#  Shira Weingarten-Gabbay 

Assistant Professor

 

 

 



   ![Shira Weingarten-Gabbay](/sites/g/files/omnuum5516/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/2025-02/shriya.png?itok=FOG2lCTp) 

 



 

 location\_on Harvard Medical School New Research Building 938 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur Boston MA 

 email [Shira\_Weingarten@hms.harvard.edu](mailto:Shira_Weingarten@hms.harvard.edu) 

 laptop\_windows [Website](https://www.shiraweingartengabbay.com/) 

 

 



 

My lab works at the intersection of virology, immunology and systems biology. Our core mission is to uncover global principles in virology by decoding hundreds of viral genomes. Our projects revolve around a central question: **how have the compact genomes of viruses evolved to encode multiple functions?**

We develop high-throughput methods to unveil ‘hidden’ viral proteins and to illuminate their function across multiple aspects of the viral life cycle and antiviral immunity. These methods include Massively Parallel Ribosome Profiling (MPRP), Massively Parallel Reporter Assay (MPRA) and Immunopeptidomimcs.

Key research areas:

1. Viral non-canonical Open Reading Frames (ORFs) and translational control
2. Viral antigen presentation
3. Genomic plasticity and dual adaptation of arboviruses to the host and the vector

Dr. Weingarten-Gabbay is an Assistant Professor of Microbiology at Harvard Medical School and an Associate Member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. She completed her BSc in Medical Sciences at the Hebrew University, her MSc in the department of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute, and her PhD in the Department of Computer Science & Applied Mathematics at the Weizmann Institute as a Clore scholar. After graduating, she joined the laboratories of Pardis Sabeti at the Broad Institute and Charlie Rice at the Rockefeller University to pursue postdoctoral research in virology. In 2025, she launched the Laboratory of Systems Virology at Harvard Medical School. She is the recipient of the Blavatnik Regional Award; the RNA Society Award for Innovation in High-Throughput Biology; the Broad Ignite Award; the Eric S. Lander Prize in Scientific Excellence; and postdoctoral fellowships from HFSP, EMBO, the Gruss-Lipper Foundation, the Zuckerman STEM Leadership Program, and the Rothschild Foundation. She was named one of *Globes* magazine’s 40 Under 40, recognizing Israel’s most promising young people.

In 2020, Dr. Weingarten-Gabbay co-founded the international [Systems Virology Journal Club](https://www.shiraweingartengabbay.com/systems-virology-jc), which brings together researchers interested in fundamental questions in virology and introduces new methodologies and concepts in the field.



 

 

 





 

 

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