Ragon Institute
Aug 1, 2016
The Ragon Institute of Mass General Hospital, MIT, and Harvard has a dual mission to contribute to the accelerated discovery of an HIV/AIDS vaccine and subsequently to establish itself as a world leader in the collaborative study of immunology. Thus, the vast majority of studies require the use of peripheral blood cells such as B […]
Jul 19, 2016
For millennia physicians have cured the sick and treated the ill, oftentimes experimenting on their patients and developing new medical treatments. However, for the past fifty years a dichotomy has been forming between the role of physicians who treat patients and researchers who pioneer new therapies. A 2013 study by the Journal of the […]
Jul 12, 2016 Features
On May 9th 2016, the first Rethinking Global Health workshop was held at the MIT Media Lab. This event, organized by the newly formed student organization MIT Cost-effective Healthcare Initiative, was attended by a diverse group of over 180 students, faculty members, physicians, NGO representatives and industry representatives. The goal of the workshop was […]
Jun 28, 2016
BOSTON – The rapid development of a safe and effective vaccine to prevent the Zika virus (ZIKV) is a global priority, as infection in pregnant women has been shown to lead to fetal microcephaly and other major birth defects. The World Health Organization declared the Zika virus epidemic a global public health emergency on February […]
Jun 21, 2016
Understanding why some strains of HIV may be more infectious than others may provide critical clues to developing an HIV vaccine that effectively blocks HIV transmission. A study in the journal PLoS Pathogens, led by researchers at the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard have decoded new information about the genetic makeup […]
Jun 14, 2016
Debunking the perplexingly advanced, cutting-edge technologies used by researchers at the Ragon Institute Imaging Core in pursuit of an HIV/AIDS vaccine. There is perhaps no better analogy for the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard’s Imaging Core than a tricked-out, time-traveling 1985 DeLorean sports car. Yes, you read that correctly. Much like […]
Jun 7, 2016 Awards
Ragon Institute faculty member Daniel Lingwood, PhD, was one of seven recipients of The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Avenir Award. The Avenir Award supports early stage investigators who propose highly innovative studies. The scientists each receive up to $300,000 per year for five years to support their HIV/AIDS and genetics research. […]
Jun 7, 2016
In spite of the rain, about thirty Ragon Institute members joined the nearly 10,000 participants of the 31st annual Boston AIDS Walk and Run. The Ragon Institute has been a long-time supporter of AIDS Action Committee’s annual AIDS Walk and this year, Team Ragon raised $32,015, coming in 2nd place for top fundraising team. […]
May 19, 2016
Previously undetected mutation in a subline of C57BL/6 mice could compromise results of many previous studies BOSTON – A strain of inbred mice commonly used for the creation of so-called knockout animals has been found to carry a previously undetected mutation that could affect the results of immune system research studies. In paper receiving […]
May 17, 2016
A sub-Saharan African donor’s blood has yielded remarkable finds that could be crucial in the search for an AIDS vaccine. An infected donor’s immune system naturally made potent antibodies, which lab tests showed could effectively recognize and neutralize about 50 percent of all HIV-1 strains circulating around the world. HIV-1 is the most widespread HIV […]
May 16, 2016
Last Month, the Ragon Instiute welcomed Dr. Facundo Batista—an internationally renowned expert in the fields of B cell activation, high-resolution imaging and in vivo microscopy—with a symposium entitled “B Cells In Immunity and Cancer.” The symposium, held in the Ragon Institute auditorium, featured Dr. Batista as well as a distinguished panel of guest speakers from […]
Apr 11, 2016 Awards
On March 23, DayZero Diagnostics was announced as the winner of the Harvard Business School (HBS) New Venture Competition. DayZero Diagnostics, headed by Ragon faculty Drs. Douglas Kwon and Melis Anahtar, Dougal Maclauren, Miriam Huntley, and Jong Lee, is a startup which is striving to change the way doctors diagnose bacterial infections. They are […]
Apr 5, 2016
A new paper represents the first characterization of the human virome in HIV infection was published in the March 9 issue of the scientific journal Cell Host & Microbe. This paper is a collaboration between the Ragon Institute Kwon Lab in collaboration with the Virgin Lab at the Washington University School of Medicine at St. […]
Mar 29, 2016
On March 15, the Ragon Institute was pleased to host four visitors from Mbarara University of Science & Technology (MUST) in Uganda in order to share knowledge about setting up world-class research on the African continent. Professor Celestino Obua, MD, PHD, Vice Chancellor of MUST was accompanied by Sam Maling, Dean of Faculty of […]
Mar 15, 2016
On February 22, Ragon Institute Director Dr. Bruce Walker presented the Bernard Fields Lecture at the 23rd annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). Dr. Walker’s lecture, entitled T Cell Control of HIV: Implications for Vaccines and Cure, was given during the opening session of the CROI conference. The prestigious Bernard Fields […]
Mar 10, 2016 Awards
HIV Pathogenesis Programme (HPP) Masters student Funsho Ogunshol was recently awarded a Masters degree summa cum laude by the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Ogunshol was supervised by Ragon faculty member Dr. Zaza Ndhlovu. In recognition of this exceptional achievement, Ogunshol has also been awarded a full PhD scholarship by Sub-Saharan Africa Network for TB/HIV Research […]