and demonstrate exceptional promise in the field. The AAI […]
Jan 16, 2025 Awards
The Ragon Institute is proud to announce the 2025 recipients of the Giammaria and Sabrina Giuliani Faculty Support Fund, an endowed fund dedicated to advancing transformative research at the Institute. This year’s awardees are Gaurav Gaiha, MD, DPhil, Azza Idris, MD, PhD, Aaron Schmidt, PhD, and Hernandez Moura Silva, PhD, four exceptional scientists whose work […]
Dec 26, 2024 Features
Bruce Walker, MD, the founding director of the Ragon Institute, has dedicated his career to advancing our understanding of HIV and harnessing the immune system to combat infectious diseases. His impactful work has shaped the field of immunology and global health, and his leadership continues to drive scientific innovation. In a compelling profile by the […]
Dec 10, 2024 Features
This morning, the Ragon Institute had the privilege of hosting Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll for the ceremonial signing of the Mass Leads Act (H.5100). This landmark legislation is designed to solidify Massachusetts’ position as a global leader in emerging industries like climatetech, applied artificial intelligence (AI), and life sciences while promoting […]
Sep 23, 2024 Features
https://news.mit.edu/2024/two-dose-schedule-could-make-hiv-vaccines-more-effective-0920
Sep 17, 2024 Features
We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Ragon Institute faculty member Todd M. Allen, PhD, a pioneering researcher in T cell immunotherapy and HIV evolution and transmission. His groundbreaking work on HIV cure research has left an indelible mark on the field and has been an inspiration to many. In addition to his position at the Ragon, […]
Sep 3, 2024 Features
Researchers at the University of Amsterdam, in collaboration with the Batista Lab at the Ragon Institute, have developed a potential new approach for an HIV vaccine. The study, published in Science Immunology, focuses on creating a vaccine component that can stimulate the immune system to produce powerful antibodies against HIV. Titled “Germline-targeting HIV vaccination induces neutralizing antibodies to the CD4 […]
Aug 28, 2024 Features
Researchers at the Ndhlovu Lab, part of the Ragon Institute and the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), have completed a significant study on the safety and practicality of lymph node excisions for HIV cure research in South Africa. The study — led by Ragon faculty member Zaza Ndhlovu, PhD, and published in Frontiers in Immunology — provides […]
Aug 20, 2024 Features
Kim discusses her journey to the Ragon Institute and her aspirations for the future Exchange programs and global collaboration play a vital role in advancing scientific research, allowing researchers to share knowledge, resources, and expertise across borders — a philosophy the Ragon Institute is deeply committed to. For Youry Kim, PhD, the Ragon offered an […]