Category Archives: research

Ragon Institute initiative addresses socioeconomic factors affecting HIV risk in young women in South Africa A program established by investigators from the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), MIT and Harvard is addressing the persistently elevated risk of HIV infection among young women in South Africa from two angles – first, investigating biological factors […]

Vivian Chou | Harvard University   The search for a safe and effective HIV vaccine is a major scientific and clinical challenge. In an exciting new Nature Medicine paper published earlier this week, researchers at the Ragon Institute and their collaborators uncover important insights into how antibodies provide protection following vaccination. These findings bring researchers […]

Bronwyn Gunn and Galit Alter | Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard   From 2013–2016, West Africa faced the deadliest Ebola outbreak the world has ever seen. By the time the outbreak was declared over, 11,325 people had died. Antibody therapy is considered among the most promising treatments for the Ebola virus infection, and […]

Findings suggest mechanisms for the persistence of nasal polyps and possible new treatment strategies. Anne Trafton | MIT News Office   Chronic rhinosinusitis is distinct from your average case of seasonal allergies. It causes the sinuses to become inflamed and swollen for months to years at a time, leading to difficulty breathing and other symptoms […]

Vivian Chou | Harvard University   The immune system plays the crucial role of defending the body against pathogens that can cause dangerous and deadly infections. How the immune system performs this incredible function has spurred numerous research questions, many still unanswered. In a recent study published in Immunity, researchers at the Ragon Institute in […]

On January 4th and 5th, 2018, leading researchers in the field of cellular immunology participated in an interactive workshop entitled “Prospects for designing and testing vaccines to elicit cellular immunity against HIV”, hosted by the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard.   The meeting focused on how cell-mediated immunity can be incorporated into the […]

Vivian Chou | Harvard Medical School In a recent report in Cell, researchers at the Ragon Institute in Cambridge, MA and their collaborators announced a groundbreaking new model of how immunity is initiated in response to viral infections. Achieving broad and long-lasting protection against viruses such as influenza, HIV, and Zika has been a longstanding […]

“Mosaic” vaccine designed to respond to many viral strains, address challenge of genetic diversity. Sue McGreevey | Massachusetts General Hospital A phase 2b clinical trial of a novel preventive HIV vaccine regimen developed by researchers at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), MIT and Harvard, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), and partners has […]

An international team of scientists has developed a method to rapidly produce specific human antibodies in the laboratory. The technique, which will be described in a paper to be published July 24, 2017 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, could speed the production of antibodies to treat a wide range of diseases and facilitate the […]

Ragon Institute Instructor, Zaza M. Ndhlovu, PhD, is one of forty-one scientists from 16 countries who have been chosen as International Research Scholars through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).   HHMI, along with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation developed this award in order to recognize […]