Development and regeneration

Collage of plants, animals, microscopy, and researchers

Nature's library: The value of biodiversity to biological research

December 03, 2020

In this video, six Whitehead Institute researchers share what they have learned from the living world, and why it's more important than ever to conserve it.

Meet a Whitehead Postdoc: Kutay Deniz Atabay

Postdoc Profile

September 03, 2020

Kutay Deniz Atabay is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member Peter Reddien’s lab investigating regeneration, including how neuronal circuits regenerate in various organisms including planarians, a type of flatworm. We sat down with Atabay to learn more about him and his experiences in and out of the lab.

Blue eyestalk-like projections on a black background, surrounded by pink dots.

These muscle cells are guideposts to help regenerative flatworms grow back their eyes

Development and regeneration

Genetics + Genomics

June 25, 2020

A new study from Peter Reddien's Lab at Whitehead Institute is a step forward in understanding how neural circuits could be regenerated in adults

Alternating pink and green ovals (these are planarians) with different parts of their bodies glowing.

Regeneration, Rejuvenation and Aging

June 19, 2020

Our researchers are investigating important questions about how organisms develop —How does one generation beget the next? How does a single cell give rise to a complex organism?—and, with the help of new tools and innovative approaches, revealing answers that give us a better understanding of the fundamental aspects of life.

A woman in a grey cardigan stands smiling in a lab.

Stem Cell Researcher Yukiko Yamashita Joins Whitehead Institute

Awards + Announcements

June 04, 2020

The internationally renowned developmental biologist will be the inaugural incumbent of the Susan Lindquist Chair for Women in Science at Whitehead Institute.

Three bat stars in a clear pan with water.

Unusual Labmates: Biology all-stars

Development and regeneration

February 26, 2020

Graduate student Zak Swartz in Whitehead Institute Member Iain Cheeseman's lab uses bat stars to study how cells divide. Click to experience a multimedia story about bat stars, from their arrival at Whitehead Institute in a chilly cardboard box to the role of their tiny eggs in Swartz' research.

Head and shoulders shot of Ashley Bonneau

Meet a Whitehead Postdoc: Ashley Bonneau

Postdoc Profile

February 15, 2019

Ashley Bonneau is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member Peter Reddien’s lab investigating signaling pathways involved in embryonic development and tissue regeneration. We sat down with Bonneau to learn more about her and her experiences in and out of the lab.

Uncovering the “must-haves” of tissue regeneration

Development and regeneration

Stem Cells

November 27, 2018

Biological program triggered by large injuries not required for regeneration, Whitehead Institute team finds

New single-cell database to propel biological studies

Development and regeneration

Stem Cells

Genetics + Genomics

April 18, 2018

Whitehead team analyzes transcriptomes for roughly 70,000 cells in planarians, creates publicly available database to drive research in a variety of organisms and fields

Three-banded panther worm debuts as a new model in the study of regeneration

Development and regeneration

Stem Cells

Evolution + Development

April 23, 2014

The lab of Whitehead Institute Member Peter Reddien is introducing the scientific community to the three-banded panther worm (Hofstenia miamia), a small organism with the ability to regenerate any missing body part. As a model, Hofstenia could help further our understanding of regeneration, how its mechanisms have evolved over millennia, and what limits regeneration in other animals, including humans.