Ragon Institute

08/21/2025

Meet Jag Ramdas – a bridge builder, problem solver, and coffee-fueled HR leader (sometimes three cups a day ).

As the Director of Human Resources at the Ragon Institute, Jag is passionate about fostering an environment where faculty, researchers, and staff feel supported, because he knows that the work being done here has the potential to change the world.

Though he’s still new to Ragon, with less than a year under his belt, Jag has spent most of his career in academia, working closely with faculty and students to create supportive environments where people can succeed. To him, HR is more than policies and procedures—it’s about people. His role is to help navigate workplace challenges, bridge perspectives, and create solutions that allow individuals to thrive both professionally and personally.

Jag’s passion for problem-solving is deeply rooted in his life experiences. His career has taken him across cultures and continents, but he’s found that, no matter where people are from, the core challenges remain the same. From an early age, he learned not to judge people based on external factors. Watching his parents (who came from vastly different cultures) overcome the challenges that came with it instilled in him the belief that "people are people, regardless of where they come from. What truly matters is found at our core."

Originally from Guyana and raised in NYC by parents of Indian and African descent, Jag takes pride in his multicultural identity. His marriage of 28 years to his wife, who is from Sweden, has further reinforced his appreciation for diverse perspectives. Together, they strive to raise their children with a strong ethos of acceptance and understanding.

Outside of work, Jag enjoys the thrill of hunting down rare bottles of whiskey, slowly building a collection he hopes to enjoy throughout his retirement. But for now his focus remains on supporting the Ragon team, ensuring that those working to cure the world’s most pressing diseases have the resources and support they need to succeed.

Ragon

08/19/2025

The Ragon Institute congratulates faculty member Harikesh Wong, PhD, Core Member at the Ragon and an Assistant Professor in the MIT Department of Biology, on receiving the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award — the NSF’s most prestigious honor for early-career faculty.

The CAREER Award recognizes teacher-scholars who excel in integrating research and education within the mission of their institutions. Wong was awarded for his project, ‘Physiological Roles for Autoimmune T Cell Responses in Endometrial Turnover.’

Research in the Wong Lab focuses on how cells assemble and communicate to precisely control immune responses within tissues. Using a multidisciplinary approach which ranges from high-resolution imaging to computational modeling, the Wong Lab aims to uncover how small shifts in immune regulation can lead to dramatically different outcomes, including tolerance, autoimmunity, and cancer.

By combining cutting-edge research with mentorship and training for the next generation of scientists, this NSF CAREER Award will enable Wong to advance fundamental immunology while fostering educational excellence in his students.

Congratulations Dr. Wong!

08/14/2025

Ragon Institute scientists investigate how immunity works—and fails—across diseases like HIV, TB, COVID-19, cancer, and autoimmunity. By mapping immune cells and signals, we uncover shared rules that guide better vaccines, smarter diagnostics, and new therapies, turning basic discovery into patient impact.

“The umbrella of how the immune system functions and how it malfunctions and trying to understand that in the context of these different diseases, because it's all the same system that's working against those diseases.”
—Bruce Walker, MD

08/12/2025

The 2025 RISE program ended last Friday with our annual symposium, where this summer’s interns showcased their outstanding work through lightning talks followed by a poster session in the lobby. Over the past summer, these talented students immersed themselves in research, gained valuable insights, and built lasting connections at the Ragon Institute.

Ragon Director of Education and Outreach, Don Pinkerton, recognized each intern’s achievements with a certificate of completion and a plush-bNAb (broadly neutralizing antibody), and Scientific and Associate Director Facundo Batista offered brief remarks celebrating the cohort’s curiosity, rigor, and impact. The event concluded with a lunch to mark the end of a productive summer.

We are incredibly proud of our RISE interns and look forward to what they accomplish next.

Learn more about the RISE program: https://ragoninstitute.org/rise-ragon-institute-summer-experience/

08/07/2025

Each year the Ragon hosts a cohort of RISE summer interns to provide hands-on experience working in our labs over the summer. We're profiling each of our interns over the coming weeks as they take their first steps into the world of immunology and help contribute to our groundbreaking research.

Meet Ashley, Janeil, Nicole, and Annely in our final post as they share a little about themselves and their favorite parts of RISE so far!

RISE (Ragon Institute Summer Experience) is our summer internship program, which aims to inspire young people from surrounding communities in the Greater Boston area to consider a career in medical research and immunology by offering a paid, structured and mentored internship with extended support.

Learn more at: https://ragoninstitute.org/rise-ragon-institute-summer-experience/

08/05/2025

We're proud to announce that the Ragon Institute, under the leadership of Gaurav Gaiha, MD, DPhil, is part of a landmark Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the innovative HIV vaccine candidate, GRAdHIVNE1. Developed through a global partnership with the Mutala Trust, ReiThera, and IAVI, this vaccine leverages novel T cell-inducing technology designed by the Ragon Institute team, building on decades of groundbreaking HIV research.

The first doses were recently administered in Africa, where the trial is conducted by a dedicated team of African researchers. This trial represents a significant milestone, bringing us closer to a future where HIV vaccines and therapies can effectively target and eliminate infected cells.

“We are thrilled to be moving insights from our long-term studies of spontaneous elite controllers of HIV toward the development of GRAdHIVNE1 and its testing in Africa. We are truly grateful to the network of global and African partners that have come together to make the IAVI C114 trial a reality,” Gaiha said.

Read the full press release: https://ragoninstitute.org/2025/08/phase-1-clinical-trial-of-hiv-vaccine-starts-in-africa-to-evaluate-immune-responses-to-highly-networked-hiv-t-cell-epitopes/

Led by a team of African researchers, first doses of the novel T cell-inducing GRAdHIVNE1 vaccine candidate have been given. Harare, Zimbabwe; Rome, Italy; New York, NY, and Cambridge, MA, USA — August 4, 2025 — The Mutala Trust, ReiThera Srl (ReiThera), the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigh...

08/01/2025

Facundo Batista, PhD, Scientific Director of the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard, attended the launch of Governor Maura Healey’s Discovery, Research and Innovation for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE) Initiative yesterday.

The initiative aims to bolster Massachusetts’ leadership in research, innovation, and discovery while creating thousands of jobs and securing economic growth in the face of federal funding uncertainty.

Governor Healey’s DRIVE Initiative proposes $400 million in strategic state funding designed to safeguard critical research projects, preserve high-quality jobs, and attract exceptional talent to Massachusetts. With its global reputation in biomedical research and immunology, the Ragon Institute is proud to support this vital investment in the state's innovation ecosystem.

The event gathered influential leaders across academia, healthcare, and industry, emphasizing collaboration and shared commitment to advancing Massachusetts’ research-driven economy.

07/31/2025

The Ragon Institute is pleased to announce that Eric Sun, PhD, will join the institute's faculty and establish the Sun Lab in 2026, dedicated to advancing computational science and deepening our understanding of the biology of aging. Sun will hold dual appointments as a member of the Ragon Institute and an assistant professor in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering.

Originally from Pueblo, Colorado, Sun holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry and physics, and a master's degree in applied mathematics from Harvard University. During his tenure at Harvard, he contributed significantly to research in the applied mathematics lab, optimizing protocols for repairing aging systems, simulating aging in mechanical networks, and modeling fruit growth.

Sun furthered his studies at Stanford's Snyder Lab, exploring human gene expression changes related to aging, and at the National Institute on Aging, where he developed machine learning models capable of predicting biological age based on clinical data. His achievements have earned him notable recognition, including selection as an Amgen Scholar, SENS Summer Scholar, John Harvard Scholar, and recipient of the prestigious PD Soros Fellowship for New Americans.

At the Ragon Institute, the Sun Lab will focus on creating cutting-edge computational and machine learning methods aimed at unraveling the complexities of aging, ultimately accelerating discoveries of new interventions for aging-related diseases. Sun will officially join the institute in January 2026 but will be regularly visiting the Institute in the meantime as he transitions to a full-time position.

We warmly welcome Dr. Sun to our community and look forward to the impactful research he will lead!

07/29/2025

Each year the Ragon hosts a cohort of RISE summer interns to provide hands-on experience working in our labs over the summer. We're profiling each of our interns over the coming weeks as they take their first steps into the world of immunology and help contribute to our groundbreaking research.

Meet Abbie, Jasmine, Melania, Sara, and Laurie in our third of four posts as they share a little about themselves and their favorite parts of RISE so far!

RISE (Ragon Institute Summer Experience) is our summer internship program, which aims to inspire young people from surrounding communities in the Greater Boston area to consider a career in medical research and immunology by offering a paid, structured and mentored internship with extended support.

Learn more at: https://ragoninstitute.org/rise-ragon-institute-summer-experience/

07/24/2025

New research from the Ndhlovu Lab underscores a crucial gap in global vaccine strategies: genetic diversity in immune genes among African populations has been vastly underestimated.

Their findings show significant differences in HLA immune system genes between African and U.S. populations, highlighting the urgent need for population-specific genetic data to inform effective vaccine design.

Read more at the link in our bio.

07/22/2025

Each year the Ragon hosts a cohort of RISE summer interns to provide hands-on experience working in our labs over the summer. We're profiling each of our interns over the coming weeks as they take their first steps into the world of immunology and help contribute to our groundbreaking research.

Meet Angela, Sabrina, Ysihak, and Dayna in our second of four posts as they share a little about themselves and their favorite parts of RISE so far!

RISE (Ragon Institute Summer Experience) is our summer internship program, which aims to inspire young people from surrounding communities in the Greater Boston area to consider a career in medical research and immunology by offering a paid, structured and mentored internship with extended support.

Learn more at: https://ragoninstitute.org/rise-ragon-institute-summer-experience/

07/17/2025

We are excited to announce the promotion of Ragon faculty member Zaza Ndhlovu, PhD, to Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Ndhlovu's leadership and contributions in viral immunology, particularly regarding HIV infection, have been invaluable. The Ndhlovu Lab’s pioneering work in understanding viral reservoirs and immune responses during acute HIV infection has informed critical strategies for future vaccine and therapeutic advancements.

Ndhlovu earned his PhD from Johns Hopkins University and completed post-doctoral training at Harvard University. In addition to his role at the Ragon Institute, Ndhlovu serves as an Associate Professor at the Africa Health Research Institute and as an Assistant Investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital, among other esteemed affiliations.

Congratulations, Dr. Ndhlovu!