Whitehead Institute is a world-renowned non-profit research institution dedicated to improving human health through basic biomedical research.

Whitehead Institute: a closer look
Who We Are

Whitehead Institute specializes in foundational research — solving deep scientific mysteries that unlock the mechanisms underlying many diseases, leading to new approaches in medicine.

The importance of foundational research
The power of multidisciplinary science
The impact of Whitehead Institute
Foundational research uncovers the biological processes key to understanding health and disease.

Foundational research — as opposed to applied research — is research conducted not to solve a specific problem, but to satisfy a driving curiosity about the unknown. Seemingly simple queries, such as ‘How do cells divide?’ or ‘How can plants control how their genes are expressed?’ can pave the way for more applied research in therapeutics, cancer biology and genetics, and open up vast new fields of study that reshape the way we understand biology.

Explore foundational science discoveries
Bob Weinberg's cancer discoveries

Through basic research, Robert Weinberg discovered the first gene known to cause cancer in humans. 

A man in a blue shirt stands at the door of a lab.

Robert Weinberg

Ruth Lehmann's germ cell work
A woman in a blazer stands in front of windows.

Ruth Lehmann

Ruth Lehmann has made key discoveries on the biogenesis of piRNAs and their potential role in maintaining germ cell genomic integrity while allowing for genetic variation.

Multidisciplinary science is key to addressing challenges of modern society.

Since its beginnings in 1982, Whitehead Institute has explored the core questions that underlie our basic understanding of biology. And while our mission remains the same, much has changed in the intervening decades; new research tools allow our scientists to look deeper and design better experiments than ever before. The more we understand about how biological systems work, the better we can design informed and effective therapies and treatments to meet the challenges of modern society.

Read about our impact:
David Page's sex differences studies
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Brit d’Arbeloff and David Page (both seated) with Page lab postdoctoral fellow Adrianna San Roman (left) and Sahin Naqvi (rear), then a Page lab graduate student and now a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University.

Research in David Page’s lab explores how sex chromosomes affect women’s health and diseases.

Jonathan Weissman's gene editing tools
Jonathan Weissman stands smiling in a laboratory.

Researchers in Jonathan Weissman's lab are developing new technologies to understand and treat diseases.

What makes Whitehead Institute uniquely qualified to advance basic science in the biomedical field?

Researchers at Whitehead Institute are world-renowned for their contributions to cancer biology, genomics and more, and the impact of our publications positions us as the top research institution in the world for molecular biology and genetics. The Institute's location in Kendall Square creates an exciting and collaborative scientific environment where our scientists often team up with researchers at Harvard, the Koch Institute, and MIT on cross-disciplinary studies. Whitehead Institute also prioritizes giving back to the community, hosting summer programs, lecture series, and other events for scientists and aspiring scientists.

Learn about our role in the scientific community:
Award-winning faculty
Robert Weinberg received his award from Dr. Giuseppe Bernardi

Whitehead Institute’s faculty has received awards from the Genetic Society of America, and National Academy of Medicine, and more, and several PIs are members of the National Academy of Sciences. Six faculty members are investigators for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and four have won the National Medal of Science.

Community science programs
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Whitehead’s public programs, for example the Expedition Bio program for middle school students, merge curiosity with real world science through hands-on activities, laboratory modules and discussions with researchers.

Trending Series

Unusual Labmates is a series that explores some of the more unusual models used for research at Whitehead Institute. From rare plants to luminescent beetles to regenerative starfish and worms, these organisms and their unusual traits provide insights into the underlying biology and incredible diversity of living things.

Gain a broader perspective on environmental research, epigenetics, COVID-19 and more through these collections of multimedia stories. 

Whitehead Institute is dedicated to training the next generation of scientists, especially postdocs. Get to know a few of these remarkable scientists through these profiles. 

Research Areas

Whitehead Institute researchers are making important insights into the biology of the brain, from how it develops to what goes awry in neurodegenerative diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Our researchers seek to understand how our cells and tissues renew and replenish themselves. They investigate how the molecules and specialized structures inside of our cells work in concert with each other, in a precisely choreographed dance, to ensure that biological processes happen when and how they should.

Cancer is a disease, or set of diseases, in which abnormal cells in the body experience uncontrolled growth. Cancer biology is complex, with many potential factors contributing to a given cancer’s development and outcome. Researchers at Whitehead Institute are investigating the fundamental biology of cancer cells and have helped drive steady advances in biomedicine’s understanding of cancer, contributing to innovative strategies in both diagnosis and therapy.

Our researchers are investigating important questions about how organisms develop —How does one generation beget the next? How does a single cell give rise to a complex organism?—and, with the help of new tools and innovative approaches, revealing answers that give us a better understanding of the fundamental aspects of life.

Whitehead Institute researchers are shedding light on the intricacies of plant biology in order to provide insights into plant development that could contribute to improved crop yield and global food security; discover plant-derived medicines and other valuable natural products; and improve our fundamental understanding of biological processes, including gene regulation and protein folding.

Our researchers are working to understand the biology underlying infectious diseases and the microbes and viruses behind them, using innovative genetic approaches and  new tools and methods.

Whitehead Institute’s core facilities set it apart. The cores, staffed by experts and providing state-of-the-art instrumentation and tools, allow our scientists to pursue more ambitious investigations.

When genes and their functions are considered within the context of what they do and how they interact broadly, important aspects of our biology can become clear. Our researchers study individual genes, but they also study how networks of genes and gene regulators interact. Similarly, they study not only what occurs within one cell, but how groups of cells interact. 

As our researchers seek to answer novel questions about fundamental biology, health, and disease, sometimes they find that the tools needed to answer those questions do not exist. In these cases, they must invent new tools–or tailor existing tools–in order to make new discoveries.

Our Community
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Our Campus
Our Campus

Located in the biotech and biomedical research hub of Kendall Square, the Whitehead Institute campus features five floors of laboratory space, as well as state-of-the-art facilities for genomics, computing, microscopy and more.

Whitehead Institute's scientists hail from around the world, bringing a multitude of perspectives and ideas. Although our faculty is smaller than many of our peer institutions, the Institute’s contributions to bioscience have long been second to none, and our scientists, administration, and support staff work together to push the boundaries of biology forward.

Whitehead Institute’s collaborative culture encourages researchers at every level to share new ideas and benefit from the experience of their colleagues. Gatherings such as weekly coffee hours and annual scientific retreats facilitate this exchange. The Institute is also active in the Boston-Cambridge community, hosting educational programs for local teachers and students.