Ragon Institute

Earlier this year, the first 2 fellows of our GRASP program returned from 2 weeks at the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, South Africa — advancing research on TB, HPV, and HIV while building cross-continental partnerships. Learn more: ragoninstitute.org/global-ra…

Some people living with HIV stay healthy without ever taking treatment. Ragon Director Bruce Walker, MD, explains how studying these outliers helps researchers understand what drives disease and how to change its course. #HIV #Immunology

Yesterday we gathered with Fundación Romero and partners from health and academia to launch a new TB vaccine research partnership. Based in the Bryson Lab, the work incorporates the genetic diversity of Peru’s population to help protect communities in Peru and worldwide.

Since moving to our new building in 2024, the Ragon Institute's open floor plan and shared spaces have brought scientists and engineers together, sparking cross-disciplinary collaboration we believe will keep driving scientific progress.

Two years ago, we spoke with Martin Lubowa and Daniel Zhang, who met on MIT's Evolution of an Epidemic course. Now their nonprofit, Future African Scientist, helps African scientists build biotech companies. ragoninstitute.org/2026/10/f… #GlobalHealth #Biotech

Natural killer cells can kill infected cells, but a new Ndhlovu Lab study finds they're mostly kept out of the lymph node sites where HIV hides. ragoninstitute.org/2026/10/n…

Thank you to everyone who visited our stall at Sunday's Cambridge Science Carnival! We greatly appreciate our volunteers for their willingness to share and discuss immunology with curious minds of every age. #CambridgeScienceCarnival

Meet Laura Schmidt-Hong, a Gaiha Lab PhD student. She's building a universal T cell vaccine platform for influenza, TB and other diseases, designed to bypass the genetic differences that shape what T cells recognize. Outside the lab, she bakes, thrifts and travels. #WeAreRagon

🎥🔬 What does a day in the life of a postdoc look like? Step inside the Ragon Institute with Nicolás Gálvez Arriagada, PhD, who studies how HIV evolves and evades the immune system, work that could lead to better therapies and prevention.

It's Postdoc Appreciation Week! Yesterday we gathered in the Ragon cafe for a brunch celebrating our postdoctoral researchers. Thank you for the work you do every day to advance our science. #PostdocAppreciationWeek

New in Immunity: The Sokol Lab finds itch-sensing nerve cells can "remember" past allergens and react more strongly next time, even to unrelated ones. This may help explain why allergies build over time. Read more: ragoninstitute.org/2026/09/s… #Allergies #Immunology #Neuroscience

Immunologists, engineers, clinicians, and computational biologists work side by side at the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard in Kendall Square. Learn more: ragoninstitute.org #Immunology #InfectiousDisease #Cambridge #ScienceCareers #Biotech

Mark your calendars! The Ragon Institute will be at the Cambridge Science Carnival on Sunday, October 4th. Stop by our stall to meet our volunteers and learn about our immunology research. (Photos from the 2024 carnival.) #CambridgeScienceCarnival #CSC26

Meet Dimos Sampatakos, a technician in the Balazs Lab. Born and raised in Greece, he came to the U.S. to study biology and now works on therapeutic approaches to cure HIV. Outside the lab, he rock climbs, watches movies and plays Dungeons & Dragons. #WeAreRagon

One week left to apply for SPARK, a new 3D printing workshop for high school students at the Ragon Institute. Six weeks of design, CAD skills and mentorship, starting Sept. 24. Apply by Sept. 11: surveymonkey.com/r/Y8PLYDH

The HIV reservoir has long been considered invisible to the immune system. A new study from the Lichterfeld and Yu Labs, published in Nature Immunology, finds it is not. Read more: ragoninstitute.org/2026/09/s…

It's National Immunization Awareness Month. Dolly Parton, who tragically passed this week, funded COVID-19 research at Vanderbilt before there was a vaccine, then got one on camera to encourage her fans. Her philanthropy and giving will always be remembered. Thank you, Dolly.

Mariano Aufiero, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow co-mentored by Eric Dang, PhD, and Charlie Evavold, PhD, has received a CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Cancer Research Institute. Read more: ragoninstitute.org/2026/08/d… #Immunology #Cancer #Mentorship

"It showed me the power of collaboration." Lara Schwab, PhD, has worked in labs on three continents. This summer she spent three months at the Ragon as an exchange fellow from the Doherty Institute. Read our Q&A: ragoninstitute.org/2026/08/t… #Collaboration #GlobalHealth #Influenza

RISE 2026 has come to a close. Students from across Greater Boston spent the summer in Ragon labs doing real research. "I think one of the most important things that we do at the Ragon Institute is mentor the next generation of scientists," says Bruce Walker, MD.