News & Events

Innovative brain-wide mapping study shows that an “engram,” the ensemble of neurons encoding a memory, is widely distributed and includes regions not previously realized. A new study by scientists at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT provides the most comprehensive and rigorous evidence yet that the mammalian…

Competitive seed grants launch yearlong investigations of novel hypotheses about potential causes, biomarkers, treatments of Alzheimer’s and ALS. Neurodegenerative diseases are defined by an increasingly widespread and debilitating death of nervous system cells, but they also share other grim characteristics: Their cause is rarely discernible and they have all eluded…

Faculty members, including at IMES, are recognized for excellence via a diverse array of honors, grants, and prizes. Members of the MIT engineering faculty receive many awards in recognition of their scholarship, service, and overall excellence. The School of Engineering periodically recognizes their achievements by highlighting the honors, prizes, and…

Groundbreaking work on infectious agents and diseases already under way before the pandemic began—by MIT researchers, including at IMES—could yield ways to respond quickly to the global need for rapid, convenient covid testing. The following story appeared in MIT Technology Review, MIT News. Early in the covid pandemic, testing for…

HST PhD grad receives nation’s highest honor for early-career scientists and engineers Lara A. Thompson, an associate professor in the mechanical engineering department in the School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, University of the District of Columbia (UDC), has been awarded the prestigious Alan T. Waterman Award by the National…

HST PhD grad receives nation’s highest honor for early-career scientists and engineers Lara A. Thompson, an associate professor in the mechanical engineering department in the School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, University of the District of Columbia (UDC), has been awarded the prestigious Alan T. Waterman Award by the National…

Study finds genome loops don’t last long in cells; theories of how loops control gene expression may need to be revised. In human chromosomes, DNA is coated by proteins to form an exceedingly long beaded string. This “string” is folded into numerous loops, which are believed to help cells control…

Machine learning is contributing to rapid advances in clinical translational imaging to enable early detection, prediction, and treatment of diseases that threaten brain health. Several faculty members, researchers and students affiliated with the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) program, and with the MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science…

Microbes that safely break down antibiotics could prevent opportunistic infections and reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance, according to MIT researchers, including at IMES. Antibiotics are life-saving drugs, but they can also harm the beneficial microbes that live in the human gut. Following antibiotic treatment, some patients are at risk…

Colleagues lauded the HST Academic Program Manager for her 41 years working on behalf of the program, students Patricia “Patty” Cunningham, who retired recently, was honored with a celebration of her 41 years with the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST). Joining while a junior in college, she…