Ragon Institute
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 […]
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 29, 2025 Research Highlights
An exciting collaboration between the Ragon Institute and the Jameel Clinic at MIT has achieved a significant milestone in leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to aid the development of T cell vaccine candidates. Ragon faculty member Gaurav Gaiha, MD, DPhil, and MIT Professor Regina Barzilay, PhD, AI lead of the Jameel Clinic for AI and Health, […]
Jan 27, 2025 Research Highlights
A recent study published in Nature Immunology, co-authored by Ragon Institute faculty member Alex K. Shalek, PhD, provides critical insights into how SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccination status shape immune responses in the nasal mucosa. This research, which utilized advanced single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) approaches, explores how cellular responses in the human nasal cavity differ across […]
Jan 16, 2025 Features
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 […]
Jan 13, 2025 Awards
We are delighted to celebrate Ragon faculty Amy Barczak, MD , for receiving the CFD Excellence in Mentoring Ally for Women Faculty Award! This prestigious recognition, presented by the MGH Center for Faculty Development, honors her extraordinary commitment to supporting and advancing women faculty. Amy’s dedication to mentorship is evident in her tireless efforts to […]
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 […]
Oct 1, 2024 Research Highlights
Researchers at the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard have uncovered critical insights into how aging impairs the immune system’s ability to fight cancer. A study led by the Ringel Lab at the Ragon Institute and published in Cancer Immunology Research shows that as the body ages a type of immune cells called CD8+ T cells, essential for […]
Sep 24, 2024 Research Highlights
Researchers from the Shalek Lab at the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard, in collaboration with the Broad Institute, have uncovered key insights into how prior Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection primes the immune system for enhanced protection against reinfection. This study, published in Immunity on August 30, used a non-human primate model to demonstrate that […]
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 […]