Neurobiology

Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch and colleagues found that SARS-Cov-2 can infect sensory neurons and alter their gene expression. This may help to explain the peripheral nervous system symptoms associated with Covid-19, such as loss of smell.

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.

A group of researchers from multiple universities, including Whitehead Institute Member Olivia Corradin, gained new insights into the genetics of opioid overdose risk by looking at changes in gene regulation in the brain.

New, reversible CRISPR method can control gene expression while leaving underlying DNA sequence unchanged

New discoveries about the disruption of condensates in the neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome provide insights into how cells compartmentalize chromosomes as well as new potential paths for therapies.

Xin Tang is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member Rudolf Jaenisch’s lab investigating brain disease and developing approaches to discover new therapies. We sat down with Tang to learn more about him and his experiences in and out of the lab.