Posts by Galit Alter, PhD
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Dysregulated Antibody Response Implicated in Severe COVID-19 in Adults and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children
Lael M. Yonker, MD, of the Department of Pediatrics; Galit Alter, PhD, core member of the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard; and colleagues have uncovered an unexpected pathological role for IgA and monocyte-activating IgG antibodies in severe COVID-19 and severe MIS-C, respectively.
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Research Contributing to Successful COVID-19 Vaccine Development
Galit Alter, PhD, is a principal investigator at the Ragon Institute. She discusses her COVID-19 research that has been important for developing the critical insights into the antibody mechanisms that are essential to induce through vaccination to control and clear the infection.
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COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination of Pregnant and Lactating Women Generates Robust Maternal Immunity, May Provide Protection for Newborns
Andrea G. Edlow, MD, MSc, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has provided the first evidence from a large cohort that immunogenicity and reactogenicity to the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are similar to that observed in non-pregnant women, and immune transfer to the neonate occurs via placenta and breastmilk.
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Placental Transfer of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Is Compromised
In a study that has implications for vaccine development, Andrea G. Edlow, MD, MSc, of the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, and Galit Alter, PhD, of the Ragon Institute, found the transfer of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to cord blood is compromised in those infected in the third trimester.
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Distinct Level of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies May Be Necessary for Durable Protection
Galit Alter, PhD, of the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, and colleagues have discovered that the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies does not mean an adult will exhibit a robust immune response—which may explain why some people become re-infected.
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Developing COVID-19 Diagnostics by Understanding Antibody Protection
Galit Alter, PhD, is a principal investigator at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT and Harvard, and Samana Cay MGH Research Scholar. Her research has led to the development of diagnostic platforms that can help in managing COVID-19 patients.
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Monoclonal Antibodies for COVID-19 Need to Be "Tuned" to the Immune System
Caroline Atyeo and Galit Alter, PhD, of the Ragon Institute, and colleagues caution that an investigational monoclonal antibody against SARS-CoV-2 had both immune-protective and immunopathological effects, suggesting the need for strategic engineering of Fc receptors.
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Distinct Immune Responses Develop in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19
Galit Alter, PhD, of the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT and Harvard, and colleagues have found distinct patterns of humoral immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 that track with whether the patient survived.
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Medical Grand Rounds: The Quest for a COVID-19 Vaccine
On November 5, 2020, the Department of Medicine held a virtual Grand Rounds on COVID-19. Bruce Walker, MD, and Galit Alter, PhD, from the Ragon Institute, spoke with the local Boston medical community about the quest for a COVID-19 vaccine.
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MGH Research Scholars Respond to COVID-19
This video highlights how the MGH Research Scholars rapidly mobilized to address key medical and scientific challenges posed by COVID-19.
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Early Immune Responses Predict Outcome of Severe COVID-19
Five early immune response markers, considered together, correctly classified plasma samples as belonging to survivors or non-survivors of severe COVID-19.
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Medical Grand Rounds: How Diagnostic Tests for COVID-19 Got Us into, and Will Lead Us Out of, the Pandemic
On April 30, 2020, the eighth lecture in the Medical Grand Rounds' COVID-19 series focused on the role of diagnostic testing during the COVID-19 pandemic in leading us back to our normal lives.
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"Inflammatory Tsunami" Causes Severe Disease After Infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus
Infection with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that's causing the pandemic of COVID-19, can cause a remarkably strong cytokine storm that leads to acute respiratory distress syndrome even, in people who initially presented with mild to moderate symptoms.
Biography
Dr. Galit Alter is a Professor of Medicine at the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard. Her researched is focused on the development of systems biology tools to define the correlates of immunity against infectious diseases that ravage the globe. Her work points to unexpected mechanisms of protection against HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, has led to the development of novel diagnostics to monitor chronic infections/diseases and now promises to accelerate the development of novel classes of therapeutics able to deploy the activity of the innate immune system in a specific and controlled manner.
