Whitehead Institute AI Fellow Na Sun has received a 2026 NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, which will support her research using artificial intelligence to study how cells communicate across tissues and organs in health and disease.
Whitehead Institute Member Jonathan Weissman has been named to a newly funded Cancer Grand Challenges team that will tackle one of the most elusive frontiers in cancer biology: the “dark proteome.” The interdisciplinary team will receive up to $25 million over approximately five years to investigate proteins expressed by cancer cells that don’t correspond exactly to known genes.
The memorial honored the Nobel Prize–winning scientist and reflected on his profound impact on modern biology, the institutions he shaped, and the generations of scientists he mentored.
Zuri Sullivan, an immunologist who studies how the immune system communicates with the brain to shape behavior during infection, joins Whitehead Institute this January as a Member.
The Whitehead Institute Board of Directors has elected Peter Grauer, a business leader and philanthropist who served as the longtime chairman of Bloomberg LP, to a six-year term beginning in December 2025.
Ron Vale, a world-renowned cell biologist who is an expert on motor proteins and cell transport systems, joins Whitehead Institute this December as a Member.
Whitehead Institute is pleased to announce that Margaret Fala will be the Institute’s new Vice President for External Relations. She is an accomplished administrator with a strong track record in academic and healthcare fundraising.
Margaret Sand (1938-2025) was Whitehead Institute’s first head of HR, who helped build the faculty and remained a great friend of Institute throughout her life.
