Jaenisch Lab

Once considered genomic “junk,” repetitive sequences in DNA are being discovered to have important roles in our biology. Whitehead Institute researchers are investigating different types of these repeated sequences, from repetitive DNA regions to excessive repeats within genes, in order to understand what roles they play in cells and how they contribute to health and disease.

Whitehead Institute researchers are making discoveries that are helping us rethink what we know about the brain and paving the way for therapies to treat some of the most challenging brain disorders and diseases.

Read about brain-related research at Whitehead Institute.

New research from Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch’s lab adds evidence to their finding that SARS-CoV-2 can integrate into the human genome, but finds that a model of the mRNA vaccine does not integrate.

Climate change and economic development are increasing our risk of being infected by parasites and harmful viruses and bacteria. Whitehead Institute researchers are leveraging their expertise to better assess where pathogens will spread and evaluate their risk to humans.

Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch and colleagues have developed molecular genetic tools that can rescue neurons affected by Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder linked to intellectual disability.

Whitehead Institute researchers have uncovered a molecular mechanism underlying type 2 diabetes. The new finding reveals that insulin receptors, the signaling molecules that sense insulin, normally function by clustering together in cells and that this clustering is defective in insulin resistance, the basis of type 2 diabetes. The researchers hope that this work will bring about a better understanding of diabetes at a molecular level and lead to the development of new therapies.

Marine Krzisch is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member Rudolf Jaenisch’s lab who works on making better models with which to study neurological diseases. We sat down with Marine to learn more about her and her experiences in and out of the lab.

Whitehead Institute research projects continue to provide important insights into human biology, and they are paving the way for future treatments to address developmental disorders and diseases.