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Ghebremichael Lab Study Offers a Fairer Way to Judge Medical Tests, Helping Spot Reliable Biomarkers

Sep 29, 2025 Features

A new paper by Ragon Institute biostatisticians in the Ghebremichael Lab introduces and tests a flexible way to grade medical tests like blood-based biomarkers so scientists can more confidently tell which ones truly separate “sick” from “healthy.” That clearer yardstick matters for immunology, where research teams must decide which candidate markers deserve scarce time and funding. Published […]

Ndhlovu Lab Study Maps How HIV Evades Immune Attack in Lymph Nodes

Sep 22, 2025 Features

A new Cell Reports study from the Ndhlovu Lab with partners in South Africa and Malawi explains how HIV survives in lymph nodes during treatment. The team shows that the virus weakens nearby “killer” CD8 T cells right where HIV concentrates most, inside B cell follicles. Researchers examined lymph node tissue from people with and […]

Yu Lab Study Finds Sex-Linked Innate Immunity Shapes HIV Reservoirs During Long-Term Therapy

Sep 17, 2025 Features

A new multi-center study led by investigators at the Yu Lab reports that biological sex influences how the body “selects” long-lived HIV reservoir cells during years of effective antiretroviral therapy. The team finds stronger innate immune pressure in females, offering fresh clues for cure-directed strategies. Published in Science Translational Medicine, the study analyzed more than 4,000 […]

Kwon Lab Study Links Gut Immune Cell Metabolism to Barrier Damage in HIV

Sep 11, 2025 Features

A new study led by investigators at the Kwon Lab and collaborators shows how energy use by gut immune cells can weaken the intestinal lining in people living with HIV, even when the virus is controlled by treatment. The work identifies a metabolic switch inside these cells as a promising target to help protect the […]

Moura Silva Lab Student named to 2025 HHMI Gilliam Fellows Program

Sep 2, 2025 Awards

The Ragon Institute congratulates Anika Hutton of the Moura-Silva Lab on her selection to the 2025 cohort of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam Fellows Program. Hutton, a PhD student advised by Hernandez Moura Silva, joins a national community of emerging scientists committed to impactful research and inclusive training environments. The Gilliam Fellows Program […]

Eric Dang Joins Ragon Faculty

Aug 21, 2025 Features

We are excited to announce that Eric Dang, PhD, will be joining the Ragon Institute as a new faculty member, where he will lead the Dang Lab. Eric will serve as a Core Member of the Ragon Institute and will be proposed for an appointment as an Assistant Professor of Immunology at Harvard Medical School. Dang received his […]

Wong Receives Prestigious NSF CAREER Award

Aug 18, 2025 Awards

The Ragon Institute congratulates faculty member Harikesh Wong, PhD, Core Member at the Ragon and an Assistant Professor in the MIT Department of Biology, on receiving the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award — the NSF’s most prestigious honor for early-career faculty. The CAREER Award recognizes teacher-scholars who excel in integrating research […]

Phase 1 clinical trial of HIV vaccine starts in Africa to evaluate immune responses to highly networked HIV T-cell epitopes

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), […]

Ragon Institute Welcomes Computational Biologist Eric Sun to Faculty

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 […]

Ndhlovu Lab Study Highlights Crucial Genetic Diversity for Effective Vaccine Development in Africa

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 […]

Wong Lab Postdoc Awarded Jane Coffin Childs Fellowship

Jun 24, 2025 Awards

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 […]

Alter Lab Study Uncovers How Certain Antibodies Help Fight Tuberculosis

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, […]