News

Christoph Gäbelein is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Director Ruth Lehmann’s lab studying how oocytes, which are immature egg cells, avoid the effects of aging during their long dormancies. We sat down with Christoph to learn more about him and his experiences in and out of the lab.

We invite you to explore our 2024 Annual Report, and learn about the work we are doing, the scientific advances we are making, and our diverse and collaborative community.

Researchers across Whitehead Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology joined faculty from Boston Children’s Hospital for a research matchmaking event, aiming to foster collaboration in fields ranging from rare disease and immunology to cancer.

Chronic diseases such as diabetes are on the rise and are costly and challenging to treat. Whitehead Institute Member Richard Young and colleagues have discovered a common denominator driving these diverse diseases, which may prove to be a promising therapeutic target: proteolethargy, or reduced protein mobility, in the presence of oxidative stress.

Christopher Reid is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member Siniša Hrvatin’s lab studying how mammals regulate their core body temperatures. We sat down with Chris to learn more about him and his experiences in and out of the lab.

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) selected Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Lourido to receive its 2024 William Trager Award. 

Whitehead Institute Member Iain Cheeseman and colleagues found that cells not only make many variants of known proteins, but that they switch between making different variants to tailor protein function during cell division.

Whitehead Institute Member David Page and colleagues revisit the boundary of the pseudoautosomal region (PAR)—a critical region on the X and Y chromosomes where they exchange genetic information during sperm production—after outside research challenged its established location.

Bats rarely get sick from deadly viruses like Ebola and Nipah despite carrying them. Now, Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch and colleagues have found that while the SARS-CoV-2 virus can enter bat cells, the innate immune system prevents it from replicating and hijacking the cell's machinery.

Whitehead Fellow Aditya Raguram has received a 2024 NIH Director’s Early Independence Award. The prestigious funding award will support his work developing cell-derived bioparticles into safe and efficient vehicles for delivering therapeutic proteins into cells.