MIT launches health initiative bridging labs, clinics, and engineering

MIT has appointed a leadership team to run MIT HEALS, a new collaborative platform designed to break down the walls between disciplines in health and life sciences research. Angela Koehler, a biological engineer at MIT's Koch Institute, is leading the effort alongside associate directors Iain Cheeseman and Katharina Ribbeck — a move that signals the institute's commitment to a different kind of science: one where biologists work alongside engineers, clinicians sit with computational researchers, and designers help shape solutions to pressing health problems.

The problem HEALS is trying to solve is real. Right now, a researcher might make a discovery in the lab but lack the training or connections to move it toward clinical use. A clinician might see a patient need but not know how to access MIT's engineering expertise. Brilliant ideas sit in silos because the infrastructure to connect them doesn't exist.

"We want to fund science that wouldn't otherwise happen," Cheeseman explains — projects that genuinely bridge gaps rather than just pay lip service to collaboration. This isn't a new department or center layered on top of MIT's existing structure. Instead, HEALS is working to connect researchers across existing boundaries, creating pathways for ideas to move between institutions and disciplines.

The leadership team is already seeding this work through targeted funding. MIT HEALS seed grants support early-stage interdisciplinary projects. A partnership with Mass General Brigham, a major Boston health system, funds research that connects MIT scientists directly with clinical partners. A new postdoctoral fellowship program gives researchers time and resources to move fluidly between different types of work.

Training researchers for a different kind of science

Perhaps the most ambitious part of HEALS is rethinking how the next generation learns. Ribbeck, a biologist who studies microbial ecosystems, points out a structural gap: many researchers do clinical work but never learn the practical skills needed to move findings forward — how to design a trial, navigate regulatory pathways, or talk to industry partners. HEALS is expanding existing programs like UROP and creating new opportunities for students and postdocs to work alongside clinicians, entrepreneurs, and industry scientists.

The model reflects something MIT has always done well — bringing people from different worlds into the same room. When a mechanical engineer sits down with a microbiologist to solve a problem neither could tackle alone, something shifts. The conditions for discovery improve.

Koehler notes that faculty across MIT are already reaching out, hungry to connect with clinics and collaborate on challenges that matter. HEALS is building the structures to make those connections real. The team is planning flagship events, supporting high-risk ideas with genuine potential, and developing partnerships across Boston's biomedical ecosystem and beyond.