Gehring Lab

Whitehead Institute Member Mary Gehring has been selected as an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), one of just 26 scientists appointed in 2024.

Sonia Boor is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member Mary Gehring’s lab studying how to make the crop plant pigeon pea more resilient against climate change. We sat down with Sonia to learn more about her and her experiences in and out of the lab.

From how genes are regulated, to how cells transport important cargo — there are many biological processes that work similarly across organisms, and are versatile in their function. Click here to watch a video on how Whitehead Institute researchers are finding ways to tailor existing biological processes to expand the potential to address complex problems.

Carly Martin is developing a detailed map showcasing which genes are turned on or off across cell types during seed development. Step into her world as a graduate student in the Gehring Lab at Whitehead Institute and see — through a combination of video and text — what a typical day is like for her, as she explores innovative ways to enhance agricultural sustainability.

Endowed chairs are generally created through philanthropic gifts from individual donors, organizations, or groups of donors honoring a specific person. The chairs — of which Whitehead Institute currently has five — provide steady, predictable funding to support investigations in Members’ labs.

Despite their distinct evolutionary histories, different species can sometimes arrive at similar solutions for survival. The work of various researchers at Whitehead Institute investigates this fascinating phenomenon, called convergent evolution, through the lens of shared mechanisms governing reproduction, development, and regeneration across a range of species.

Honoring one of the world’s most accomplished and respected scientists—and the Founding Director of Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research—Whitehead Institute has established the David Baltimore Chair in Biomedical Research.

To avoid widespread famine and malnutrition, the world must double current food production by 2050, and do so in the face of climate-driven pressures. That is why a key thrust of the Whitehead Initiative on Biology, Health, and Climate Change focuses on plant seeds, the source of more than two-thirds of calories currently consumed globally.

Evolution is often furthered through conflict. New research from the lab of Whitehead Institute Member Mary Gehring zeros in on how parent plants butt heads over control of gene expression in the nutrient rich tissue called the endosperm.