News

Researchers discover how the vine creates a natural anti-cancer product

The challenges of completing a research project are often compared to a marathon. But it’s not just a metaphor: many biologists are distance runners. Whitehead Institute researchers often look to several miles along the Charles to sort out how to solve a problem—or just to take a break and get out in nature.

Sonia Iyer is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Founding Member Robert (Bob) Weinberg’s lab investigating ovarian cancer. We sat down with Iyer to learn more about her and her experiences in and out of the lab.

Light Microscopy Specialist Wendy Salmon sometimes finds herself looking into microscopy images like shapes in the clouds. “I’ll say, ‘Look, there’s a snowman!’” she says. The habit comes a deep familiarity with the odd shapes found in microscopy, she says.

Whitehead Institute researchers used a new approach for analyzing genetic risk data and discovered that disease-linked genes cause problems in brain cells that contribute to multiple sclerosis, which had been thought of as a solely autoimmune disease. This information could lead to the development of new therapies for multiple sclerosis, and the approach can be applied to gain insights into other diseases.

Maya Mitalipova, director of the Human Stem Cell Facility, isolated some of the first human embryonic stem cell lines confirmed by the National Institutes of Health in 2001. With 18 years of experience with human embryonic stem cells (HSCs) and having isolated 19 HSC lines at Whitehead Institute, Mitalipova says that her knowledge lets her troubleshoot nearly any hurdle that researchers encounter.

This  highest award of the International Society for Experimental Hematology honors a scientist who has made outstanding contributions to basic science in the fields of hematology, immunology, stem cell research, and cell and gene therapy.