Whitehead Institute

Pawfessor Jake reporting for duty! #PetsofWhitehead

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

@science.org High-resolution spatial mapping of cell state and lineage dynamics in vivo with PEtracer | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @lukekoblan.bsky.social @weissmanlab.bsky.social @zhuanglab.bsky.social @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social et al.

This week, I was grateful to be named a semifinalist for the ASHG Trainee Research Excellence Award. I also gave my first platform talk, detailing my work with @geneticsmike7.bsky.social on noncoding MS SNPs in microglia. Missed the talk? See our MedRXiV preprint: tiny.cc/gallagher-luna-2025

Inflammation jolts “sleeping” cancer cells awake, enabling them to multiply again | Whitehead Institute Chemotherapy-induced injury of organ tissue is the culprit, Whitehead Institute Founding Member Robert Weinberg and colleagues have found.

What causes dormant cancer cells to erupt into a frenzy of growth and division? New work from the Weinberg lab points to inflammation as a trigger. wi.mit.edu/news/inflamm...

The 2025 Ogawa-Yamanaka Stem Cell Prize Awarded to Rudolf Jaenisch Jaenisch is recognized for his trailblazing contributions to epigenetics and stem cell biology, which have shaped modern regenerative medicine.

Rudolf Jaenisch is recognized for his trailblazing contributions to epigenetics and stem cell biology, which have shaped modern regenerative medicine.

@whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social
@cp-cellstemcell.bsky.social
@cellpress.bsky.social

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," Julia Wucherpfennig says. #WhiteheadPostdocProfiles wi.mit.edu/news/meet-wh...

On Wednesday, former White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy joined our Director Ruth Lehmann in conversation about cultivating trust in science. Thanks to all who joined us! Stay tuned for upcoming Director's Dialogues, and watch past talks on our website: wi.mit.edu/directors-di...

Most cells in our body live and die. But the germline, the cells that produce eggs and sperm, must carry on forever. Our first #ResearchThreads follows a string of discoveries made in the Yamashita lab that tease apart how the germline remains immortal. wi.mit.edu/news/one-lab...

For more details and information about future events, join our Postdoc and Alumni LinkedIn page: www.linkedin.com/groups/12483...

Attention Whitehead alumni — please join us for an informal evening of connection and conversation during the ASHG meeting on October 16. For details and to RSVP, please contact alumni@wi.mit.edu. (Photos are from our alumni event last month!)

Next Tuesday our director Ruth Lehmann joins Gina McCarthy, former White House National Climate Advisor and EPA Administrator, for a conversation about science, policy and public trust. RSVP: www.eventzilla.net/e/science-tr... @harvardkennedy.bsky.social @mitclimateproject.bsky.social

Julia Wucherpfennig studies Wolbachia — a bacteria that lives inside about half of all insects, generally without harming them. The research has real-world implications for pest control. Read our latest postdoc Q&A: wi.mit.edu/news/meet-wh... #WhiteheadPostdocProfiles @remlehmann.bsky.social

Locally produced proteins help mitochondria function | Whitehead Institute Jonathan Weissman and colleagues developed an optogenetic approach to study where in the cell proteins get made and used it to characterize two groups of proteins produced next to mitochondria. This c...

ICYMI: A new tool, LOCL-TL, maps where proteins are made in the cell. @jswlab.bsky.social developed this tool and used it to characterize translation happening at the mitochondria.

Join our director Ruth Lehmann and Gina McCarthy, former White House National Climate Advisor and EPA Administrator, for a conversation about the role of science in policy, public trust, and protecting the well-being of people and the planet. www.eventzilla.net/e/science-tr...

Thanks to everyone who visited our booth at the Cambridge Science Carnival. We had so much fun creating micropipette art — a great way to learn the basics of pipetting! #CSC2025

If you're heading to the Cambridge Science Carnival today, come visit us at the Whitehead Institute booth! We have a fun activity planned that everyone will enjoy.
#WhiteheadInstitute #STEAM #CambridgeScienceCarnival #CSC2025 #ScienceIsFun

The Cambridge Science Carnival is happening this Sunday, September 21! Visit Whitehead Institute's booth for a fun art project that introduces the basics of micropipetting. Hope to see you there! cambridgesciencecarnival.org

"I'm working with a legume called pigeon pea, which is an underutilized crop that has received less attention than globally utilized crops...My project is trying to increase the genetic diversity of pigeon pea," postdoc Sonia Boor says. #WhiteheadPostdocProfiles wi.mit.edu/news/meet-wh...

Whitehead Institute, a leading biomedical research institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is hiring an Associate Director of Financial Strategy: www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...

"What strikes me is how much excitement has grown and community has been rallied around this idea of integrating biology with cutting-edge AI," Valhalla Fellow Allison Hamilos says.

Whitehead Innovation Initiative gains momentum after a year of successes: wi.mit.edu/news/whitehe...

Fantastic talk by @stanford.edu's @jameszou.bsky.social for the first Innovation Initiative Distinguished Lecture at @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social. A fascinating look at how to use #AI to build intelligent research teams that can tackle open-ended scientific problems. #WhiteheadInstitute #MIT

PETracer is a new tool that can reveal a detailed history of tumor growth. By characterizing different populations of cells, researchers hope to develop therapies that target the most aggressive populations more effectively. wi.mit.edu/news/mapping...

Congratulations to @jimmy-ly.bsky.social on this well-deserved recognition!

His research looking at variants of known proteins offers new insight into rare genetic disorders.
tinyurl.com/5xfc3feh

Whitehead Institute's Scientific Webinar Series is back! Tune in September 16th to hear AI Fellow Na Sun speak about her work using deep learning to understand how tissues are reorganized in states of disease. www.eventzilla.net/e/uncovering...

Black and white photo of David Baltimore posing for the camera in his lab

We mourn the loss of David Baltimore, founding member of MIT’s Center for Cancer Research, founding director of @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social & Nobel laureate. His leadership helped shape the KI’s culture of inquiry & collaboration. bit.ly/remembering-...

Baltimore’s leadership, vision, and legacy continue to guide Whitehead Institute today. 4/4

Image: Baltimore at Whitehead Institute Founding Member Gerald Fink's retirement symposium, May 13, 2025.

A builder of people as well as institutions, Baltimore founded the Whitehead Fellows program, giving young scientists the chance to launch independent labs. Its alumni are now leaders in research, education, and industry. 3/4

Image: Baltimore lecturing in an undated 1970’s-era photograph

Baltimore and philanthropist Edwin C. “Jack” Whitehead launched the Institute in 1982. Within a decade, it was ranked the world’s top research center in molecular biology and genetics. 2/4

Image: Baltimore (right) with Jack Whitehead (left)

Whitehead Institute honors the life and legacy of Nobel Laureate David Baltimore (1938–2025), its Founding Director and a globally revered scientific leader. 1/4

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Baltimore and philanthropist Edwin C. “Jack” Whitehead launched the Institute in 1982. Within a decade, it was ranked the world’s top research center in molecular biology and genetics. 2/4

Image: Baltimore (right) with Jack Whitehead (left)