Philosophy/Vision
The Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation serves as a catalyst that unites scientists and clinicians from wide-ranging disciplines across Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School to work towards the common goal of improving human health. The Institute focuses on advancing scientific knowledge in three areas:
- Aging and Immunity, to determine how aging impacts immune system function and identify strategies to promote healthy aging.
- Cancer Immunology, to understand how cancers evade the immune system and identify mechanisms that can be translated into new immunotherapies.
- Tissue Inflammation, to discover underlying mechanisms and exploit common pathways to combat chronic inflammatory diseases.
The Institute aims to bridge the gap between groundbreaking, fundamental research and life-changing therapies by fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, implementing cutting-edge technologies, and promoting scientific innovation.
Interested in our mission?
Read more about our research initiatives
Latest News
May 17th, 2024
Cancer Immunology Program Hosts Inaugural Workshop
This first workshop entitled “Spatial Determinants of Tumor Immunity and Resistance” featured talks from five leaders in the field and a trainee poster session.
April 5th, 2024
Aging and Immunity Program Hosts First Annual Workshop
The Gene Lay Institute Aging and Immunity program held its inaugural Scientific Workshop on April 5, 2024 in the Wolf Conference Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
The Workshop was opened by program leaders Francisco Quintana, PhD and Marcia Haigis PhD, who expressed gratitude to Dr. Gene Lay for making the event possible. Drs. Quintana and Haigis then welcomed the Workshop speakers, pioneering leaders in the field whose work addresses shifts in the immune response throughout the aging process and new tools in which to study them.
March 23rd, 2024
Gene Lay receives the Chancellor’s Medal from UC San Diego
As one of the highest honors given by the University, the Chancellor’s Medal is awarded to select leaders whose long-standing contributions and involvement have supported students, research, and the university.Dr. Vijay Kuchroo joined Gene Lay at the award event in San Diego to celebrate.
September 20th, 2023
Institute welcomes Gene Lay on first official visit
The Institute welcomed an in-person visit from Gene Lay, MS, DVM to meet with Mass General Brigham leadership, discuss the Institute’s focus and first actions with its director and faculty, and tour the new Institute facilities.
June 26th, 2023
Gene Lay Institute inauguration and ribbon-cutting ceremony held at BWH
The inauguration event featured a roundtable discussion with Gene Lay, MS, DVM and the Institute directors, Vijay Kuchroo, DVM, PhD, Arlene Sharpe, MD, PhD, and Ramnik Xavier, MD, PhD where they discussed their goals and visions for the Institute, along with speeches from BWH, MGB, and HMS leadership. The event culminated in a surprise visit from Mayor Michelle Wu, who thanked Lay on behalf of the city of Boston and a ceremonial ribbon cutting to open the Institute.
May 9th, 2023
$100 million gift establishes The Gene Lay Institute or Immunology and Inflammation
The largest gift in the Brigham’s history is furthering investigations of immune-mediated diseases, immune system aging, and cancers that are unresponsive to cancer immunotherapies.
Save the date!
The Gene Lay Institute holds an annual symposium featuring talks from leading Immunologists. The event also includes a trainee lunch, meant to foster communication between junior scientists, invited speakers, and GLI faculty.
The inaugural Gene Lay Institute Symposium will take place on Wednesday, August 7th, 2024 at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School.
Speakers include:
-
- Aviv Regev, Genentech
-
- Fiona Powrie, University of Oxford
-
- Susan Kaech, Salk Institute
-
- Ruslan Medzhitov, Yale University
Registration coming soon