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Our Story

The Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard was officially established in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2009, with a donation from the Phillip T. And Susan M. Ragon Foundation. Our mission is to harness the immune system to prevent and cure human disease. Though we started with a focus on HIV, our scope has since grown to include six research priority areas: HIV/AIDS, Global Infectious Diseases, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vaccine Development, Basic and Applied Immunology, and Clinical Studies.

In response to the ongoing pandemic, we have also included an Emergency Priority Area: COVID-19. Our strength is in the people we bring together to represent wide-ranging areas of expertise and the unparalleled excellence of our partner organizations: the Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard University.

Timeline

2009

2010

2011

2013

2017

2019

2020

Feb. 2009

The Ragon Insitute is established with a $100 million donation from the Philip T. and Susan M. Ragon Foundation.

June 2010

The first Ragon team participates in the 25th Annual AIDS Walk Boston.

July 2010

iTEACH designs the first HIV-1 self-test kits for use in low-literacy populations.

Nov. 2011

The Ragon Institute is named one of Boston’s top medical breakthroughs.

Dec. 2011

The Ragon Institute signs a lease on space in Kendall Square, Cambridge, moving from a virtual insitute to a physical one.

Jan. 2013

The Ragon Institute moves into its current location at 400 Technology Square, Cambridge, with three and a half floors of dedicated office and lab space.

June 2013

The Ragon AIDS Walk Team breaks all records for the amount of money raised for Massachusetts HIV/AIDS services. 118 members from the Ragon Institute and InterSystems raise a grand total of $50,382.62.

June 2013

A new Ragon study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, FRESH (Females Rising through Education, Support, and Health) empowers young women in a community ravaged by the HIV epidemic.

March 2017

Nineteen MIT undergraduates attend the inaugural Health Sciences and Technology (HST) course “Evolution of an Epidemic”, taught during the 2017 Independent Activities Period (IAP) in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

May 2019

The Ragon Institute celebrates its tenth anniversary

March 2020

The Ragon Institutehas begun a multipronged approach towards understanding, treating, and preventing infections with the new human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

Explore More

About

The Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard brings together scientists and engineers from diverse fields to better understand the immune system and support human health.

Administration and Operations

The Administrative and Operations team manages the Ragon’s operations, administrative, and logistical functions.

Clinical Team

The Ragon’s clinical research focuses on clinical studies in infectious diseases such as HIV and COVID-19.