Rudolf Jaenisch, MD, was announced today as the recipient of the 2025 Ogawa-Yamanaka Stem Cell Prize by Gladstone Institutes. He was selected for his trailblazing contributions to epigenetics and stem cell biology. His pivotal discoveries have profoundly advanced our understanding of gene regulation, cellular reprogramming, and the potential of regenerative medicine. A founding member of the Whitehead Institute for […] The post Rudolf Jaenisch awarded Ogawa-Yamanaka Stem Cell Prize appe...| MIT Department of Biology
Mariely Morales Burgos first fell in love with MIT while participating in the Quantitative Methods Workshop, a weeklong intensive offered in January to prepare students to analyze data in biology and neuroscience. Those skills have come in handy this summer while participating in the Bernard S. and Sophie G. Gould MIT Summer Research Program in […] The post 3 Questions: Mariely Morales Burgos on the BSG-MSRP-Bio program appeared first on MIT Department of Biology.| MIT Department of Biology
Our cells produce a variety of proteins, each with a specific role that, in many cases, means that they need to be in a particular part of the cell where that role is needed. One of the ways that cells ensure certain proteins end up in the right location at the right time is through […] The post Locally produced proteins help mitochondria function appeared first on MIT Department of Biology.| MIT Department of Biology
Can bacteria clean up oil spills? The short answer: no. Or, at least, not yet. The Drennan Lab is working to understand how bacteria perform incredible, radical chemistry on inert compounds. Inert compounds, like those that make up crude oil, are challenging to break down because they contain very stable chains of carbon and hydrogen […] The post Can bacteria be used to clean up oil spills? appeared first on MIT Department of Biology.| MIT Department of Biology
Established in 2021, the Angelika Amon Young Scientist Award recognizes graduate students in the life sciences or biomedical research from institutions outside the United States who embody Dr. Amon’s infectious enthusiasm for discovery science. Sourav Ghosh, a PhD student in Biotechnology at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay under the supervision of Anirban Banerjee, investigates cell-autonomous […]| MIT Department of Biology
It might sound too good to be true: a pill that could help you live a longer, healthier life. But Leonard Guarente, a longtime MIT biologist, believes the idea holds promise. Guarente, the Novartis Professor of Biology at MIT, has spent more than 40 years studying the science of aging. He started small, working with […] The post Can a pill help you live longer? The science behind NAD and longevity appeared first on MIT Department of Biology.| MIT Department of Biology
All life is connected in a vast family tree. Every organism exists in relationship to its ancestors, descendants, and cousins, and the path between any two individuals can be traced. The same is true of cells within organisms—each of the trillions of cells in the human body is produced through successive divisions from a fertilized […] The post Mapping cells in time and space: a new tool reveals a detailed history of tumor growth appeared first on MIT Department of Biology.| MIT Department of Biology
Carmel Mercado ’09 describes herself as “existing at the intersection of health and art.” A Seattle-based pediatric ophthalmologist, Mercado is also a visual artist whose whimsical illustrations and colorful animal characters can be found in places as varied as a children’s hospital and a microbrewery. Looking back, Mercado says that even as a premed biology […]| MIT Department of Biology
Sriram “Sri” Srikant, a postdoctoral Scholar in the Laub Lab in the Department of Biology at MIT, succumbed to cancer in March. He was 35. Srikant received a degree in Chemical Engineering with a minor in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 2011, and a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from […]| MIT Department of Biology
Imagine that you want to know the plot of a movie, but you only have access to either the visuals or the sound. With visuals alone, you’ll miss all the dialogue. With sound alone, you will miss the action. Understanding our biology can be similar. Measuring one kind of data—such as which genes are […] The post Putting liver cells in context: new method combines imaging and sequencing to study gene function in living tissue appeared first on MIT Department of Biology.| MIT Department of Biology
Cleft lip and cleft palate are among the most common birth defects, occurring in about one in 1,050 births in the United States. These defects, which appear when the tissues that form the lip or the roof of the mouth do not join completely, are believed to be caused by a mix of genetic and […]| MIT Department of Biology
Heart muscle cells called cardiomyocytes. Credit: Alexander Auld and Laurie Boyer| MIT Department of Biology
Education PhD, 2006, University of California, Berkeley BS, 2000, Biology and Genetics, Cornell University Research Summary We study how cells and tissues change shape during embryonic development, giving rise to different body parts. We visualize these changes to determine how mechanical forces drive massive tissue movements in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. In addition, we […]| MIT Department of Biology
