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Cancer Solutionsscience + engineering = conquering cancer together |
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Angela Belcher and Paula Hammond awarded 2024 National Medals of Science, TechnologyCongratulations to Angela Belcher and Paula Hammond, two of four MIT faculty members who received the nation’s highest honors for scientists and innovators, the National Medals of Science and Technology.
Belcher received the National Medal of Science for her work designing novel materials for applications that include solar cells, batteries, and medical imaging. Hammond received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation for developing methods for assembling thin films that can be used for drug delivery, wound healing, and many other applications. |
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A blueprint for better cancer immunotherapiesCheckpoint blockade immunotherapies (ICB) work best against cancers where most cells express similar sets of targetable antigens. Most tumors instead comprise a variety of cell types and resist these therapies. A KI team led by Stefani Spranger connected tumor antigen architectures to immune responses. Their findings, published in Journal for the ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, enabled the team to build an RNA-based vaccine that combined with ICB for effective tumor control in mouse models of lung cancer. |
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| Cima bladder device reaches FDA application Johnson & Johnson has submitted a new drug application to the FDA for an implantable device developed by the Cima lab to make treating bladder cancer safer, more effective and less costly. The application follows promising clinical trial results, which showed an 83.5% complete response rate among patients, and earlier Breakthrough Designation status. |
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| Langer lauded for lipidsCongratulations to Robert Langer for receiving the 2025 Lipid Science Prize from the Camurus Lipid Research Foundation! Langer was recognized for his groundbreaking interdisciplinary research developing lipids and polymers that have revolutionized biomedical applications from drug delivery systems to tissue regeneration. |
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| Introducing the 2024 Karches Prize winners Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 Peter Karches Mentorship Prize — Shandon Amos, Christina Cabana, Ivan Pires, and Jason Yu. The Karches Prize recognizes exemplary mentorship among Koch Institute postdocs, graduate students or research technicians and celebrates the critical role that mentors play, both personally and professionally, in the early stages of a scientist’s career. |
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| Barzilay’s Boltz-1 boosts biomolecular modelingMIT researchers including Regina Barzilay and graduate students Jeremy Wohlwend and Gabriele Corso have released Boltz-1, a powerful AI model that accurately predicts the 3D structures of proteins and other biological molecules. Boltz-1 is the first fully open-source model that achieves state-of-the-art performance at the level of Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold3. |
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| Launch of MIT HEALSMIT announced a campus-wide initiative to strengthen and expand interdisciplinary collaborations aimed at pressing health challenges. Citing the Koch Institute as a successful model, the MIT Health and Life Sciences Collaborative (MIT HEALS) draws on Institute strengths in life sciences, artificial intelligence, chemical and biological engineering, and other fields to accelerate progress in patient care.
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 | Illuminating the depthsLinda Griffith collaborated with Sixian You, her graduate student Kunzan Liu, and other colleagues developing a non-invasive metabolic imaging technique that can be used on living tissue, with applications across cancer research, immune response studies, and drug discovery. Rather than cutting or staining tissues, the new method described in Science Advances uses a specialized laser to penetrate deeply into tissue. The result is richer, more detailed images, such as Liu’s 2024 KI Image Awards image of a mouse whisker pad. |
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| Anchored for actionAnkyra Therapeutics treated its first patient with a tumor deep within the body using ANK-101, following its strong performance treating easily accessible tumors. ANK-101 uses techniques developed in the labs of Dane Wittrup and former KI member Darrell Irvine to keep interleukin-12 anchored in tumors, enhancing immune response while reducing side effects and offering new potential for treating advanced solid tumors. |
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| Tiny beads, big shiftAna Jaklenec, Robert Langer, and Rhoda Zhang have developed biodegradable materials that can be used to replace microplastics in beauty products. Their work on creating microparticles to encapsulate vitamins for fortified foods was published in Nature Chemical Engineering and highlights their potential as eco-friendly microbeads. By reducing microplastics in consumer products, the team aims to mitigate environmental and health risks. Compounds released from microplastics are suspected to contribute to cancer and other diseases—roles currently being investigated by other Koch Institute laboratories. In related news, the Jaklenec Lab will be partnering with Estée Lauder to advance biodegradable polymers for common cosmetics and cleansers, as well as ways to combat the effects of visible sunlight and blue light on skin. |
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| Bodyguard turns killerThe Horvitz Lab published a study in Science Advances that helps resolve a longstanding mystery. The researchers reveal a surprising mechanistic aspect of the double life of CED-9, a protein that acts as both a protector and killer in cell death mechanisms in the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, with a human counterpart linked to neurodegenerative diseases and cancers. |
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 | Bridging science and human impactGiovanni Traverso, featured on MIT News, reflects on his early passion for molecular genetics and how it shaped his interdisciplinary career focused on improving human health. Giovanni's team is pioneering biomedical technologies that aim to help people—most recently an adjustable gastric balloon and a squid-inspired, needle-free capsule that injects drugs directly into the GI tract. Traverso discusses the entrepreneurial spirit driving translation of these technologies in a podcast with MIT President Sally Kornbluth. |
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| Daré-ing to revolutionize treatmentDaré Bioscience has received funding to advance DARE-LARC1, a contraceptive device adapted from technology originally developed in the Cima and Langer Labs. The device was previously tested in osteoporosis patients and offers precision dosing over extended delivery periods, with potential applications in reproductive health, obesity, and diabetes and other conditions requiring precise and prolonged treatment. |
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| Be aware of the blobScientific American explains how the discovery of biomolecular condensates—blobs of DNA, protein, and other molecules—has changed our understanding of how cells carry out critical functions. Startups are working to turn new insights into new therapies, including Dewpoint Therapeutics, co-founded by Richard Young and Phillip Sharp to treat cancer and other diseases. |
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