Principal Investigator
Associate Director
Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Harvard Medical School
857-268-7284
Room 876
The Batista lab studies the fundamental biology of the immune system to develop the next generation of vaccines and therapeutics. Our targets include HIV, malaria, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2, and our approach focuses on B cells, a critical component of the immune system responsible for producing antibodies.
The Batista lab investigates how, where, and when B cells are activated, with the goal of rationalizing the development of vaccines. Historically, our lab has focused on understanding B cell receptor (BCR) function, including BCR signaling dynamics, inhibitory and stimulatory regulation by co-receptors, and interactions with the cortical cytoskeleton. More recent projects investigate the role of B cell metabolism (e.g., autophagy and mitochondrial flux) in driving humoral immunity. The lab’s applied immunology work primarily consists of the creation of new mouse models for the preclinical testing of immunogens and vaccination strategies; we use these models to assess the effectiveness of immunizations in recruiting B cells to germinal centers, inducing B cell receptor mutations, and producing high affinity antibodies.
The Batista Lab has received funding from a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant, and NIAID grants in basic B cell biology. They also been awarded a grant for translational vaccinology. Dr. Batista is the co-lead PI of the Scripps Consortium for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development (CHAVD) Scientific Research Support Unit and co-lead of the publicly available MIT course, "COVID-19, SAR-CoV-2, and the Pandemic."
COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, and the Pandemic
Dr. Facundo Batista was a tenured Member of the Francis Crick Institute and a Professor at Imperial College London. He received his PhD from the International School of Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy, and his undergraduate degree from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Facundo is a recipient of the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit and EMBO Young Investigator Awards. He is an elected member or fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, the Academia de Ciencias de América Latina (ACAL), the UK Academy of Medical Science, and the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO); he also serves as the current Chief Editor for The EMBO Journal.
Kratochvil S, Shen CH, Lin YC, Xu K, Nair U, Da Silva Pereira L, Tripathi P, Arnold J, Chuang GW, Melzi E, Schön A, Zhang B, Dillon M, Bonilla B, Flynn BJ, Kirsch KH, Kisalu NK, Kiyuka PK, Liu T, Ou L, Pancera M, Rawi R, Reveiz M, Seignon K, Wang LT, Waring MT, Warner J, Yang Y, Francica JR, Idris AH, Seder RA, Kwong PD, Batista FD
Immunity. 2021 Dec 14; 54(12):2859-2876 PubMed Read on Journal Site
Wang X, Ray R, Kratochvil S, Melzi E, Lin YC, Giguere S, Xu L, Warner J, Cheon D, Liguori A, Groschel B, Phelps N, Adachi Y, Tingle R, Wu L, Crotty S, Kirsch KH, Nair U, Schief WR, Batista FD
The EMBO Journal. 2021; 40(2):e105926 PubMed Read on Journal Site
Steichen JM, Lin YC, Havenar-Daughton C, Pecetta S, Ozorowski G, Willis JR, Toy L, Sok D, Liguori A, Kratochvil S, Torres JL, Kalyuzhniy O, Melzi E, Kulp DW, Raemisch S, Hu X, Bernard SM, Georgeson E, Phelps N, Adachi Y, Kubitz M, Landais E, Umotoy J, Robinson A, Briney B, Wilson IA, Burton DR, Ward AB, Crotty S, Batista FD, Schief WR
Science. 2019; 366(6470):eaax4380 PubMed Read on Journal Site
Tsui C, Martinez-Martin N, Gaya M, Maldonado P, Llorian M, Legrave NM, Rossi M, MacRae JI, Cameron AJ, Parker PJ, Leitges M, Bruckbauer A, Batista FD
Immunity. 2018 Jun 19; 48(6):1144-1159.e5 PubMed Read on Journal Site
Lin YC, Pecetta S, Steichen JM, Kratochvil S, Melzi E, Arnold J, Dougan SK, Wu L, Kirsch KH, Nair U, Schief WR, Batista FD
The EMBO Journal. 2018; 37(18):e99243 PubMed Read on Journal Site
Martinez-Martin N, Maldonado P, Gasparrini F, Frederico B, Aggarwal S, Gaya M, Tsui C, Burbage M, Keppler SJ, Montaner B, Jefferies HB, Nair U, Zhao YG, Domart MC, Collinson L, Bruckbauer A, Tooze SA, Batista FD
Science. 2017; 355(6325):641-647 PubMed Read on Journal Site
Gaya M, Barral P, Burbage M, Aggarwal S, Montaner B, Warren Navia A, Aid M, Tsui C, Maldonado P, Nair U, Ghneim K, Fallon PG, Sekaly RP, Barouch DH, Shalek AK, Bruckbauer A, Strid J, Batista FD
Cell. 2017; 17:31387–9 PubMed Read on Journal Site
Gaya M, Castello A, Montaner B, Rogers N, Reis e Sousa C, Bruckbauer A, Batista FD
Science. 2015; 347(6222), 667-672 PubMed Read on Journal Site
Madhav Akauliya
Research Fellow
Maria Bottermann
Research Fellow
Jordan R. Ellis-Pugh
Research Technician I
Amrit Raj Ghosh
Research Fellow
Sophie Giguere
Graduate Student
Kathrin Kirsch
Senior Lab Manager
Ja-Hyun Koo
Research Fellow
Edward Lamperti
Project Manager, Research
Paula Maldonado
Research Fellow
Usha Nair
Senior Research Scientist
Manfredo Perez
Senior Research Lab Assistant
Thavaleak Prum
Veterinary Technologist
Rashmi Ray
Research Fellow
Katie Tumang
Research Technician I
Xuesong Wang
Research Fellow
John Warner
Senior Research Technologist
Stephanie Weldon
Program Manager
Zhenfei Xie
Research Fellow
Liling Xu
Research Fellow
Yu Yan
Research Fellow
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