Shira Weingarten-Gabbay

Recognized for:
Unveiling thousands of novel microproteins encoded in the ‘dark matter’ of viral genomes and exposing previously unknown immune targets for vaccines.

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Virology, Immunology, Systems Biology, Translational Control

Previous Positions:

BSc, The Hebrew University, Israel
MSc, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel (Advisor: Adi Kimchi)
PhD, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel (Advisor: Eran Segal)
Postdoctoral Fellow, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (Advisor: Pardis Sabeti)
Postdoctoral Fellow, The Rockefeller University (Advisor: Charles Rice)

Research Summary:

One key to a successful pandemic response is the development of effective vaccines and treatments. This requires a fundamental understanding of how viruses engage with the immune system and the information encoded in their genomes. Virologist, Shira Weingarten-Gabbay, PhD, is developing high-throughput tools to expose hidden proteins in viral genomes, called “viral dark matter”. By identifying hidden proteins, Weingarten-Gabbay’s work accelerates the development of antiviral strategies, enhancing our ability to respond when future viral threats emerge. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Weingarten-Gabbay’s tools identified novel SARS-CoV-2 peptides that could be recognized by the immune system, informing vaccine design.   

“I’m immensely honored to join the Blavatnik family and grateful for the recognition of my research as I transition to a faculty position. By illuminating the dark proteome of human viruses, I hope to deepen our understanding of the incredible mechanisms by which viruses triumph over their hosts.”

Key Publications:

1. S. Weingarten-Gabbay, M. R. Bauer, A. C. Stanton, S. Klaeger, E. K. Verzani, D. López, K. R. Clauser, S. A. Carr, J. G. Abelin, C. M. Rice, P. C. Sabeti, Pan-viral ORFs discovery using Massively Parallel Ribosome Profiling. bioRxiv, 2023.
2. S. Weingarten-Gabbay, S. Klaeger, S. Sarkizova, L. R. Pearlman, D.-Y. Chen, K. M. E. Gallagher, M. R. Bauer, H. B. Taylor, W. A. Dunn, C. Tarr, J. Sidney, S. Rachimi, H. L. Conway, K. Katsis, Y. Wang, D. Leistritz-Edwards, M. R. Durkin, C. H. Tomkins-Tinch, Y. Finkel, A. Nachshon, M. Gentili, K. D. Rivera, I. P. Carulli, V. A. Chea, A. Chandrashekar, C. C. Bozkus, M. Carrington, MGH COVID-19 Collection & Processing Team, N. Bhardwaj, D. H. Barouch, A. Sette, M. V. Maus, C. M. Rice, K. R. Clauser, D. B. Keskin, D. C. Pregibon, N. Hacohen, S. A. Carr, J. G. Abelin, M. Saeed^, P. C. Sabeti, Profiling SARS-CoV-2 HLA-I peptidome reveals T cell epitopes from out-of-frame ORFs. Cell, 2021.
3. S. Weingarten-Gabbay, D.-Y. Chen, S. Sarkizova, H. B. Taylor, M. Gentili, G. M. Hernandez, L. R. Pearlman, M. R. Bauer, C. M. Rice, K. R. Clauser, N. Hacohen, S. A. Carr, J. G. Abelin, M. Saeed, P. C. Sabeti, The HLA-II immunopeptidome of SARS-CoV-2. Cell Reports, 2023.
4. S. Weingarten-Gabbay, L. R. Pearlman, D.-Y. Chen, S. Klaeger, H. B. Taylor, N. L. Welch, D. B. Keskin, S. A. Carr, J. G. Abelin, M. Saeed, P. C. Sabeti, HLA-I immunopeptidome profiling of human cells infected with high-containment enveloped viruses. STAR Protocols. 2022.

Other Honors:

2023 Eclipse award for innovation in high throughput Biology, The RNA Society
2022 Leading Edge Fellow
2021 BroadIgnite award, The Broad Institute
2020 40-under-40 list of Israel’s most promising young people, Globes Magazine
2019 Long-Term fellowship, Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP)
2019 The Zuckerman STEM Leadership Program for Israeli Postdoctoral Fellowship
2018 Long-Term postdoctoral fellowship, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) (non-stipendiary fellow)
2018 Gruss-Lipper postdoctoral fellowship, The EGL Charitable Foundation
2017 Rothschild fellow, Yad Hanadiv
2017 Israel national postdoctoral award for advancing women in science, The Weizmann Institute

In the Media:

The RNA Society – RNA Society member spotlight

The RNA Society – 2023 Eclipse Award for Innovation in High Throughput Biology

BroadIgnite – Meet our researchers

Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) – A hidden source for T cell epitopes in the SARS-CoV-2 genome

The Broad Institute News – Researchers identify potential new targets for next-generation COVID-19 vaccines

Boston University News – Study Reveals Recipe for Even More Powerful COVID-19 Vaccines

Team Halo (United Nation initiative) – How do T cells recognize COVID infection?

Globes magazine (Hebrew) – 40-under-40 list of Israel’s most promising young people

Science – IRES unplugged (perspective)

Weizmann Institute News – Ribosomes Recruited at the Beginning – and End

Websites:

Personal Website
Twitter