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Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a non-profit research institute located in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, United States that is dedicated to improving human health through basic biomedical research. It was founded as a fiscally independent entity from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...
(MIT), where its 18 members all hold faculty appointments in the MIT Department of Biology or the MIT Department of Bioengineering. Two members (Rudolf Jaenisch, 2010, and Robert Weinberg, 1997) are National Medal of Science recipients; ten have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences; and four have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine; six are
Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, fi ...
Investigators. In September 2019,
Ruth Lehmann Ruth Lehmann is a developmental biology, developmental and cell biologist. She is the Director of the Whitehead Institute, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, succeeding David C. Page, David Page. She previously was affiliated with the N ...
was announced as the new director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, commencing July 2020 and succeeding David Page.


History

Whitehead Institute was founded in 1982 by industrialist and philanthropist Edwin C. “Jack” Whitehead (1920–1992), who sought to establish a research institute "dedicated to improving human health through basic biomedical science". Whitehead believed that while such an institution should be closely affiliated with an academic institution, it should remain wholly independent and self-governing. In
David Baltimore David Baltimore (born March 7, 1938) is an American biologist, university administrator, and 1975 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine. He is President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Tec ...
(1975 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine), Whitehead found a partner who agreed that this approach would create an "optimum environment for basic research". As Whitehead Institute's Founding Director, Baltimore handpicked
Harvey Lodish Harvey Franklin Lodish (born November 16, 1941) is a molecular and cell biologist, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Founding Member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and lead author of the textbook ...
, and Robert Weinberg from MIT,
Gerald Fink Gerald Ralph Fink (born July 1, 1940) is an American biologist, who was Director of the Whitehead Institute at MIT from 1990–2001. He graduated from Amherst College in 1962 and received a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1965, having elucidated ...
from Cornell University, and
Rudolf Jaenisch Rudolf Jaenisch (born April 22, 1942) is a Professor of Biology at MIT and a founding member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. He is a pioneer of transgenic science, in which an animal’s genetic makeup is altered. Jaenisch ...
from University of Hamburg, Germany, to be Whitehead Institute's Founding Members. This group then identified promising younger scientists to be the first generation of Whitehead Members; and they established the Whitehead Fellows Program as a vehicle for accelerating the careers of highly promising young investigators. Less than a decade after its founding, the Institute for Scientific Information in Philadelphia identified Whitehead as the top research institution in the world in molecular biology and genetics, based on the impact of its scientific publications. Whitehead Institute's Center for Genome Research (CGR) became the single largest contributor to the
Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international scientific research project with the goal of determining the base pairs that make up human DNA, and of identifying, mapping and sequencing all of the genes of the human genome from both ...
, and reportedly contributed one-third of the human genome sequence announced in June 2000. In the early 2000s, the CGR formed the independent Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, of which then-Whitehead Member
Eric Lander Eric Steven Lander (born February 3, 1957) is an American mathematician and geneticist who served as the 11th director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Science Advisor to the President, serving on the presidential Cabinet. ...
was named Founding Director and President. Whitehead Institute's influence continues - over a 10-year period, papers published by Whitehead scientists had more
impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Imp ...
in molecular biology and genetics than those from any of the 15 leading research universities and life sciences institutes in the United States. Training and education is integral to Whitehead Institute's mission and approximately 300 undergraduates, graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and visiting scientists are integrally engaged in its research programs. Four times since 2009, the Whitehead Institute has been ranked first as the Best Place to Work for Postdocs in USA by '' The Scientist'' magazine. Today, Whitehead scientists run research programs in cancer biology, developmental biology, genetics and genomics, metabolism, neurodevelopment and neurodegenerative disease, and regenerative medicine. In addition, numerous biotech companies have been launched by Whitehead Members or based on intellectual property developed at the institute, such as
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an American biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics for genetically defined diseases. The company was founded in 2002 and is he ...
, Sanofi Genzyme,
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a publicly traded pharmaceutical company. It was originally called Microbia, Inc. Microbia was founded by postdocs from the lab of Gerald Fink at the Whitehead Institute to commercialize approaches that had been d ...
, Rubius Therapeutics, and Verastem. In 2019, according to the NACUBO report, the institute had an endowment of $527.9 million.


Faculty

The Whitehead faculty currently comprises 18 members whose laboratories focus on biology's most fundamental questions. The Members, who are all also MIT faculty members, are: * David Bartel – co-discovered the abundance of microRNAs and has since played a leading role in defining these short RNAs and how they act to regulate genes in plants and animals *
Iain Cheeseman Iain Cheeseman investigates the role of the kinetochore, a group of proteins required for cell division and chromosome segregation. This core network of proteins facilitates the attachment of chromosomes to microtubule polymers—the spindle str ...
– studies the kinetochore, the group of proteins that assemble at the centromere and that are required for chromosome segregation and cell division; defining the roles of the different components of the kinetochore may enhance understanding of mechanisms underlying a variety of diseases * Gerald R. Fink – developed baker's yeast as a model for studying the fundamental biology. His use of classical genetics, biochemistry, and molecular biology has yielded numerous important findingsr regarding how fungal pathogens invade the body, evade the immune system, and establish an infection * Mary Gehring – studies how gene expression in plants is modulated by epigenetics (heritable information that influences cell function but is not encoded in DNA) *
Rudolf Jaenisch Rudolf Jaenisch (born April 22, 1942) is a Professor of Biology at MIT and a founding member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. He is a pioneer of transgenic science, in which an animal’s genetic makeup is altered. Jaenisch ...
– investigates the genetic and epigenetic basis of diseases including Parkinson's, autism, and Rett and Fragile X syndrome. He has used patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells to develop sophisticated models of conditions such as Alzheimer's and diabetes. Jaenisch created the first transgenic animal model and was the first to demonstrate therapeutic cloning in mice * Ankur Jain – studies how biomolecules in a cell self-organize; in particular, the form and function of membrane-free cellular compartments such as RNA granules. His lab develops new biochemical and biophysical techniques to investigate these compartments and to understand their dysfunction in human disease *
Ruth Lehmann Ruth Lehmann is a developmental biology, developmental and cell biologist. She is the Director of the Whitehead Institute, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, succeeding David C. Page, David Page. She previously was affiliated with the N ...
– is the director of Whitehead Institute and studies the biological origins of germ cells, and how they transmit the potential to build a completely new organism to their offspring * Pulin Li – investigates how networks of interacting genes within individual cells help those cells organize into complex tissues and other multicellular functions * Harvey F. Lodish – studies red blood cell formation and diseases associated with this process. He is recognized for pioneering work on erythropoietin, the hormone controlling red blood cell formation, as well as for studies of the formation of fat cells and their role in diseases such as obesity and diabetes * Sebastian Lourido – investigates the biology of apicomplexan parasites, which include the etiologic agents of many common human diseases, such as toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma gondii), cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidium spp.), and malaria (Plasmodium spp.). His lab uses Toxoplasma to model conserved aspects of apicomplexan biology, and recently used CRISPR-based genetic screens to identify parasite genes that contribute to infection * David C. Page – was the director of Whitehead Institute from 2004 to 2020 and studies genomics of sex chromosomes; he has made pioneering discoveries about the Y chromosome, is investigating the differential impact of XX and XY chromosomes on cellular function throughout the body, and is elucidating the resulting sex-biased effects on health and disease * Peter W. Reddien – studies how regenerative organisms regrow body parts. Using the flatworm planaria, he has identified important components of the molecular and developmental programs specifying the body parts to be replaced, and shown that they require pluripotent stem cells called neoblasts, as well as expression of position control genes and signals from the muscle * Robert A. Weinberg – studies the molecular and genetic basis of human cancer, cancer stem cells, and the factors involved in cancer metastasis. Having discovered the first human oncogene and the first tumor suppressor gene, he is studying how cancer stem cells contribute to tumor invasion and metastasis *
Jonathan Weissman Jonathan S. Weissman is the Landon T. Clay Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a member of the Whitehead Institute, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. From 1996 to 2020, he was a faculty member in t ...
– studies how proteins fold in the cell and how this process can go awry, causing disease * Jing-Ke Weng – focuses on understanding the origin and evolution of specialized metabolic systems in plants; he is particularly interested in developing new therapeutics inspired by traditional herbal medicines of the world * Yukiko Yamashita – studies the mechanisms that regulate asymmetric stem cell division, and their implications for cancer and other diseases * Richard A. Young – studies factors that influence gene expression in healthy and diseased cells. His work is helping to define basic mechanisms of gene expression and inform how its dysregulation in certain diseases, including cancer, could be targeted therapeutically


Fellows Program

The Whitehead Fellows Program provides an opportunity for highly accomplished recent PhDs to direct their own labs, rather than work in a senior researcher's lab as a traditional postdoctoral researcher. Fellows receive dedicated lab space and funds for equipment, lab operations, salary, and core staffing. They also receive mentoring from Whitehead Faculty Members, who serve as resources and integrate the Fellows into the institute's collaborative culture. Past Whitehead Fellows include George Q. Daley, Dean of Harvard Medical School;
Angelika Amon Angelika Amon (January 10, 1967 – October 29, 2020) was an Austrian American molecular and cell biologist, and the Kathleen and Curtis Marble Professor in Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massach ...
, MIT professor and cancer researcher;
Eric Lander Eric Steven Lander (born February 3, 1957) is an American mathematician and geneticist who served as the 11th director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Science Advisor to the President, serving on the presidential Cabinet. ...
, President and Founding Director of Broad Institute;
Kathleen Rubins Kathleen Hallisey Rubins (born October 14, 1978) is an American microbiologist and NASA astronaut. She became the 60th woman to fly in space when she launched on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) on July 7, 2016 ...
, NASA astronaut and space biologist; Keith E. Mostov, professor of cell biology at the University of California, San Francisco; David C. Page, Whitehead Institute Director; and
Peter S. Kim Peter S. Kim (born April 27, 1958) is an American scientist. He was president of Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) 2003–2013 and is currently Virginia & D.K. Ludwig Professor of Biochemistry at Stanford University, Institute Scholar at Stanfor ...
, former President of Merck Research Laboratories.Peter Kim To Head Merck's Labs
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See also

*
Broad Institute The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (IPA: , pronunciation respelling: ), often referred to as the Broad Institute, is a biomedical and genomic research center located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The insti ...
*
Salk Institute The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a scientific research institute located in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California, U.S. The independent, non-profit institute was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vacci ...
*
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) is a private, non-profit institution with research programs focusing on cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, and quantitative biology. It is one of 68 institutions supported by the Cancer Centers ...


References


External links


Whitehead Institute
{{Authority control Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research institutes established in 1982 1982 establishments in Massachusetts Science and technology in Massachusetts Medical research institutes in Massachusetts Independent research institutes