Siniša Hrvatin

Siniša Hrvatin is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Core Member at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. His research focuses on understanding biological states of dormancy—such as mammalian torpor and hibernation—to develop medical applications like suspended animation. He holds the Thomas D. and Virginia W. Cabot Career Development Professorship.

Education:

• PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology (2013), Harvard University
• A.B. in Biochemical Sciences (2007), Harvard University

Research Interests: Investigating brain regulation of torpor, cellular cold tolerance mechanisms, and applications to aging and disease. Key areas include tardigrade freeze survival, epigenetic aging analysis, and viral vector engineering for targeted therapies. His lab develops technologies like the PESCA platform for cell-type-specific gene delivery.

Recent Article Trends: Focus on metabolic dormancy's impact on healthspan, gene therapy for deafness, and cross-species cold survival mechanisms. Work bridges basic biology with translational medicine.

Awards:

• McKnight Scholar (2024)
• Pew Scholar (2023)
• Searle Scholar (2023)
• NIH New Innovator Award (2022)
• Warren Alpert Scholar (2019)

Labs/Teams: Whitehead Institute labs (Rooms 611/613) focus on torpor regulation, cryobiosis, and gene delivery. Active collaborations include MIT, Harvard, and Stanford researchers. Current lab members include graduate students, postdocs, and visiting scholars.