News

Endowed chairs are generally created through philanthropic gifts from individual donors, organizations, or groups of donors honoring a specific person. The chairs — of which Whitehead Institute currently has five — provide steady, predictable funding to support investigations in Members’ labs.

Brad Wierbowski is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member David Bartel’s lab studying the turnover of messenger RNAs. We sat down with Brad to learn more about him and his experiences in and out of the lab.

Despite their distinct evolutionary histories, different species can sometimes arrive at similar solutions for survival. The work of various researchers at Whitehead Institute investigates this fascinating phenomenon, called convergent evolution, through the lens of shared mechanisms governing reproduction, development, and regeneration across a range of species.

Changes in DNA and gene function are the engines that drive evolution. These seemingly small modifications in an organism’s evolutionary journey ultimately dictate its fate —  deciding which traits will be safeguarded and transmitted through generations, and which new traits will emerge. Whitehead Institute researchers are studying how organisms sharing a common ancestor develop unique traits over time, diverging from one another. These traits — encoded in the genes — impact their chances of survival and reproduction.

In honor of Women’s History Month, we asked Whitehead Institute community members if they would share stories about women who have inspired them, both professionally and personally. This year we are honoring extraordinary mentors, talented scientists, and gracious friends. Here are some of their stories. 

Biological sex is a potent modifier of health. Yet, for decades, science has overlooked conditions that disproportionately affect women. Now researchers at Whitehead Institute are challenging the status quo and making strides to understand — and transform — key aspects of women’s health.

In a brief audio clip, Sebastian Lourido discusses his lab's recent work.