Whitehead Institute

@statnews.com has selected us to compete in this year’s #STATMadness!

Cast your vote today for ProtGPS, an AI tool developed in the Young Lab in collaboration with Regina Barzilay at @csail.mit.edu, that predicts protein localization in health and disease.

🗳️ shorturl.at/dxYjA

Alicia Zhou: The Dark Matter for Cancer Immunotherapy Translation From genomics to immunotherapy, the Cancer Research Institute CEO discusses data sharing to accelerate precision cancer care.

In a conversation with Inside Precision Medicine, alumna
@ayzhou.bsky.social, who trained in the lab of Whitehead Institute Founding Member Robert Weinberg, reflects on her journey from early lab work to leadership in cancer immunotherapy.

Tune in here: shorturl.at/GvCoZ

Members of the real estate and science communities came together last night to hear from real estate developer David Clem and MIT historian Robin Scheffler the story of how Kendall Square transformed into a dense biotechnology cluster. A few highlights from the evening 📸

A packed auditorium, voices from across labs, departments, and roles, and a window into the experiences that make our community unique. The inaugural Whitehead Story Slam was truly special.

Summary of germ cell development in various model organisms

Germ cell development across model organisms

From our #Review: How germ granules promote germ cell fate
by Melissa C. Pamula & Ruth Lehmann @remlehmann.bsky.social @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social
Free to read here: rdcu.be/e05TK

From co-creating the first transgenic mice to showing the therapeutic potential of iPScs — adult skin or blood cells reprogrammed into an embryonic stem cell-like state — Jaenisch has helped shape modern regenerative medicine.

@cp-cellstemcell.bsky.social covers the journey: shorturl.at/qRxyj

Meet Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that infects 1 in 4 people worldwide 🔬

Whitehead Institute’s Sebastian Lourido joins MIT President Sally Kornbluth on Curiosity Unbounded to unpack the biology of toxo and what it can teach us about other parasitic infections.

🎧 Tune in: tinyurl.com/mr852ksh

Learn more: shorturl.at/zADnF 2/2

Pigeon pea is a vital protein source in Asia & Africa but breeding hardier varieties is tough because of limited genetic diversity. The Gehring Lab has a new chemical method to introduce traits that could help crops, including pigeon pea, perform better, potentially boosting global food security 1/2

Purchase ticket at mitmuseum.mit.edu/programs/the...

Time is one of biology’s most powerful forces ⏳

Join us at the MIT Museum on Jan. 21 for a public conversation on how cells keep time and change across early development and aging. Featuring Siniša Hrvatin and @remlehmann.bsky.social

No prior science background needed — just bring your curiosity.

Some of medicine’s biggest breakthroughs have come from collaborations between clinicians and basic scientists. Bridge Across the Charles brings together scientists, physician-scientists and clinicians to spark partnerships that'll drive the next wave of advances in patient care. shorturl.at/WN5yL

“I want everyone in my lab to be exposed to many ways of thinking about biology,” says Whitehead Institute’s newest Member, immunologist Zuri Sullivan. “Creative science often comes from making connections across systems, and Whitehead is uniquely well-suited for that.”

shorturl.at/EFsmh

Friends, family members, colleagues, and mentees gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of Whitehead Institute's Founding Director, David Baltimore. A globally respected researcher and academic leader, Baltimore shaped the careers of generations of scientists and educators.

🔗 shorturl.at/tHADF

Latest from Whitehead Institute's AI Fellow Na Sun 👇

Learn more about her work at the intersection of AI and biology: shorturl.at/K1AXP

Scientists and clinicians convene to bridge gaps in rare disease research and care | Whitehead Institute Rare disease treatment and care relies on the combined efforts of clinicians, researchers, and families. Yet these people rarely find themselves in the same room. BridgeRD brought together stakeholder...

Rare disease treatment relies on the combined efforts of clinicians, researchers, and families. Yet these people rarely find themselves in the same room. BridgeRD brought them together last week to address the challenges of understanding, diagnosing, and treating rare diseases.

🔗 shorturl.at/pJXcu

Whitehead Institute’s Innovation Centers are hubs of collaboration. Each center provides specialized expertise that expand what individual labs can achieve.

Read how this collaboration drives Whitehead Institute science forward: shorturl.at/jQTPM

World-renowned cell biologist Ron Vale will join Whitehead Institute this December as a Member. Known for discovering the motor protein kinesin, he will explore how proteins function under different stressors—a direction that aligns with the Institute's focus on resilience.

🔗 shorturl.at/28Gpl

"Our biggest struggle is connecting with clinicians," says @jimmy-ly.bsky.social, who co-organized the event with Dawn Chen of @broadinstitute.org. "When we see a mutation in ClinVar, we can't fully interpret its role in disease without patient context."

At BridgeRD today, clinicians and researchers are teaming up to tackle one of the biggest hurdles with rare diseases: connecting what's seen in the lab to patient experiences in the clinic. 1/2
#RareDisease #BridgeRD

Our Seminar Series for High School Teachers is underway! Postdoc Henry Kilgore of the Young Lab shared his latest research on how proteins reach their destinations within the cell.

We’re thrilled to bring teachers and researchers together to help inspire the next generation of scientists!

Alternate proteins from the same gene contribute differently to health and rare disease | Whitehead Institute Iain Cheeseman and colleagues reveal the underappreciated role of single genes producing multiple proteins in atypical presentations of rare disease, and present case studies of affected patients thro...

From an accidental discovery of hidden biology to a new framework to understanding and diagnosing rare disease. Thrilled to share the most recent work from our lab and the amazing Jimmy Ly.

wi.mit.edu/news/alterna...

1/ Happy to share important work done with my co-author Andrew Khalil in the labs of Rudolf Jaenisch @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social @mit.edu and David Mooney @harvard.edu @wyssinstitute.bsky.social trying to assess and fix the major problem of transgene silencing in human ESC/iPSC based work

Meet a Whitehead Postdoc: Julia Wucherpfennig | Whitehead Institute Julia Wucherpfennig is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member and director Ruth Lehmann’s lab studying the relationship between Wolbachia bacteria, which infect many insects around the world, and the...

"Fruit flies have a lot of fun gene names. Some of my favorites are Asterix and Obelix, which are named after a French comic book, because I have childhood associations with them," postdoc Julia Wucherpfennig says. wi.mit.edu/news/meet-wh... #WhiteheadPostdocProfiles

Panchito proudly sports his Whitehead bandana while plotting his next purrfect experiment. #PetsofWhitehead

Alumni, grab your own pet bandana by joining our alumni LinkedIn group: www.linkedin.com/groups/12483...

In celebration of Massachusetts STEM Week, students from Prospect Hill Academy Charter School toured the Yamashita lab and got an introduction to fruit fly research. Thanks to everyone who participated!

In celebration of Massachusetts STEM Week, students from Prospect Hill Academy Charter School toured the Yamashita lab and got an introduction to fruit fly research. Thanks to everyone who participated!

If you're an alum, join our LinkedIn alumni page to hear about future meet ups: www.linkedin.com/groups/12483...

A huge thank you to all the alumni and current trainees who joined us at Trillium Brewing in Fort Point last week. From swapping stories about lab days to hearing where your careers have taken you, the conversations were inspiring (and the good food and drinks didn’t hurt either).

Sometimes, one research project is an unexpected spin off of another project. That's exactly what happened in the Yamashita lab, where researchers identified a novel mechanism that keeps the "selfish" gene Stellate in check. wi.mit.edu/news/one-lab... #ResearchThreads