“MIT HEALS is an opportunity to make our work – as individuals and institutions – collectively add up to more than the sum of our parts. And I believe this effort could not be more timely or more important.”

Sally Kornbluth, President of MIT

About the Collaborative

Spurring innovative collaborations at the convergence of multiple disciplines to impact human health and life sciences.

Mission:

MIT HEALS harnesses the Institute’s world-class expertise to confront health and life science challenges through bold research, life-centered innovation, data sharing, and inspired education—advancing breakthroughs that improve lives and empower future leaders.

Team

MIT HEALS is led by Anantha P. Chandrakasan , provost and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The faculty lead is Angela Koehler , professor of biological engineering, associate director at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and an Institute Member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. A founder of multiple biotech companies, including Ligon Discovery, Kronos Bio, 76Bio, and Samori Bio, she has firsthand knowledge of how to transform scientific discoveries into potential therapeutics.

Associate directors are Iain Cheeseman , member of the Whitehead Institute and the Herman and Margaret Sokol Professor of Biology, and Katharina Ribbeck , the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor of Biological Engineering. The HEALS vision also builds on foundational work led by Dean Nergis Mavalvala through the VITALS initiative, which identified the need for greater integration and strategic focus in MIT’s life sciences efforts.

Anantha Chandrakasan

HEALS Head

Angela Koehler

Faculty Director

Katharina Ribbeck

Associate Director

Iain Cheeseman

Associate Director

Caroline Lowenthal

Sr. Program Manager

Liz Kazachkov

Program Coordinator

Reyna LaRiccia

Communications Officer

MIT HEALS Faculty Advisory Board

Phillip Sharp
Chair, MIT HEALS Faculty Advisory Board
Institute Professor Emeritus, Department of Biology

Sangeeta Bhatia
John J. and Dorothy Wilson Professor of EECS and Health Sciences and Technology
Director, Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine

Sallie (Penny) Chisholm
Institute Professor
Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Biology

Canan Dagdeviren
LG Career Development Professor of Media Arts and Sciences
Director, Conformable Decoders

David Des Marais
Amgen Career Development Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Robert Desimone
Director, McGovern Institute
Doris and Don Berkey Professor of Neuroscience

Joseph Doyle
Erwin H. Schell Professor of Management and Applied Economics
Director, MIT Sloan Initiative for Health Systems Innovation

Elazer Edelman
Edward J. Poitras Professor in Medical Engineering and Science
Director, Hood Hub for Pediatric Innovation
Director, MIT Clinical Research Center (IMES)

Susan Hockfield
Professor of Neuroscience
President Emerita

Tyler Jacks
David H. Koch Professor of Biology
Director, Ludwig Center at MIT

Laura Kiessling
Novartis Professor of Chemistry

Robert Langer
David H. Koch (1962) Institute Professor
Departments of Chemical Engineering and Biological Engineering

Douglas Lauffenburger
Ford Professor of Engineering
Departments of Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Biology

Ruth Lehmann
Director, Whitehead Institute
Department of Biology

Andrew W. Lo
Charles E. and Susan T. Harris Professor of Finance
Director, Laboratory for Financial Engineering
MIT Sloan School of Management

Alex Shalek
Director, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES)
J. W. Kieckhefer Professor in IMES and Chemistry

Collin Stultz
Director, Harvard–MIT Health Sciences & Technology
Nina T. and Robert H. Rubin Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Caroline Uhler
Director, Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center, Broad Institute
Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Engineering
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Bruce Walker
Director, Ragon Institute
Department of Biology