What happens when artificial intelligence (AI) makes its way into the lab? In a new @nature.com feature, Whitehead scientists Kalon Overholt and Anna Pertl offer a glimpse into how they're using AI as a tool for scientific discovery, and why human expertise remains essential: tinyurl.com/mvbzemh2

So proud of my lab mate @sagrill.bsky.social (whose on the job market 👀) for this magnum opus from @remlehmann.bsky.social lab @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social ScRNA-seq of 🪰 germ cells reveals new biology, answers age old questions, and proposes new paradigms! 1/8 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Whitehead Institute’s Scientific Advisory Board brings together leading scientists to engage with our researchers and offer outside perspective. Hear more from @harmitmalik.bsky.social of @fredhutch.org about his decision to get involved with Whitehead: tinyurl.com/4pcntm6b

Messenger RNA carries genetic instructions that make proteins. But all RNA molecules have another, less appreciated property: they are naturally sticky. Now, Whitehead Institute researchers have discovered one way cells may have evolved to keep RNA from clumping together. tinyurl.com/4jtsvas3

Alum Alicia Zhou reflects on her journey from undergraduate in Whitehead Institute Founding Member Robert Weinberg’s lab to CEO of the Cancer Research Institute (CRI). She discusses how Weinberg’s mentorship shaped her, and why this is a critical moment for cancer research: tinyurl.com/5dycamm3

What happens inside our cells as we age? @weissmanlab.bsky.social postdoc Ania Puszynska is studying the cell’s recycling centers to understand how these structures change with time, and what those changes can tell us about why aging increases our risk of certain diseases. tinyurl.com/yx63pzxk

Related to Cyclospora, the parasite behind the recent outbreak, Toxoplasma infects billions worldwide. Now Whitehead researchers have found the protein machinery that helps it adapt and multiply inside cells — insights that could guide new treatments for parasitic infections: tinyurl.com/57hkdx97

Lehmann Lab postdoc KangBo Ng has received a 2026 Robertson Foundation - Jane Coffin Childs Fellowship. @jcchildsfund.bsky.social The award will support his research into how somatic and germ cells exchange resources during early development. Congratulations, KangBo! #JCCFellow

The Jane Coffin Childs Fund for Medical Research Names its 2026 Fellows - Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund

The Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research (Jane Coffin Childs Fund/JCC Fund) is an unwavering supporter of biomedical research, having funded early-career researchers for nearly ninety...

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Weissman Lab postdoc Mohamed El-Brolosy has received one of this year’s @fredhutch.org Dr. Eddie Méndez Scholar Awards. Congratulations, Mohamed–we’re thrilled to join in celebrating this recognition of your work! www.fredhutch.org/en/news/rele...

Fred Hutch names 8 recipients of the Dr. Eddie Méndez Award

Fred Hutch names eight recipients of the Dr. Eddie Méndez Award, which celebrates early-career scientists' research in cancer, infectious disease and basic sciences.

fredhutch.org

“I’ve also really valued the richly collaborative community, and being able to take a lot of risks in how I address the questions I have the opportunity to pursue,” says graduate student Giselle Valdes, reflecting on her time at Whitehead Institute and @mit.edu. tinyurl.com/56hdxshv

Advancing stem cell research and building the next generation of biologists

Giselle Valdes, a PhD student in the MIT Department of Biology, studies stem cell regeneration and teaches and mentors other MIT biology students, as well as local middle and high school students.

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Crops are facing increasing stress from heat, drought, and poor soil conditions. Now Whitehead researchers have created a gene expression “map” of seed development that could help guide future efforts to improve crop yield, nutrition, and resilience: shorturl.at/CLWq1

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Brit d’Arbeloff, Director Emerita of the Board and longtime supporter of the Institute. Her legacy is profound and includes advancing our efforts to understand of how sex differences influence health and disease. shorturl.at/byRH5

How do organs fight infection while keeping inflammation in check? Latest research at Whitehead Institute shows lung immune sensitivity is organized in tiers: surface cells respond cautiously, while deeper cells sound the alarm when threats break through. tinyurl.com/54jfkvcf

Excited to share a new preprint from the lab led by @lukekoblan.bsky.social and William Colgan in which we describe our efforts to define a quantitative cell fate map of mouse embryogenesis! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Congratulations to our AI Fellow Na Sun on receiving the 2026 NIH Director’s Early Independence Award! This award recognizes both her innovative research and the strength of the Whitehead Fellows Program, which supports recent MDs and PhDs in launching independent labs: tinyurl.com/2vyk8ncp

Fatigue, appetite loss, and poor sleep — are they just side effects of being sick? Whitehead Institute Member Zuri Sullivan and colleagues argue they may be part of a coordinated immune strategy that helps us fight infection. tinyurl.com/445mujrt

Our Spring Lecture Series for High School Students returned for another successful year! Over the course of three days, 43 students participated in hands-on experiments, interactive lab modules, and had conversations with scientists to get a feel for how research unfolds.

Gene editing can target the genetic causes of disease, but getting the editing machinery into the right cells in the body remains a challenge. Learn how Whitehead Valhalla Fellow Aditya Raguram and colleagues are tackling this problem: tinyurl.com/5n7hxdtv

Congratulations to Whitehead Institute trainees Elizabeth Black, Juntao Yu, and Tatsat Banerjee for being named as Damon Runyon Fellows — 3 of just 13 selected nationwide! Learn more about their efforts to advance cancer research: tinyurl.com/4dvhtzwr

Stem cells can both renew themselves and give rise to cells that differentiate into specialized types like lung cells or blood cells. Now, a new study out of the Yamashita Lab uncovers how cells are able to preserve stem cell potential while adopting distinct identities. tinyurl.com/469utx4p

We’re #hiring! Join our Institute Advancement team as Director, Foundation & Corporate Relations. In this role, you’ll work with foundations and corporate partners to garner philanthropic support, helping ensure sustained funding for the innovative science happening in our labs: tinyurl.com/982cjhpt

Autism has a significant and enduring sex bias, with roughly four boys diagnosed for every girl. New research from the Page Lab offers a genetic explanation for this disparity — one that may also extend to 17 other pediatric conditions that show similar sex biases. tinyurl.com/yzfvkpj4

Interested in biomolecular condensates? Don’t miss tomorrow’s #LMBSeminar by Ruth Lehmann, @remlehmann.bsky.social, Director of the @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social, MIT, at 11am (GMT) on Friday 27th March. More information: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...

Just one week until the next #LMBSeminar! Join us to hear Ruth Lehmann, Director of @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social, discuss “Reconstructing biomolecular condensates for translation” Starts 11am (GMT) on Friday 27th March. More details: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...

MicroRNAs fine-tune gene activity but how do cells control their lifespan? New study out of the Bartel Lab, in collaboration with @mpibiochem.bsky.social, reveals a “two-factor authentication” system that selectively eliminates specific microRNAs: shorturl.at/03gAe

In a new study from the @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social, Drs. Yukiko Yamashita, Romain Lannes, and Adrienne Fontan identified a cellular defect that contributes to reproductive incompatibility. 🧪 Abstract: https://bit.ly/3P4Jnp6 🗞️ Press release: https://bit.ly/4smOPCJ

Whitehead Institute scientists, trainees, and staff members bring precision and creativity to everything they do — even baking. Here are some snapshots from yesterday’s belated Pi(e) Day celebration.

When closely related species mate, their offspring sometimes survive but can’t reproduce. New work from the Yamashita Lab shows that in hybrid male fruit flies, large Y-chromosome genes fail during RNA processing preventing sperm development: shorturl.at/MGyZe

Congratulations to alum Patrik Ernfors on receiving The Brain Prize. In his reflections, he credits Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch with teaching him the scientific independence that helped him start his own lab: shorturl.at/Hvq5g

Patrik Ernfors

Patrik Ernfors received a PhD in neuroscience from Karolinska Institute and completed postdoctoral training at the Whitehead Institute, MIT, USA. He returned to a faculty position at Karolinska Instit...

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Lundbeckfonden@lundbeckfonden.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Congratulations to The Brain Prize winners Prof. David Ginty (Harvard Medical School, US) and Patrik Ernfors (Karolinska Institutet, SE) for their pioneering work on how the nervous system detects and processes touch and pain: https://brainprize.org/winners/touch-and-pain-2026 The Brain Prize HHMI

Help ProtGPS win #STATMadness by casting your vote today! This AI tool developed at Whitehead Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology predicts which parts of the cell a protein will reside in, helping researchers develop effective therapies for a range of diseases. 🗳️ shorturl.at/dxYjA

Whitehead Institute@whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social · 7mo ago

@statnews.com has selected us to compete in this year’s #STATMadness! Cast your vote today for ProtGPS, an AI tool developed in the Young Lab in collaboration with Regina Barzilay at @csail.mit.edu, that predicts protein localization in health and disease. 🗳️ shorturl.at/dxYjA