News

So-called model organisms have long been at the core of biomedical research, allowing scientists to study the ins and outs of human disorders in non-human subjects.

Whitehead Institute scientists have created a method that uses the enzyme sortase A to site-specifically modify proteins. Using this technique, researchers were able to increase potency, slow the metabolism, and improve thermal stability of several proteins.

Israel’s Wolf Foundation, whose stated mission is “to promote science and art for the benefit of mankind,” has named Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch a recipient of the prestigious 2011 Wolf Prize in Medicine.

The American Association of Immunologists has named Whitehead Institute Member Hidde Ploegh the recipient of its 2011 Meritorious Career Award.

Whitehead Institute Member Terry Orr-Weaver has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Whitehead Institute researchers have determined that heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) can create diverse heritable traits in brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) by affecting a large portion of the yeast genome.

By determining how corticosteroids act to increase production of red blood cell progenitors, Whitehead Institute researchers have identified a class of drugs that may be beneficial in treating some erythropoietin-resistant anemias.

Whitehead Institute researchers have linked hyperactivity in the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) cellular pathway to reduced ketone production in the liver, which is a well-defined physiological trait of aging in mice.

Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch has been named a recipient of the 2011 Warren Triennial Prize of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).