Biohub today added 11 new researchers from Columbia University, The Rockefeller University, and Yale University to its Immune Cell Reprogramming program, which aims to harness and bioengineer immune cells for the early detection, prevention, and treatment of a broad spectrum of age-related diseases.
“We are at an extraordinary inflection point, where the convergence of AI, synthetic biology, and immunology is making it possible to move from observing the immune system to truly engineering it,” said Andrea Califano, president of Immune Cell Reprogramming, and head of Biohub New York. “Each of these investigators brings a distinct and essential perspective to that challenge, and together they will help us build the predictive and programmable tools we need to detect and prevent disease long before it takes hold.”
Diseases are often diagnosed only after obvious symptoms appear, while early signals that precede these symptoms are generally missed. Immune cells are well-suited to fill this gap, as they constantly monitor and maintain the health of organs and tissues while circulating through the blood and lymphatic systems. By deciphering the molecular language these cells use to report problems they’ve identified, researchers can leverage and augment their ability to spot and even treat hard-to-detect cancers and other diseases that can evade the immune response. Better understanding and measurement of how immune cells monitor abnormalities also opens avenues to program new functions into these cells, allowing them to take therapeutic actions, such as repairing damaged cells or eliminating diseased ones.
Through its Investigator Program and parallel Affiliated Investigator cohort, Biohub accelerates research led by scientists, engineers, and technologists by providing them with unrestricted funding to pursue their most innovative and high-impact research projects. The new Investigators will join a vibrant, collaborative, and supportive research community in New York, gaining access to cutting-edge tools, expertise, and training opportunities.
The cohort includes:
- Greg Alushin, Ph.D., The Rockefeller University
- Julien Berro, Ph.D., Yale University
- Richard Flavell, Ph.D., Yale University
- Rong Fan, Ph.D., Yale University
- Emily Mace, Ph.D., Columbia University
- Maksim Mamonkin, Ph.D., Columbia University
- Jeffrey Ravetch, M.D., Ph.D., The Rockefeller University
- Kenneth Shepard, Ph.D., Columbia University
- Andrew Wang, M.D., Ph.D., Yale University
- Michel Nussenzweig, M.D., Ph.D., The Rockefeller University (Affiliated Investigator)
- Samuel Sternberg, Ph.D., Columbia University (Affiliated Investigator)
View all Biohub Investigators and Affiliated Investigators.
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About Biohub
Biohub is a 501(c)(3) biomedical research organization building the first large-scale initiative to combine frontier AI and frontier biology to solve disease. With its compute capacity, AI research and engineering, and state-of-the-art technology for measuring, imaging, and programming biology, Biohub is enabling scientists worldwide to use AI-powered biology to study how cells operate and organize as systems — ultimately understanding why disease happens and how to cure or prevent it. Learn more at biohub.org.
Press Contact
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