Six scientists named as new core institute members at Broad

Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has named six new core institute members: Gad Getz, Anna Greka, Nir Hacohen, Evan Macosko, Benjamin Neale, and Pardis Sabeti. 

“We are thrilled to recognize these distinguished scientists for their track record of leadership at the Broad,” said Todd Golub, director of the Broad Institute. “In addition to all being leaders in their scientific fields, each of these scientists has been deeply engaged in the intellectual life of our community, and are all committed to helping shape the institute's scientific direction and culture.”

Core institute members have a major research presence at Broad, and remain full members of their home institution (MIT, Harvard University, or one of Harvard’s primary teaching hospitals). Core institute members also serve as important connectors between Broad and their home departments.

Gad Getz is one of the world’s leaders in cancer genomics and has pioneered widely used tools for analyzing cancer genomes. At the Broad, he directs the Cancer Genome Computational Analysis Group, and is director of bioinformatics in the Mass General Hospital Krantz Family Center for Cancer Research and Department of Pathology. He is also the Paul C. Zamecnik Chair in Oncology at the Mass General Krantz Family Center for Cancer Research. 

Anna Greka’s research focuses on fundamental mechanisms of cellular dysfunction in genetic diseases with a focus on membrane proteins. Some of her discoveries have already led to clinical trials. She also leads Broad’s rare disease initiative, Ladders to Cures. She is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a member of the Broad’s Executive Leadership Team. 

Nir Hacohen has pioneered systems biology tools that generate comprehensive cellular and molecular models of immunological processes and enable personalized immunotherapies. In the area of cancer vaccines, his group has developed the first personalized approach to immunotherapy using vaccines that target patient-specific tumor neoantigens. He is also the director of cancer immunology at the Mass General Hospital Krantz Family Center for Cancer Research, the David P. Ryan Chair in Cancer Research at the Mass General Cancer Center and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Evan Macosko is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, who is both a technology innovator and a leader in the discovery of the basis of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. He is a key member of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research and Broad’s Program in Brain Health. He is also an associate professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. 

Benjamin Neale is co-director of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad, where his lab focuses on gaining insights into the genetics of common, complex human diseases with particular emphasis on severe mental illnesses. He is also an associate director of flagship disease projects for the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Genomic Mechanisms of Disease at the Broad, an associate professor in the Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit (ATGU) at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and a member of the Broad’s Executive Leadership Team. 

Pardis Sabeti, a computational geneticist, is a pioneer in pandemic preparedness and infectious disease surveillance. She has developed innovative approaches to viral diagnostics and novel systems biology approaches to gene regulation and gene therapy. She is a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.