Ragon Institute
Aug 4, 2025 Research Highlights
Led by a team of African researchers, first doses of the novel T cell-inducing GRAdHIVNE1 vaccine candidate have been given. Harare, Zimbabwe; Rome, Italy; New York, NY, and Cambridge, MA, USA — August 4, 2025 — The Mutala Trust, ReiThera Srl (ReiThera), the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard (the Ragon Institute), […]
Jul 31, 2025 Features
The Ragon Institute is pleased to announce that Eric Sun, PhD, will join the institute’s faculty and establish the Sun Lab, dedicated to advancing computational science and deepening our understanding of the biology of aging. Sun will hold dual appointments as a Member of the Ragon Institute and an Assistant Professor in MIT’s Department of […]
Jul 23, 2025 Features
A recent study from the Ndhlovu Lab at the Ragon Institute has uncovered significant gaps in global vaccine strategies, revealing that immune system gene diversity in African populations has been widely overlooked in current vaccine design approaches. The study, published in Scientific Reports, investigated high-resolution data on Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) genes in populations from […]
Jul 11, 2025 Features
Baquero discusses her HIV research, her time at the Ragon Institute, and the importance of preserving scientific and public health progress in Argentina. Lucia Baquero is a visiting doctoral candidate from Buenos Aires, Argentina, currently conducting research at the Ragon Institute as part of her doctoral work. She’s part of a longstanding collaboration between her […]
Jun 24, 2025 Features
Tomer Milo, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Wong Lab at the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard, has received the esteemed Jane Coffin Childs Fellowship. The fellowship supports promising early-career scientists conducting innovative biomedical research. Milo, who completed his doctoral work at the Weizmann Institute of Science, is recognized for his […]
Jun 11, 2025 Features
In 2022, the Mark and Lisa Schwartz AI/ML Initiative was launched at the Ragon Institute to explore the boundaries of artificial intelligence and machine learning within the context of immunology. Its first major project was the development of the MUNIS epitope predictor by the Gaiha Lab in collaboration with MIT. Now, Ragon faculty member Sophia […]
May 30, 2025 Features
Researchers at the Ragon Institute have made a significant discovery about how antibodies can directly enhance the body’s ability to fight Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis (TB). Despite decades of research, TB remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide, with about 10 million new cases and 1.6 million deaths annually. Currently, […]
May 16, 2025 Features
The Ragon Institute is proud to announce that Gaurav Gaiha, MD, DPhil, has been awarded the prestigious HST Seidman Prize for MD Research Mentorship. Presented annually by the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) program, this award recognizes a faculty member for their outstanding research mentorship of an HST MD student. Established in 2009 by […]
May 8, 2025 Features
The Ragon is proud to recognize graduate students and alumni Anusha Nathan of the Gaiha Lab and Leonard Nettey of the Shalek Lab, who have each been honored with the prestigious Jeffrey Modell Prize. The ceremony presenting the award was held April 30 on the Harvard campus. This award, conferred jointly by the Jeffrey Modell […]
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 24, 2025 Features
A recent study published in Science Translational Medicine, co-authored by Ragon Institute faculty members Azza Idris, MD, PhD, and Galit Alter, PhD, demonstrates that engineering antibodies to enhance Fc receptor binding can significantly improve their effectiveness against malaria infection. The researchers tested modified versions of human monoclonal antibodies, CIS43LS and L9LS, which target a protein […]
Apr 22, 2025 Research Highlights
A new study co-authored by Shiv Pillai, MD PhD, reveals two distinct populations of human memory B cells that persist long-term after vaccination or infection. Published in Cell Reports, the research identifies canonical memory B cells, originating from germinal centers, and a newly characterized durable population known as DN1 B cells. The study found that DN1 […]
Apr 15, 2025 Features
The Ragon Institute is delighted to congratulate Aaron Schmidt, PhD, a core member at the Ragon and an associate professor of Microbiology at Harvard Medical School, on being selected as one of the honorees of the 2024-25 Everett I. Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award. Presented annually by the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of […]
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 […]
Apr 3, 2025 Features
The Ragon Institute is proud to announce that faculty member Daniel Lingwood, PhD, has been selected as a 2025 MGH Research Scholar. The MGH Research Scholars program provides exceptional scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital with unrestricted funding, enabling visionary research into new scientific frontiers that traditional funding avenues might not readily support. Funds can be used […]
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 27, 2025 Research Highlights
A new study published in Science by researchers from the Ragon Institute, NIH/NIAID, and the University of Chicago reveals a critical function of the immune system: how regulatory T cells (Tregs) selectively suppress autoimmune reactions while allowing protective responses against infections. The immune system must constantly balance two opposing forces—attacking harmful invaders while preventing damage to healthy […]