The Mass General Research Institute (MGRI) is home to a research community of 9,500+ individuals working to understand disease and develop solutions to medicine’s most pressing challenges.

But who are they and what do they do when they’re not conducting research? Learn more about them in this new series, #HumansOfMGRI.

From clinical research coordinators to postdoctoral fellows, research technicians, graduate students and principal investigators—they are all part of the Mass General Research Institute.

Our next guest in the series is Daniel Ruiz, MD.

What lab/department do you work in?

I am a research fellow in the laboratories of Daniel Faden, MD, FACS, and Shannon Stott, PhD.

When and why did you get interested in the work that you are doing?

I was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia.

As an aspiring physician-scientist, I am interested in the use of technology to understand spatial interactions between the immune system and tumor cells in head and neck cancers. The ability to map these interactions will allow us to better understand and treat the disease, positively impacting patient outcomes. 

After my first class on Translational Medicine, I remember thinking that the immune system was nearly invincible. No matter which disease the human body was facing, deploying those cells to work towards beating the aggressor is crucial for achieving victory.

Later on, I was introduced to the wonderful roller coaster world of multispectral imaging, an amazing field inspired by astronomy image analysis.

I found this Research Fellowship position while I was looking for Head and Neck positions online. This was the most interesting/attractive by far. Knowing all the impactful discoveries that have been done here at Mass General, I wanted to contribute to the development and improvement of patient care from my Latin American perspective.  

What do you like to do outside of work? 

Dancing, specifically salsa and bachata, is one of my favorite activities. It is a creative outlet in which I can express emotions without words. Dancing with a partner is about being aware of each other’s movements and working as a team. I think it can help build skills like reading the emotional and corporal expressions of those around me. Besides that, I love to ride my bike and discover new beautiful places in and around the city.    

What is your favorite TV show, podcast, book, or movie? 

My favorite movie is “Her” directed by Spike Jonze. It portrays a love story between the sweetest character that Joaquin Phoenix has ever played and the operating system of a computer, brought to life by the unforgettable voice of Scarlett Johansson.

I love it because it illustrates the emotional vulnerability of humans in an increasingly technological world. Exploring how human emotion interacts with artificial intelligence is extremely interesting, especially as those “relationships” are becoming a more plausible reality in the near future.

A fun fact about yourself

Fun and painful: On the third day of my research fellowship, I got a collarbone fracture while riding my bicycle and I had to travel back to Colombia to get surgery (You can see the pre and post attached).  Despite that, I still love to ride! 

About the Mass General Research Institute
Research at Massachusetts General Hospital is interwoven through more than 30 different departments, centers and institutes. Our research includes fundamental, lab-based science; clinical trials to test new drugs, devices and diagnostic tools; and community and population-based research to improve health outcomes across populations and eliminate disparities in care.
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