News

Apicomplexan parasites are responsible for several prevalent infectious diseases including malaria. Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Lourido and colleagues identified a protein complex that the parasites require for a critical step in invading host cells.

In this video, learn about Whitehead Institute's mission and values, and meet some of the researchers who are pursuing a diverse set of scientific questions in areas including cancer, regeneration and cell dynamics.

Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Lourido and colleagues identified key parts of the pathway that enables apicomplexan parasites to exit one host cell, and travel to infect others, including the important role of a molecule they called HOOK. This finding illuminates how signals can move in cells and could inform drug development against the parasites.

The Whitehead Institute Board of Directors has elected Sally Kornbluth, president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to a six-year term.

Researchers in Whitehead Institute Member Richard Young’s lab and colleagues at MIT show that a machine learning model can predict which subcellular compartments a drug will concentrate in based on its chemical features. This could be used to design safer and more effective drugs, and to understand how subcellular compartments govern diverse biochemical processes.

Whitehead Institute remembers William Pounds, an emeritus member of the Whitehead Institute board of directors and emeritus dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Please join us on Friday, September 22 as we celebrate the establishment of the David Baltimore Chair in Biomedical Research.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has selected Whitehead Institute postdoctoral researcher Maiko Kitaoka as a Hanna H. Gray Fellow. As one of 25 scientists selected for the prestigious appointment this year, Kitaoka will receive funding that supports her postdoctoral training and may continue into her early career year as independent faculty.

Mark Greenwood is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member Pulin Li’s lab studying hormone signaling. We sat down with Mark to learn more about him and his experiences in and out of the lab.

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.