Ragon Institute, 600 Main Street, Cambridge, MA (2026)

02/25/2026

A new study from the Balazs Lab at the Ragon Institute, published in Immunity, demonstrates that HIV escapes broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) through a limited set of conserved mutation paths, and that manipulating the cost of those paths can dramatically improve therapeutic outcomes.

"By studying the mutations the virus makes during selection by these antibodies, we find that the ease or difficulty of escape paths available to the virus are the real drivers of success or failure during treatment,” said principal investigator and corresponding author Alejandro Balazs, PhD.

“We believe this insight will be crucial for the development of future HIV therapies that employ combinations of antibodies that can exert orthogonal selective pressure on the virus to produce the check-mate conditions needed to continuously suppress HIV as a functional cure".

Read More: https://ragoninstitute.org/2026/02/balazs-lab-study-reveals-hiv-escapes-antibody-therapy-through-predictable-paths-and-blocking-them-can-achieve-sustained-viral-suppression/

02/20/2026

"I don't have a clue why I'm here." "Well, I really don't have a clue why you're here either."

Sometimes the most meaningful partnerships begin with the most unlikely introductions. When Ragon Institute Founding Director Bruce Walker, MD, met entrepeneur and philanthropist Phillip 'Terry' Ragon, neither knew why they'd been brought together. But a shared trip to South Africa, where Terry witnessed firsthand how HIV had overwhelmed hospitals and communities, changed everything.

Terry asked Bruce a simple question: What would it take to solve this? Bruce's answer: bring together the best minds at Harvard, MIT, and Mass General to make an HIV vaccine. Terry's response was to commit the funding to make it happen.

That conversation became the Ragon Institute, built on the belief that collaboration across disciplines could tackle one of humanity's greatest health challenges.

Watch Bruce and Terry share the story of how it all began. 🎥

02/18/2026

A multi-institutional study published in Science Immunology, led by the Batista Lab at the Ragon Institute, in collaboration with researchers at University of Pennsylvania, Scripps Research Institute, Columbia University, MIT, and others, demonstrates that a single immunization can rapidly generate antibodies capable of neutralizing a broad range of HIV strains, thereby offering a potential path toward simpler HIV vaccine regimens.

Read more: https://ragoninstitute.org/2026/02/single-immunization-produces-broad-hiv-neutralization-in-mouse-model-pointing-to-simpler-vaccine-strategies/

02/13/2026

A collaborative study published in Immunity from the Batista Lab and Liu Lab at the Ragon Institute, together with the Schief Lab at Scripps Research Institute, has uncovered a previously unrecognized mechanism that shapes how immune cells are selected during an immune response.

The team found B cells that bound the target most strongly actually spent less time in germinal centers than weaker-binding cells. And while B cells of similar strength could coexist without affecting each other, stronger-binding cells actively suppressed weaker ones targeting the same site.

"When we started examining this response, it became clear that the effect was highly localized, anatomically,” first author and Batista Lab research scientist Yu Yan, PhD, said. “We were able to identify cells in and around the germinal centers producing antibodies creating a hyperlocal feedback loop.”

Read more: https://ragoninstitute.org/2026/02/batista-lab-study-reveals-how-local-antibody-feedback-regulates-b-cell-competition-and-promotes-immune-diversity/

02/05/2026

"I came to college, two duffel bags, showed up at Kendall Square being like, I'm gonna make computer games…"

Sometimes the most impactful scientific careers start with unexpected turns. Bryan Bryson, PhD, arrived at MIT with a plan in mind, but instead found a completely different passion for understanding the fundamental ways our bodies fight disease.

Today, Bryson is an Associate Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT and a Ragon Institute core faculty member. His lab tackles one of humanity's oldest killers: tuberculosis. By combining immunology, bioengineering, and systems biology, his team is working to understand how immune cells control and eliminate pathogens—research that could transform how we develop vaccines for infectious diseases that have plagued humanity for centuries.

Watch to hear Bryson share his journey to becoming an immunologist at the Ragon.

02/03/2026

Facundo Batista, PhD, Scientific Director of the Ragon Institute, has been named the 2026 recipient of the AAI-BioLegend Herzenberg Award by the American Association of Immunologists (AAI). The award recognizes investigators who have made outstanding contributions to the field of B cell biology.

Established to honor the memory of the late Leonard A. Herzenberg, PhD—a pioneering immunologist who developed fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) technology—the award is among the most distinguished honors in B cell research. Dr. Batista was selected by the AAI Council in recognition of his exceptional scientific leadership and lasting impact on the field.

Batista will receive the award at IMMUNOLOGY2026, the AAI annual meeting, where he will also deliver a lecture highlighting his research.

01/29/2026

After two weeks across Johannesburg, Durban, and rural KwaZulu-Natal, our 'Evolution of an Epidemic' course has concluded and our MIT and ALA students have returned home safely.

The course offered students a deeply meaningful learning experience, witnessing firsthand the realities of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa and the vital work being done by local communities and international partners like the Ragon Institute.

In the final days of the trip, students ventured into the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. Highlights included:

— Visiting the BabyCure program at Queen Nandi Hospital in Empangeni, where students met with mothers and learned how access to pre- and post-natal care is transforming lives while advancing HIV research.

— Exploring the African Health Research Institute's Somkhele campus, where students heard from local researchers and presented their own 'Shark Tank'-style pitches addressing pressing public health challenges.

— An early morning hippo and crocodile tour on the St. Lucia Estuary, followed by incredible game drives in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve—including the chance to see the Big Five up close.

— Presenting their final group projects, synthesizing everything they learned over the course of the trip.

The students returned home this past Monday, and we are deeply grateful for their participation. This year's cohort brought enthusiasm, curiosity, and dedication to every moment, and we were honored to share another year of 'Evolution of an Epidemic' with them.

01/27/2026

Meet Eric Sun, PhD, the newest addition to the Ragon Institute faculty. A computational biologist joining us from Stanford, Dr. Sun uses machine learning to tackle one of biology's biggest questions: why do we age? His lab will develop AI-driven tools to build biomarkers of aging, predict how cells and tissues respond to interventions, and discover new strategies to promote healthy aging with a particular focus on the immune system.

In this Q&A, he shares his journey from Harvard undergrad to leading researcher at Stanford, and what drew him to the Ragon's collaborative environment.

Read the full interview here: https://ragoninstitute.org/2026/01/an-interview-with-eric-sun-phd-a-computational-biologist-decoding-the-mysteries-of-aging/

📸: Sun (3rd from left) and his team joined by guests at their first Ragon lab meeting.

01/22/2026

Our MIT and African Leadership Academy students have continued their journey through South Africa as the 'Evolution of an Epidemic' course brought them to the coastal city of Durban.
In the heart of KwaZulu-Natal province, students had the opportunity to meet with clinicians, researchers, and patients at the frontlines of HIV research and care. Highlights included:

— A visit to the African Health Research Institute (AHRI), featuring a lecture by renowned epidemiologist Quarraisha Abdool Karim on her 30-year journey in preventing HIV infection in women, followed by an interview with Quarraisha and Ragon founding director Bruce Walker.

— An immersive day with traditional healers through the ITEACH program, experiencing their culture and learning how their certification in HIV testing has made a lasting impact in their communities.

— A meaningful exploration of FRESH, from welcome song circles to intimate home visits with participants and their families—seeing firsthand the real impact of FRESH's social upliftment program on the local community.

— A private screening of the acclaimed South African film "Yesterday," followed by a conversation with its leading actress, Leleti Khumalo.

— A meeting with US Consulate General Rebecca Gonzales at her Durban residence.

— Continued lectures from faculty covering topics including mucosal immunology, s*x differences in immune response, and influenza.

Next up: the final leg of the course takes students to the AHRI Somkhele research site, the BabyCure program, and two nights in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve!

01/20/2026

Ragon Institute researcher Sophia Liu, PhD, has been awarded $749,760 through the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Bits to Bytes program for her project, "Building an Immune Response Map for Antigen Prediction."

The project aims to create a quantitative dataset capturing how the immune system responds to antigens in tissues. By generating and analyzing large datasets using AI and machine learning, Liu and her team will develop tools to measure and predict how immune cells interact with antigens—a critical foundation for designing more effective vaccines and immunotherapies.

Liu's project is strengthened by collaborations with Armon Sharei, PhD, at Portal Bio and Ava Amini, PhD, at Microsoft Research, combining cutting-edge cell platforms and computational capabilities with deep expertise in immunology.

Read more: https://ragoninstitute.org/2026/01/ragon-institute-researcher-sophia-liu-awarded-750k-grant-from-massachusetts-life-sciences-center-to-build-immune-response-map-for-antigen-prediction/

01/15/2026

The Ragon Institute and MIT have returned to South Africa for the 'Evolution of an Epidemic' course, an immersive educational experience exploring public health and policy responses to emerging diseases through the lens of the AIDS pandemic, COVID-19, and other outbreaks.

Our students landed in Johannesburg yesterday for the beginning of their course. This year, 18 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students and 5 students from the African Leadership Academy are participating in two weeks of learning across Johannesburg, Durban, and rural regions of the KwaZulu-Natal Province.

The course is led by the Ragon's founding director, Bruce Walker, MD, and MGH's Howard Heller, MD, MPH, with Ragon faculty Krista D**g, MD; Doug Kwon, MD, PhD; and Thumbi Ndung'u, PhD also instructing throughout the trip.

In the Johannesburg leg of the trip this week, students will experience:

— Team building at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, where MIT and ALA students connect for the first time.
— A guest lecture by renowned AIDS activist Zackie Achmat, founder of the Treatment Action Campaign.
— A tour and roundtable discussion at Witkoppen Clinic, a non-profit providing comprehensive healthcare and social welfare services to low-income patients.
— Faculty lectures on HIV and AIDS fundamentals, immunology and vaccine development, the FRESH cohort and HIV cure research, science in Africa, and the global politics of AIDS policy.
— A visit to the powerful and educational Apartheid Museum.

Next stop: Durban, where students will visit the African Health Research Institute and our FRESH and ITEACH programs. Stay tuned for more updates in the weeks to come.

01/08/2026

An adventurer at heart, Meg Bayarsaikhan loves the outdoors—whether it’s camping in New Hampshire with her family, planning her next ski trip, or dreaming of future travels to explore new countries. Having lived in multiple countries across three continents, Meg has navigated different cultures, scientific environments, and ways of life—all while staying true to her passion for discovery.

Originally from Mongolia, Meg earned her medical degree and practiced as a physician before shifting her focus to research. She moved to Japan to pursue a PhD in immunology, spending 10 years immersed in both its scientific and social culture. Adjusting to Japan’s structured and formal social norms was a challenge as a non-native, but it shaped her adaptability. Her move to Boston a year and a half ago was another culture shift—this time, into a more outspoken, dynamic environment where she feels her open personality thrives.

In the scientific world, she’s noticed a similar contrast: research in Japan followed a more individual, hierarchical structure, while Boston fosters a highly collaborative, fast-moving community that she finds invigorating. Now a research scientist in the Idris Lab, Meg studies early immune responses to malaria infection. She is working to develop monoclonal antibodies against the disease and contribute to malaria vaccine advancements—a mission with the potential to impact millions of lives. She values the supportive and communicative environment of her lab and the flexibility that allows her to balance work and family.

Meg embraces every challenge with resilience and curiosity, applying her global perspective to both science and life.

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