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Harnessing the immune system to prevent and cure disease.

10/20/2026

Yesterday we marked the launch of a new research partnership with Fundación Romero to advance the search for a tuberculosis vaccine that can protect people in Peru and around the world.

Based in the Bryson Lab at the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard, the work will incorporate the genetic diversity of Peru’s population and build close collaboration with researchers in Peru. Grounding the science in that diversity strengthens the prospects for a vaccine that reaches many different communities.

TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. This long-term effort brings together partners across health, academia, and the organizations working to change that.

Our thanks to Fundación Romero for joining us in this work.

10/15/2026

The Ragon Institute's building in Kendall Square was purposefully designed to encourage and foster interactions. Having easily accessible spaces and dedicated areas where coworkers can meet and mingle, not only improves workplace morale, but it creates opportunities for collaboration during which inspiration might strike and where unique individuals can exchange ideas.

Since we moved here in 2024, the thoughtfully designed, open floor plan of the Ragon Institute has fostered cross-disciplinary collaboration between scientists and engineers, and we believe it will continue to be a catalyst for great scientific progress.

10/13/2026

In 2020, Martin Lubowa and Daniel Zhang met as roommates on MIT's Evolution of an Epidemic course. Together they founded Future African Scientist (FAS), a nonprofit that turns Africa's most driven scientists into biotech founders.

Two years after first speaking with them, the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard caught up with Lubowa and Zhang on the launch of the FAS Biocamp. The program moved online after an Ebola outbreak in the region. It brought together 25+ fellows from ten countries to build 18 ventures, with sessions from speakers including Harvey Lodish and Joshua Boger.

The ventures take on diseases that global research has had little commercial reason to address, and the cost of importing basic lab supplies. In Nairobi, Sol Biosciences is preparing to produce molecular-grade water locally.

"The reality for most of the science graduates in Africa is they are unemployed or underemployed, so most of them are looking for an opportunity," said Lubowa. "That means potential is actually being wasted."

Read more: https://ragoninstitute.org/2026/10/future-african-scientist-two-years-on-from-training-scientists-to-building-africas-biotech-companies/

10/08/2026

HIV treatment keeps the virus in check in the blood, but HIV still hides in lymph nodes, in structures called germinal centers.

A new study from the Ndhlovu Lab, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, asked whether natural killer (NK) cells, immune cells that can kill infected cells on sight, can reach these hiding spots.

Using lymph node and blood samples from women in South Africa, the team found that NK cells mostly stay outside germinal centers. Few carry CXCR5, the receptor that guides immune cells inside. Even the NK cells most ready to kill sit outside the areas where the virus is found.

Helping NK cells reach these sites could open a new path toward an HIV cure.

Read more: https://ragoninstitute.org/2026/10/ndhlovu-lab-finds-natural-killer-cells-are-kept-away-from-hivs-hiding-places-in-lymph-nodes/

10/06/2026

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Ragon Institute's stall at this year's Cambridge Science Carnival.

An estimated 20,000 visitors passed through the Kendall/MIT Open Space for more than 100 STEAM activities, run by over 350 members of the Cambridge STEAM community — all in just four hours.

A huge thank you to our volunteers, who spent the day talking immunology with curious visitors of every age, and to the MIT Museum for producing an event that makes science this accessible and this fun. See you next year.

10/01/2026

We Are Ragon: Laura Schmidt-Hong

Meet Laura! A fourth-year PhD student in the Harvard Immunology PhD program, Laura works in the Gaiha Lab and previously studied biological engineering just down the street at MIT. Her research focuses on developing a universal T cell vaccine platform for infectious diseases like influenza and tuberculosis. The goal is to design vaccines that bypass the genetic differences that shape what T cells can recognize, so that a single vaccine approach could work across populations worldwide.

Her favorite thing about the Ragon is the people, an answer she admits sounds cliché, but one that she stands behind. She describes members of the Gaiha Lab and the wider Ragon community as curious, collaborative and genuinely enjoyable to work with. The building's open design and cross-institutional connections make it easy to run into scientists from other labs and disciplines, and she has picked up both friends and collaborators that way. The foosball table helps too.

Outside of work, Laura enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, especially baking for her lab members, who she says are the best taste testers. She also hits the gym with friends, thrifts and antiques, and travels whenever she can, ideally somewhere warmer than Boston. A fun fact: if she had not ended up in science, she would have liked to become a journalist. She points out that the two fields have a lot in common, both built around discovery, asking good questions and communicating well.

09/28/2026

🎥🔬 Have you ever wondered what a day in the life of a postdoctoral research fellow looks like?
Step inside the Ragon Institute and meet Nicolás Gálvez Arriagada, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow whose work is helping scientists better understand HIV and develop new ways to prevent and treat infectious diseases.

Nico studies how HIV evolves and adapts in the body, providing critical insights into why the virus remains so difficult to control. By investigating how HIV interacts with the immune system and evades its defenses, his research is helping advance strategies that could lead to more effective therapies and prevention approaches.

From designing experiments and analyzing data to collaborating with fellow researchers, Nico's work is part of a global effort to uncover new ways to outsmart one of the world's most challenging viruses.

Watch the video for a behind-the-scenes look at his day-to-day research and discover how curiosity, innovation, and teamwork are driving progress in the fight against HIV. 🧪🦠🔍

09/25/2026

Happy Postdoc Appreciation Week! Yesterday the Ragon Institute gathered in our cafe for a celebratory brunch honoring our postdoctoral researchers.

Our postdocs design experiments, mentor students, and push projects forward every day across immunology, virology, and vaccine research. Their work is central to our mission, and we're grateful to have them at the Ragon.

Thank you to all of our postdocs for everything you bring to the Institute.

09/22/2026

Many people notice a new allergy only after weeks or months of exposure. A new study from the Sokol Lab at the Ragon Institute, published in Immunity, offers one explanation: sensory neurons, the nerve cells that detect itch, can hold onto a memory of past allergen exposure.

In laboratory models, a first encounter with an allergen changed the metabolism of these nerve cells and left them primed to respond more strongly the next time. That amplified response strengthened the signals that drive allergic immune reactions.

The effect wasn't limited to the original allergen. The immune system recognizes an allergen's exact molecular structure, but sensory neurons respond to what allergens do, such as damaging cells or breaking down proteins. Once primed, the nerve cells reacted more strongly to unrelated allergens from plants, molds and dust mites. The researchers call this process "neuroimmune training." It may help explain why people with allergies often become allergic to many substances.

Read more: https://ragoninstitute.org/2026/09/sokol-lab-study-finds-sensory-neurons-remember-allergens-explain-why-allergies-build-over-time/

09/18/2026

At the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard, the labs, offices, and shared spaces were built to keep scientists, engineers, and clinicians in constant contact.

We're using that collaboration to solve global health challenges on a worldwide scale.

Learn more and explore open roles: ragoninstitute.org

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http://www.ragoninstitute.org/

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