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Natural HIV control may rely on sequence of T cell receptor protein

Jun 11, 2012

BOSTON – The rare ability of some individuals to control HIV infection with their immune system alone appears to depend – at least partially – on specific qualities of the immune system’s killer T cells and not on how many of those cells are produced.  In a Nature Immunology paper receiving advance online publication, researchers […]

Act Locally

Jun 10, 2012

For 15 years, the Ragon Institute has shown their support for those fighting HIV/AIDS locally by raising funds and participating in the annual AIDS Walk Boston.   AIDS Walk Boston is the primary fundraising event for AIDS Action Committee (AAC), the leading provider of HIV prevention and care services in Massachusetts.   Prior to the […]

Altfeld Promoted to Professor of Medicine at HMS

May 28, 2012 Awards

Dr. Marcus Altfeld, Ragon Institute Investigator, has been promoted to Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS).  This appointment comes after many years of distinguished research both in Boston and South Africa.   Dr. Altfeld received his MD and PhD from the University of Cologne, Germany.  In 1999, he started his post-doctoral research work […]

K-RITH/Ragon/CFAR Sponsor Biostatistics Course in South Africa

May 15, 2012

May 7-11, 2012 the KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV (K-RITH), the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard, and the Harvard University Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) co-sponsored a biostatistics course in Durban, South Africa for the benefit of African scientists.   Biostatistics is the application of statistics to a wide range […]

Bangsberg Receives Mentorship Award

Apr 26, 2012 Awards

Dr. David Bangsberg receives prestigious A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award from the Harvard Medical School Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership.

Le Gall Receives Education and Diversity Award

Apr 20, 2012 Awards

Head of Ragon Educational Platform, Dr. Sylvie Le Gall ,receives the distinguished Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award from Harvard Medical School.   About the Award Harvard Medical School is committed to the advancement of a work and educational environment that adds to diversity and encourages and sets the tone for inclusion. Through inclusion, we nurture […]

HPP Celebrates Seven Graduates of UKZN

Apr 18, 2012

On Monday, April 16, 2012, the HIV Pathogenesis Programme (HPP) at Doris Duke Medical Research Institute (DDMRI), part of the Nelson Mandela Medical School, University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) graduated 7 students– 5 PhDs and 2 Masters. It was a day of joyful celebration and great pride for everyone involved.   The partnership between Ragon […]

Alter receives Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Award

Apr 5, 2012 Awards

Ragon Institute investigator Dr. Galit Alter receives Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards from the Clinical Research Forum (CRF).   “The CRF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing national leadership in clinical research. Its mission is to generate support for clinical research and promote understanding of its impact on health and healthcare delivery.   […]

Newsletter Vol 8: An Achievable Goal

Apr 1, 2012

The Ragon Institute celebrated three years of innovation and excellence on March 2, 2012. All Ragon Institute faculty and staff and their families and guests, collaborators from multiple continents, as well as donors Terry and Susan Ragon and their family, gathered at Walker Memorial on the MIT campus to mark this anniversary.     In […]

Researchers Find Gene Which Transforms Influenza

Mar 25, 2012

Ragon-affiliated researcher, Dr. Abraham Brass and his team find a gene that can transform mild influenza to a life threatening disease.   “A genetic discovery could help explain why flu makes some people seriously ill or kills them, while others seem able to bat it away with little more than a few aches, coughs and […]

Deeper view of HIV reveals impact of early mutations

Mar 8, 2012

BOSTON – Mutations in HIV that develop during the first few weeks of infection may play a critical role in undermining a successful early immune response, a finding that reveals the importance of vaccines targeting regions of the virus that are less likely to mutate. A new study in the journal PLoS Pathogens, led by […]

Study finds HIV-specific CD4 cells that control viral levels

Feb 29, 2012

A subpopulation of the immune cells targeted by HIV may play an important role in controlling viral loads after initial infection, potentially helping to determine how quickly infection will progress. In the February 29 issue of Science Translational Medicine, a team of researchers from the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), MIT and Harvard […]

New Gates Foundation President of Global Health Visits

Feb 10, 2012

On Monday, February 6, 2012 the new President of Global Health for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Trevor Mundel, met with investigators from the Ragon Institute to learn about novel and cutting-edge research conducted at Ragon-affiliated laboratories. Prior to this meeting, Drs. Arup Chakraborty and Bruce Walker attended a breakfast with Dr. Mundel […]

Ndung’u Awarded HHM International Early Career Scientist

Feb 4, 2012 Awards

Dr. Thumbi Ndung’u, Ragon Institute Associate Member, is awarded the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Early Career Scientist award. “Growing up in the rural village of Gathugu, Kiambu, in central Kenya, Thumbi Ndung’u routinely saw members of his community fight—and lose—the battle against many preventable diseases. Then AIDS emerged, seemingly out of nowhere, and […]

Alternative funding: Sponsor my science

Jan 18, 2012

Philanthropists will sometimes give large sums of money to support science — but researchers have to learn how to sell themselves first. “Asking someone to give you a million dollars is not easy. In 1995, Bruce Walker was seeking philanthropic support to expand his HIV research programme at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He had […]

Newsletter Vol 7: Top Achievments of 2011

Jan 18, 2012

With a daily focus on excellence, researchers at the Ragon Institute have pushed HIV research forward over the past year.   During 2011, 43 individual Ragon scientists wrote and published 83 publications  and many were promoted to faculty positions or won prestigious fellowship awards.   Highlighted below are the top four accomplishments of 2011:   […]