Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard

Last Thursday, the Ragon Institute proudly hosted the BioBuilder Club Final Assembly, organized by our Office of Education & Outreach and the Ragon Events team. 57 high school teams and over 300 students from across the region gathered to deliver impressive one-minute lightning talks, showcasing their innovative synthetic biology research. Ragon Institute founding director Bruce Walker, MD, opened the event with remarks and stayed to watch the students present. Congratulations to all the talented young scientists who attended — We're excited to see where their research takes them next! BioBuilder Educational Foundation #BioBuilderClub #SyntheticBiology #STEMeducation #FutureScientists #RagonInstitute

We were delighted to host Biohaven leadership at the Ragon Institute earlier this month! CEO Vlad Coric, M.D., and board member John Childs visited the Institute, where they met with Ragon founding director Bruce Walker, MD, and toured our facilities. The visit highlighted our shared commitment to innovative research and groundbreaking science aimed at addressing unmet medical needs and enhancing patient care. We deeply appreciate Biohaven’s interest in our mission and look forward to developing our relationship in the future. #RagonInstitute #Biohaven #Innovation #Collaboration #GlobalHealth

We're excited to announce the launch of the Ragon Institute Scientific Editing Platform, now available internally to our research community! This new service provides expert scientific editing support to help our researchers enhance the clarity and impact of their grant proposals. This platform strengthens our continuing commitment to supporting our scientific community and helping our scientists achieve their research goals. #RagonInstitute #ScientificEditing #GrantWriting #Research

We are excited to share that Gaurav Gaiha, MD, DPhil, has been promoted to Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School! Gaiha is a faculty member at the Ragon Institute and an attending physician in the Division of Gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research focuses on understanding how T cells recognize and respond to viral infections and gastrointestinal cancers, with the goal of developing new vaccines and therapies. His lab has pioneered structure-based network analysis, a novel approach that integrates protein structure data and network theory to identify virus regions resistant to mutation. This innovative strategy has been instrumental in guiding the design of T cell-based vaccines for HIV, SARS-CoV-2, and other pathogens of global significance. Gaiha’s recent work includes MUNIS, a deep learning tool that improves T cell epitope prediction, developed in collaboration with MIT’s Jameel Clinic. A leader in the field of immunology, Gaiha’s research has also provided key insights into how certain individuals, such as HIV elite controllers, mount highly effective immune responses against chronic infections. His work has opened new avenues for developing vaccines and immunotherapies that can elicit strong and durable immune protection. In collaboration with industry partners, his lab is exploring novel vaccine platforms designed to induce both tissue-resident and systemic T cell immunity. Beyond his research, Gaiha is a dedicated mentor, educator, and clinician. This promotion is a well-deserved recognition of Gaiha’s contributions to immunology, vaccine research, and scientific innovation. His work continues to push the boundaries of T cell immunology and vaccine design, bringing us closer to new strategies for preventing and treating infectious diseases. Congratulations Dr. Gaiha! #Immunology #HIVResearch #VaccineDevelopment

Science is about asking questions, solving problems, and discovering something new every day—and for Victoria Rosado, that’s what makes it so exciting. Growing up in New York, Victoria was the only one in her family interested in science. Her curious nature drew her towards problem-solving and mysteries. Binge watching episodes of CSI fueled her fascination with forensics, but it wasn’t until after college that she found her niche with viral immunology. Now, she’s a proud “professional nerd,” working towards a PhD in virology at Harvard and studying B cell responses to influenza virus in Daniel Lingwood’s lab at the Ragon Institute. With flu constantly mutating, she’s dedicated to designing better, more effective vaccines to protect people from this ever-present threat. Beyond the lab, her curiosity extends to the world of birds—as a self-proclaimed “city girl,” you won’t find her in the woods mimicking bird calls, but thankfully she has an app that helps her identify and “collect” the ones outside her window. 🐦 Victoria values direct and open communication, even when it feels intimidating—especially with those she admires. Her advice? Never be afraid to ask for guidance. She’s deeply grateful for the mentors who saw her potential and helped shape her journey. If she could tell her younger self one thing, it would be: “Believe in yourself—you can do anything you set your mind to.” ✨ #RagonInstitute #WeAreRagon #WomenInSTEM #InfluenzaResearch

The immune system is constantly balancing between attacking infections and protecting the body from autoimmune reactions. New research published in Science from Harikesh Wong's lab at the Ragon Institute, in close collaboration with the NIH and the University of Chicago, reveals how regulatory T cells (Tregs) help maintain this balance. By preventing immune cells from mistakenly attacking healthy tissues while still allowing them to fight infections, Treg cells play a crucial role in immune regulation. Understanding this process could lead to new treatments for autoimmune diseases and improved immune therapies for infections and cancer. Learn more about this important discovery: https://lnkd.in/eYb2DxUg #Immunology #AutoimmuneResearch #Tcells #RagonInstitute

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a $1.5M grant to SANTHE to support early-career researchers in Africa, further strengthening the Connect Africa Scholarships. This funding will provide critical training and pilot care-giver awards, helping scientists with family responsibilities participate fully in global research. Additionally, an $8.3M Gates Foundation grant to SANTHE will drive vaccine research and HIV prevention strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa, helping develop new immunogens that could advance future vaccines. These grants will not only support scientific innovation but also ensure African researchers lead the fight against the infectious disease challenges on their continent. The Ragon Institute is honored to support these initiatives, strengthening research ecosystems and fostering the next generation of African scientists. #GlobalHealth #HIVResearch #CapacityBuilding #ScientificInnovation #SANTHEAfrica

A recent paper from the Barczak Lab, published in Science Advances, has uncovered new research on how human cells defend against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB). The study identifies VPS18, a protein that helps repair cell membranes damaged by Mtb. When VPS18 is missing, the bacteria spread more easily, and TB treatments like pyrazinamide become less effective. These findings suggest that strengthening cellular defenses could enhance antibiotic effectiveness, offering a potential new strategy in the fight against TB. This work highlights the potential of CRISPR-based screening to uncover new ways to target infectious diseases at the cellular level. Congratulations to the Barczak Lab on this important discovery. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eegc96fH #Tuberculosis #InfectiousDiseases #CRISPR #CellBiology #GlobalHealth

“Creating Lasting International Collaboration” – An Interview with MIT Ibn Khaldun Fellow Deemah Dabbagh Deemah Dabbagh, PhD, a junior faculty member at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia, has spent years studying infectious diseases, with a particular focus on HIV. Through the MIT Ibn Khaldun Fellowship for Saudi Arabian Women, she is now working in the Ragon’s DeKosky Lab where she is learning advanced techniques in yeast display and immune engineering. We spoke with Dabbagh about her path to the Ragon Institute, her research, and her plans for the future: https://lnkd.in/eSvFgPbX #PostDoc #GlobalHealth #SaudiArabia #WomenInSTEM #Mentorship

We are excited to share that Xu Yu, MD, a faculty member at the Ragon Institute and Harvard Medical School, has been announced as a Featured Speaker at IAS 2025, the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science. Held in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 13–17, IAS 2025 brings together world-leading scientists and global health experts to highlight the latest advances in HIV treatment, prevention, and research. Yu’s groundbreaking work in HIV cure research and immune control of the virus continues to push the field forward, and we look forward to her insights at this prestigious conference. Learn more and register at: https://lnkd.in/dBasXPyX #IAS2025 #HIVScience #GlobalHealth #HIVResearch