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Machine Learning: the Right Tool for the Right Diagnostic Test

Dec 18, 2019

Ragon faculty member Musie Ghebremichael, PhD, recently published a BMC paper entitled “A comparison of machine learning techniques for classification of HIV patients with antiretroviral therapy-induced mitochondrial toxicity from those without mitochondrial toxicity.” Additional authors include Jong Lee, Elijah Paintsil, and Vivek Gopalakrishnan, of University of Massachusetts, Lowell; Yale University; and The Johns Hopkins University, […]

Into the Spotlight: Towards a Drug-Free Remission

Dec 2, 2019

The Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard received $10 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to move towards drug-free HIV remission.      HIV  HIV remains a major global health challenge, with UNAIDS reporting 37.9 million people living with HIV and 1.7 million new cases each year. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) allows […]

Transformative Approaches to a TB Vaccine

Nov 15, 2019

New research center will help advance TB vaccine development For centuries tuberculosis (TB) has been a major global health problem and the world’s leading infectious killer.  To combat this deadly disease, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recently announced new contract awards to establish […]

Groundbreaking HIV vaccine design strategy shows promise in proof-of-principle tests

Nov 1, 2019

A new approach that targets young immune cells may also work for creating vaccines against the flu, dengue, malaria and hepatitis C October 31, 2019 LA JOLLA, CA A collaborative team of scientists has made a successful proof-of-principle demonstration of an advanced HIV vaccine strategy—an approach that may also work in protecting people from an […]

Towards ‘universal’ protection: designing the next-generation influenza vaccine

Oct 21, 2019

Scientists from the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard, led by Dr. Aaron Schmidt, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, have partnered with the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI) on a nation-wide, multidisciplinary program to develop a more universally protective influenza vaccine.   The Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers (CIVICs) program, driven and supported by […]

A shot in the arm for vaccine research

Oct 4, 2019

Ragon Institute harnesses new knowledge about HIV to reinvent immunology   Mary Todd Bergman | Harvard Correspondent   Originally posted on The Harvard Gazette, September 19, 2019   With a promising HIV vaccine already in clinical trials, and research revealing how some people can naturally control HIV without medications, the Ragon Institute of Mass General, […]

Germline-encoded affinity for cognate antigen enables vaccine-amplification of a human broadly neutralizing response against influenza virus

Sep 27, 2019

Article originally published on Cell Press, Immunity, September 25, 2019 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2019.09.001 Cambridge, MA. A team of researchers led by Dr. Daniel Lingwood from the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard have investigated how Human broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) against influenza virus can be biased for VHgene usage, suggesting gene-encoded development pathways. Sangesland et […]

Identification Of A Direct Interaction Between NK Cells And A Subset Of HLA Class II Molecules

Aug 5, 2019

News from the HPI Monday, 29. July 2019 Hamburg. A scientific team from the Research Department of Virus Immunology at the Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology (HPI) has investigated the binding of NK cell receptors to HLA class II molecules. The results have now been published in the renowned journal “Nature Immunology”. […]

Studies show early detection, prompt ARV treatment provide hope for the elimination of HIV

Jul 17, 2019

Could early treatment with antiretroviral (ARV) therapy help the body fight off HIV? Researchers affiliated with the Sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV Research Excellence (SANTHE) are convinced that early ARV therapy is critical to the treatment of HIV.   Researchers at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in Durban, South Africa are conducting studies they believe […]

New vaccine strategy boosts T-cell therapy

Jul 11, 2019

Super-charging a treatment for leukemia also makes it effective on solid tumors. Anne Trafton | MIT News Office A promising new way to treat some types of cancer is to program the patient’s own T cells to destroy the cancerous cells. This approach, termed CAR-T cell therapy, is now used to combat some types of […]

Eight Harvard students travel to KZN for a unique HIV research internship

Jul 1, 2019

Some of the world’s brightest young health minds will be working under the supervision of senior HIV scientists to gain insight into combating this global epidemic. KWAZULU-NATAL, South Africa — Eight students from Harvard University are currently in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) for an intensive internship program to learn about the important HIV prevention and cure research […]

Ragon Institute top fundraiser for 34th annual AIDS Walk

Jun 18, 2019

Team Ragon raises $64,014 for crucial services BOSTON, Mass. – On Sunday, June 2nd, 2019, more than 30 Team Ragon members, including Ragon Institute employees and their friends and family, gathered at the DCR Hatch Memorial Shell for the annual Boston AIDS Walk and 5K Run. The AIDS Walk, now in its 34th year, is […]

Breaking the Code: How is a mother’s immunity transferred to her baby?

Jun 13, 2019

Ragon Institute-led study identifies factors contributing to placental transfer of antibodies CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – One of the most successful interventions in reducing infectious disease worldwide, vaccination still has limited effectiveness in protecting one group of patients – newborn infants. Now a study based at the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard has determined […]

Ragon Institute hosts Neuro-Immune Symposium

May 28, 2019

Two-day symposium brings together experts in the growing field of neuroimmunology On March 28th and 29th, 2019, the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard hosted a Neuro-Immune Symposium with the goal of bringing together world-class experts in neuroimmunology and the related fields of neurobiology and immunology to share their cutting-edge research and discoveries, […]

Early antiretroviral treatment may preserve key immune responses to HIV

May 22, 2019

Ragon Institute study findings could pave the way to vaccine development CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Instituting combination antiretroviral (ART) treatment at the earliest stages of HIV infection may allow the generation of functional CD8 “killer” T cells and preservation of the CD4 helper T cells that are the virus’s primary target.  Investigators from the Ragon Institute […]