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Cancer Solutionsscience + engineering = conquering cancer together |
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Engineering flexibilityCombining microbiology, bioengineering, artificial intelligence, big data, and materials science, Belcher Lab graduate student Ashutosh Kumar’s research is a microcosm of the Koch Institute’s interdisciplinary model. Classically trained as an engineer working on steel design, Kumar is studying how the microbiome of ovarian cancer affects metastasis and treatment response.
His ultimate goal is to engineer bacteriophage viruses to reprogram bacteria to work therapeutically. Bacteriophage are a mainstay of the Belcher Lab’s signature research platforms, and being developed in a number of other ways for early detection and treatment as part of a larger ovarian cancer initiative led by Belcher, along with Sangeeta Bhatia and Paula Hammond. |
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RNAi: An MIT case studyCoinciding with the 50th anniversary of cancer research at MIT, a feature story tracing Alnylam’s success in developing RNAi therapies perfectly encapsulates the transformational impact and disciplinary diversity that characterize our community.
Incorporating contributions from the Sharp and Langer Labs, with their alumni and colleagues, Alnylam has several medicines approved by the FDA and a rapidly expanding clinical pipeline. |
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An enhanced view of gene transcriptionRegulating when genes are expressed, enhancers are promising drug targets for genetic disorders—when researchers can find them. Enhancers can reside far from the genes they regulate and leave only tiny amounts of eDNA, short-lived clues to their activation. Sharp Lab researchers led by postdoc D.B. Jay Mahat invented a technique, described in Nature, to facilitate eDNA isolation and observe coordination of gene expression and enhancer activation.
This work was supported in part by the Emerald Foundation. |
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| Langer named Kavli LaureateCongratulations to Robert Langer, who received a 2024 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience! The award recognizes his innovations in engineered nanomaterials for the controlled release of drugs and nanoparticles for the delivery of vaccines. Langer’s work has had immense impact on the treatment of a range of diseases including cancer and schizophrenia and was instrumental in the development of mRNA vaccines. |
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| Stark wins V Scholar AwardCongratulations to Jessica Stark, one of a class of 15 recipients selected as part of the V Foundation’s A Grant of Her Own: The Women Scientists Innovation Award for Cancer Research, aimed at addressing longstanding gender disparities in research. Stark studies the interplay between the immune system and glycans—cell surface sugars—and how to leverage it to improve cancer immunotherapy. |
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Brio trioOf MIT’s 11 Fulbright winners this year, three hail from KI labs. Anusha Puri (Weinberg) is headed to the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research in Lausanne; Charvi Sharma (Yaffe) will teach English in Spain before resuming her clinician-scientist career path; and Isabella Witham (Belcher) is off to Seoul National University’s Biomimetic Materials and Stem Cell Engineering Lab.
The U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers one-year opportunities for overseas research, graduate study, or English language teaching to American students and recent alums.
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| Kinase atlas complete
In a new Nature paper, the Yaffe Lab and collaborators map tyrosine kinase enzymes to their targets. This study, partly supported by the Charles and Marjorie Holloway Foundation and the L. Scott Ritterbush fund, builds on recent work mapping the other major kinase families to form a complete kinase atlas.
This tool will enable researchers to map cell signaling pathways with unprecedented speed and detail, uncovering new biological insights and therapeutic targets for cancer. |
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If you missed out on attending this year’s KI Annual Symposium on Tumor Heterogeneity and Drug Resistance, video is now available with talks exploring patient-specific variation in cancer progression and response to therapy. |
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| Cutting out CRISPR biasA Nature Communications study from the Boehm Group and Broad Institute collaborators highlights an ancestry bias that can cause CRISPR screens to miss cancer dependencies. To help address this bias, which stems from the guide RNAs used, the team built a website of data tools to help researchers determine the effect of ancestry on specific guides.
Ongoing work by Boehm, Francisco Sánchez-Rivera, and collaborators is supported by the Bridge Project. |
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| Deciphering T cell diversityMIT News profiled Michael Birnbaum’s efforts to develop large scale screening tools to decipher how diverse T cells recognize their targets. Birnbaum co-founded Kelonia, which is adapting the approach to reprogram T cells to target specific antigens directly inside the body to treat a broad range of diseases including cancer, autoimmune disorders, and viral infections. |
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| DINO-mite DNA polymersInspired partly by the movie “Jurassic Park,” the Johnson Lab has developed an amber-like DNA-encapsulating polymer dubbed T-REX (Thermoset-REinforced Xeropreservation), for freezer-free long-term DNA storage. DNA itself has vast storage capacity that can accommodate genetic and digital data—everything from an entire human genome to the Jurassic Park theme song. |
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| Catalyzing scholarly engagementJacks Lab alum Rodrigo Romero took part in the 2024 Catalyst Symposium, a three-day event hosted by the Department of Biology and the Picower Institute for Memory designed to promote engagement among MIT scholars and postdocs who excel in their field and are from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in science. Romero presented his work on lineage plasticity in the tumor microenvironment. |
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| Documenting innovationA new documentary, “Pathways to Invention,” follows a diverse group of modern inventors—all of whom are Lemelson-MIT Student Prize recipients, including KI alum Geoff von Maltzahn '03, PhD '10—as they develop life-changing innovations. The program airs this summer on PBS stations nationwide, including WGBH 44 Boston on July 19. |
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Imagine dragons, then more dragons, plus brains, plants, mucus and more! The 2024 exhibition of Koch Institute Image Awards winners is now open in our public galleries. |
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