Rob Lue Memorial Lecture: Axolotls: Nature's Instruction Manual for Regenerative Medicine
Date and Time
Location
Please join us for the 2026 Rob Lue Memorial Lecture with Harvard Medical School researcher, Dr. Jessica Whited. Dr. Whited, a regenerative biologist, leads a lab investigating how axolotls regenerate entire limbs. She will share how her research is uncovering the special cells that drive regeneration and how these discoveries are helping scientists better understand human healing.
The Rob Lue Memorial Lecture Series honors Professor Lue, a visionary educator committed to lifelong learning and community engagement. Doors open at 5:30pm - speaking program to begin promptly at 6:00pm. Free and open to all. A reception will follow.
If you would like to submit a question for Professor Whited ahead of time, please email community@harvard.edu. A brief reception will follow the lecture.
VIRTUAL OPTION
Can't make it in person? You can still watch the event virtually on Zoom. Please visit the link to RSVP for our online event here.
Meet Our Faculty
Jessica holds a BA in Philosophy and a BS in Biological Sciences from the University of Missouri. She earned her PhD at MIT, where she studied neuronal architecture in Paul Garrity's lab. As a postdoc in Cliff Tabin's lab at Harvard Medical School, Jessica focused on developing tools to more thoroughly investigate axolotl limb regeneration, and she established a breeding colony of axolotls. These animals were the seeds of the Whited Lab's first home in Brigham and Women's Hospital. Now at Harvard University, Jessica is an Associate Professor, a Principal Faculty member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and an Associate Member of the Broad Institute. She has received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) as well as the NIH New Innovator and NSF CAREER awards. A native of Michigan, Jessica's interest in biology started with butterflies and time in the woods. Outside of lab, Jessica's usually hanging out with her twin 16-year-old boys.