News

Whitehead Institute Members Iain Cheeseman and Siniša Hrvatin have each received a Professor Amar G. Bose Research Grant, which supports ambitious MIT faculty research that may be too early, exploratory, or unconventional for traditional funding.

Whitehead Institute researchers reveal how the Toxoplasma parasite reorganizes sugars on the surface of host cells to trigger a critical step in infection. 

Institute Director Ruth Lehmann and Vice President for External Affairs Margaret Fala discuss what makes Whitehead distinctive, why this moment matters, and the key role that philanthropy will play in what comes next.

Malik discusses how external advisors help strengthen Whitehead’s research, why bold science flourishes in a collaborative environment, and what keeps Whitehead Institute at the forefront of discovery.

He says he was drawn to the Institute’s distinctive approach to scientific discovery and its relationship with a leading research university. 

Whitehead Institute Member Ankur Jain and colleagues have discovered that RNA molecules are naturally prone to sticking together, but cells may have evolved to keep RNA from forming disruptive aggregates in cells. 

Researchers in the lab of Whitehead Institute Member Pulin Li have developed a powerful new computational approach to understand how cells communicate with each other to assemble into tissues and organs. Their framework has the potential to accelerate stem cell engineering, improve disease models, and even inform cancer treatments.

The Whitehead Institute, together with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts), invites applications for a tenure-track appointment at the Assistant Professor level.

Alicia Zhou was an undergraduate researcher in Whitehead Institute Founding Member Robert Weinberg’s lab. Here she discusses her career path from academic scientist to CEO, what she learned from Weinberg, and how science skills have served her well in all areas of her life.

This discovery by Whitehead Institute Member Ankur Jain and colleagues points toward new combination strategies against cancer, and offers a possible explanation for the iron buildup seen in disorders such as early-onset Parkinson’s disease.