Rett syndrome is caused by mutations to the gene MECP2, which is highly expressed in the brain and appears to play important roles in maintaining healthy neurons. Researchers led by Rudolf Jaenisch have used cutting-edge techniques to create an epigenome map of MECP2, which may help guide future research on the disease.
Greta Friar | Whitehead Institute
April 25, 2024
After three years off, the Ragon-MIT course HST.434 returned this January to provide 24 students a once in a lifetime learning experience.
Nick Kolev | Ragon Institute
April 1, 2024
The lab of Ragon Institute faculty
@hernandezmsilva
published a review in Science Immunology regarding resident tissue macrophages (RTMs), shedding light on these cells’ multifaceted roles.
April 15, 2024
The Whitehead Innovation Initiative launched in April 2024 and, under the expert guidance of President and Director Ruth Lehmannn, will pioneer the melding of AI and biology. The initiative was made possible by a $10 million gift from Michael and Victoria Chambers.
Merrill Meadow | Whitehead Institute
April 8, 2024
Axolotls can regrow whole body parts, from tails and limbs to even parts of their brain and spine, making them fascinating research subjects, and their unique looks have been captured in art and culture in their native Mexico and beyond. Recently, Peter Reddien’s lab has added axolotls to their list of regenerative specimens with a research project led by graduate student Conor McMann.
April 4, 2024
Endowed chairs are generally created through philanthropic gifts from individual donors, organizations, or groups of donors honoring a specific person. The chairs — of which the Institute currently has five — provide steady, predictable funding to support investigations in Members’ labs, including: Whitehead Institute Member Iain Cheeseman, who — in addition to being a professor of biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — holds the Margaret and Herman Sokol Chair in Biomedical Research; Yukiko Yamashita — Whitehead Institute Member, professor of biology at MIT, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator — the inaugural incumbent of the Susan Lindquist Chair for Women in Science; Jonathan Weissman — Professor of Biology and Whitehead Institute Core Member and HHMI Investigator — is the inaugural holder of the Landon T. Clay Professor of Biology Chair. In 2020, Mary Gehring — Professor of Biology, Graduate Officer, and Core Member of the whitehead Institute Core Member and David Baltimore Chair in Biomedical Research, Whitehead Institute was named the inaugural holder of the Clay Career Development Chair. In 2023, Gehring was succeeded by Sebastian Lourido, associate professor of Biology and Core Member of the Whitehead Institute.
April 2, 2024
The junior, who is majoring in computer science and molecular biology, wants to “make it a norm to lift others as I continue to climb.”
March 27, 2024
Brad Wierbowski is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member David Bartel’s lab studying the turnover of messenger RNAs.
March 28, 2024
How do new species emerge over time? The Yamashita Lab studies the role of "junk" DNA in making two related species reproductively incompatible.
March 20, 2024
Robert “Bob” Sauer, the Salvador E. Luria Professor of Biology, discusses his life leading up to joining MIT in the Department of Biology, the unconventional timing of acquiring his PhD, formative moments as a mentor, and how research approaches have changed since he joined the department.
