The Wei Lab

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    • Home
    • Lab members
    • Our Science
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    • Scleroderma project

The Wei Lab

The Wei LabThe Wei LabThe Wei Lab
  • Home
  • Lab members
  • Our Science
  • Funding
  • Lab Photos
  • Scleroderma project
Join Us

The BWH-Merck Scleroderma Project

In collaboration with Merck, we are actively recruiting eligible patients with systemic sclerosis for a translational study to understand disease mechanisms behind fibrosis and to find new treatments to stop fibrosis. 

Contact us to learn more about the study

About the project

Our mission

We are conducting a study looking to find inflammatory drivers of disease for patients with scleroderma.  Specifically, we are using special technologies comparing skin biopsies and blood of patients with scleroderma to patients without scleroderma to try to understand what parts of a patient’s immune system are responsible for damage and inflammation in scleroderma.  Our ultimate goal is to use this information to identify possible new treatments and therapeutic targets for patients with scleroderma to stop disease progression and improve the quality of life, outcomes, and care for patients with scleroderma.

Our Team

Our team is composed of experienced physicians, scientists, and computational biologists from diverse backgrounds. We bring together a range of expertise to tackle challenges facing  systemic sclerosis.  Our clinical team is led by Dr. Avery LaChance who directs of the Connective Tissue Diseases Clinic at Brigham and Women's Hospital  

Meet Dr. LaChance

Our Approach

Our state-of-the-art facilities are equipped with the latest spatial transcriptomic technology and equipment (Xenium, 10X Genomics) to enable us to examine cells and genes inside the affected skin of patients in a unprecedented manner.  Through deep spatial profiling of skin affected by systemic sclerosis, we will identify new therapeutic targets for the treatment of sy stemic sclerosis

Explore Our Facilities

Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at kwei@bwh.harvard.edu if you cannot find an answer to your question.

We will ask you to sign a consent form before we begin any study procedures. We are asking you to provide samples for research purposes only because you have systemic sclerosis skin


Staff at the bank will assign your sample a code number and store it in a freezer. They will not keep your name or other information that could identify you with your sample. They will use the code number to connect your sample to your health information that is stored in a computer database. The computer database is protected with a password. Only staff at the bank will know the password 


Your samples will be made available to researchers at Mass General Brigham institutions, as well as non-Mass General Brigham academic institutions. Occasionally, your samples may be shared with for-profit companies that are working with Mass General Brigham researchers on a  specific research project. Your samples will not be sold to anyone for profit. The tissue bank will usually provide samples with limited information that does not directly identify you 


This study is supported by Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

The Wei Lab

60 Fenwood Road, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States

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