Whitehead Innovation Initiative
The Whitehead Innovation Initiative is a bold program advancing cutting-edge bio-AI leadership, which sponsors community-building and educational programs, funding opportunities, and computational resources at Whitehead Institute. The goal of the initiative is to spark innovation at the intersection of biomedical research and AI, foster partnerships between biomedical and computational researchers, facilitate collaboration, and support individual projects through expanded, state of the art computational infrastructure, educational resources, funding opportunities and social events.
Ruth Lehmann (Director, WI)
Rick Young (Committee Chair, WI)
Regina Barzilay (MIT CSAIL)
Vanessa Almendro (Danaher Corporation)
Allison Hamilos (Valhalla Fellow, WI)
Administration
Alexa Pagliaro
The Whitehead Innovation Initiative supports Whitehead Fellow Na Sun.
Rick Young
Regina Barzilay
Iain Cheeseman
Jonathan Weissman
Olivia Corradin
Peter Reddien
Seminars feature collaborative bio-AI work funded by the Whitehead Innovation Initiative, as well as special guest speakers from the broader bio-AI community. Seminars take place in the Whitehead McGovern Auditorium and are open to the public.
- Tuesday, March 4, 12-1 PM: Special Guest Seminar: Karel Svoboda, Allen Institute
- Tuesday April 29th, 10-11 AM: Speaker Dana Pe’er, Chair, Computational and Systems Biology Program, SKI; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Alan and Sandra Gerry Endowed Chair, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Previous seminars:
Perturb-Multimodal: A platform for pooled screens with ultra-rich phenotypes in intact mammalian tissue (Jan 30, 2025)
Presented by Reuben Saunders, Weissman Lab
Analyzing perturbed cell morphologies using deep learning (Nov 20, 2024)
Presented by Matteo Di Bernardo, Cheeseman Lab, Whitehead Institute
Interpretable neural networks for single cell RNA sequencing analysis (Nov 20, 2024)
Presented by Hunter King, Reddien Lab, Whitehead Institute
Machine Learning-Driven Analysis Reveals Distinct Genetic and Epigenetic Insights into Opioid Usage or Overdose (Sept 20, 2024)
Integrating Foundation Models with Chromatin QTL Analysis Uncovers Distinct Genetic-Epigenetic Associations in Opioid Overdose
Presented by Fatir Qureshi, Corradin Lab, Whitehead Institute
AI Forum: Inferring Cell-Cell Communication Statistically (May 24, 2024)
Presented by Nicolas Hutchins, Pulin Li Lab
WII Kick Off: Chemical codes promote selective compartmentalization of proteins (April 16, 2024)
Presented by Henry Kilgore, Rick Young Lab, Whitehead Institute and Itamar Chinn, Regina Barzilay Lab, MIT
D48s are dinner gatherings for biomedical researchers and computational science experts, providing a small-group setting to exchange ideas, discuss how AI is accelerating life science discoveries, and explore the future of biotechnology and medicine. Typically held in the Kendall Square area, D48s are open to members of the Whitehead Institute, MIT CSAIL, the Biology Department, and the Broad Institute communities.
Deep Lunches are gatherings of small groups of computational scientists and biologists to network, brainstorm and learn from one another in a round-table setting. These are similar to D48 events, but take place within WIBR. Come hang out with experts, enthusiasts and like-minded colleagues. A catered lunch is served. Lunches happen every other month on Wednesdays, 12:30-2. Watch for communications with opportunities to sign up!
Next Deep Lunch: March 12, 12:30-2pm
WII bio-AI tutorials and journal clubs will take place in a supportive, closed door setting to educate, empower and prepare members of the WI community to pitch innovative bio-AI projects and serve as effective collaborators with AI experts. Educational primers are open to members of the WI community and take place in the 7th floor classroom.
- March 19, 12:30-1:30 PM - Topic: Genomic Foundation Models, Speakers: Erik Owen and Ben Feng, Page Lab, Whitehead Institute
- May 17 - Topic TBA
Previous primers:
Single-cell foundation models (Dec 11, 2024)
Presented by Na Sun, Whitehead Fellow, Whitehead Institute
Applying Protein Language Models to Fundamental Biological Questions (Oct 1, 2024)
Presented by Matteo di Bernardo, Cheeseman Lab, Whitehead Institute
Our WII social chairs plan social and educational events, including the WII kick off seminar, D48s, the WII seminar series, and educational primers. Members of the WI and MIT communities are welcome to join as leaders. To get involved, please contact Allison Hamilos [ahamilos [at] wi [dot] mit [dot] edu].
Our current community leaders are:
Allison Hamilos (chair)
Inma Barrasa
Matteo Di Bernardo
Xinlei Gao
Anna Meglan
Monica Concepcion (logistics)
A call for new WII proposals will open in March 2025 and will be open to WI community members and their collaborators.