Ragon Institute

Platform Overview

The Ragon Institute’s Processing Lab, which opened in 2006, provides researchers studying HIV/AIDs and COVID-19 with prepared PBMCs, plasma, DNA, and a variety of COVID-19 specimen types.

After receiving HIV+ and HIV- human blood donations from local hospitals, the Processing Lab isolates blood plasma, DNA, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells and stores them in a sample repository available to Ragon researchers. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the lab processed hundreds of types of COVID-19 samples from Massachusetts General Hospital patients, storing and distributing thousands of samples. In addition to maintaining and expanding the Institute’s Cellular Immunology Database (CIDB) and sample repositories, the Processing Lab also provides training to guests and members of the Institute.