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Cancer Solutionsscience + engineering = conquering cancer together |
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Cryptic clues to pancreatic cancerResearchers from the labs of Tyler Jacks and KI alum Will Freed-Pastor uncovered cryptic peptides presented on the surface of pancreas cancer cells for the first time. Cryptic peptides, found in healthy cells and other tumor types, derive from genome sequences not known to code for any protein. The discovery may lead to more effective immunotherapies for pancreatic cancer, which has one of the lowest survival rates and few effective treatments. A study appearing in Science and funded in part by the Lustgarten Foundationidentified 500 pancreatic cancer-specific cryptic peptides. After testing 30, the team found 12 peptides that stimulated immune responses in cell culture, and the resulting data was used to engineer T cells capable of stopping or significantly slowing tumor progression in different cancer models. Freed-Pastor and his team at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have begun developing a therapeutic pancreatic cancer vaccine that targets cryptic antigens. |
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Density detectorScott Manalis, collaborating with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Keith Ligon, has developed a technique to measure single-cell density for predicting whether immunotherapies will work in a patient or how a tumor will respond to drug treatment. This method, detailed in Nature Biomedical Engineering, originated as a project funded in part by the MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine. |
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| Bravo to smarter breast cancer scansRecently featured on NBC Boston, Cima Lab alum Canan Dagdeviren is developing wearable ultrasound technology for early breast cancer detection. The device, embedded in a bra, delivers results for less than $3 and sends data to the cloud and the patient’s doctor, offering a valuable tool for diagnosing early stage tumors in high-risk patients. |
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| Hockfield Prize winner announcedDavid Baltimore will receive the 2025 Hockfield Cancer Research Prize. Named for MIT President Emerita Susan Hockfield, this biennial award recognizes significant contributions to cancer research or advocacy, and mentorship in the field. Baltimore, a founding member of the MIT Center for Cancer Research, will present a lecture to the MIT community on October 14, 2025, accompanied by programming for Koch Institute and Cancer Center alumni as well as members of the Koch Institute community. Stay tuned for details! |
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| Bridge Project accepting proposalsThe Bridge Project is now accepting proposals for collaborative translational cancer research from teams at MIT and Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center member institutions. Designed to connect clinical insight with scientific innovation, the program supports interdisciplinary teams tackling unmet needs in cancer care. Proposals are due by 10:00AM EDT on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. |
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| Barzilay’s bright AURORARegina Barzilay, with collaborators at MIT’s Jameel Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital, have received ARPA-H ADAPT funding for AURORA, an AI-driven platform to personalize cancer treatment. By integrating imaging, molecular, and clinical data, the team aims to predict resistance and tailor therapies—advancing adaptive precision medicine for lung, colon, and breast cancer. Barzilay and her trailblazing work using AI to address cancer challenges and promote health equity were recently profiledby the National Academy of Medicine, to which she was elected in 2023. |
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Advocacy at AACR’s annual Hill DayKI postdoc Meaghan McGeary took cancer research advocacy to the national stage at the AACR’s 2025 Hill Day in Washington, D.C. Drawing on her work in the Jacks Lab and Convergence Scholars Program, she met with lawmakers to spotlight progress made and what’s at stake for biomedical research, innovation, and patient outcomes. |
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| Is there a pill for that?Wired Magazine profiled an obesity pill that mimics the effects of a gastric bypass surgery via a temporary coating in the upper intestine. Syntis Bio, a spinout from the Langer and Traverso labs, has announced promising early data for the pill. Interest in controlling obesity has surged as research uncovers its roles in cancer and other diseases, and the new pill is aimed at offering more effective and personalized choices for patients. |
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| Self-starters: built-In boostersThe Jaklenec and Langer labs have developed microparticles that deliver multiple doses of vaccines in a single injection. Described in Advanced Materials, these particles release payloads at precise intervals—potentially eliminating the need for booster shots and benefiting children in areas where follow-up care is hard to access. This work was supported in part by the MIT Center for Precision Medicine and a graduate fellowship from the Ludwig Center at MIT. |
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| Where universities matter mostUniversities are crucial to innovation—not just through research, but also training people who turn discoveries into patents, products, and startups. A new study from MIT Sloan School of Management and Copenhagen Business School shows that in US regions with low innovation activity, these university contributions can account for more than 10% of local patents and 14% of new inventors, an even stronger influence than in more economically productive areas. |
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| Going beyond standard issueWorking with clinical collaborators, KI researchers—including White and Cima lab members and Swanson Biotechnology Center scientist Stuart Levine—have combined multiple analytic tools to show that standard glioblastoma biopsies contain a wealth of untapped data about this aggressive brain tumor, its disease biology, and potential therapeutic response. This work was supported by a fellowship from the Ludwig Center at MIT and Break Through Cancer. |
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| Alum-inating metabolism Using its phosphorylation analysis tools, the White Lab has identified hundreds of enzymes, many linked to chronic stress response pathways, that cause metabolic dysfunction and weight gain when mice are fed high-fat diets. The study, led by Koch Institute alum Tigist Tamir and published in Molecular Cell, showed effects were more pronounced in male mice and that an antioxidant reversed most of the damage. Tamir continues their work on cell signaling and metabolism in obesity and cancer at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. This work was partly supported by the MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine and a fellowship from the Ludwig Center at MIT. |
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| Reimagining the future of manufacturingMIT has launched the Initiative for New Manufacturing to reimagine the future of U.S. industry. The KI’s Chris Love, a faculty co-director for the Initiative and leader in manufacturing, says manufacturing is what “brings product ideas to people”—and stresses the urgent need to bolster biotech production to deliver medicines, create jobs, and maintain U.S. leadership. |
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| FDA greenlight for VerastemVerastem Oncology, a Koch Institute spinout, has earned FDA approval for a combination of avutometinib and defactinibto treat recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer. The oral therapy targets key resistance pathways, offering a long-awaited option for patients with this hard-to-treat cancer. |
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Strong and stretchyA 2025 Koch Institute Image Awards winner, research lead by James U. Surjadi and Bastien F. G. Aymon reveals a 3D-printable metamaterial—inspired by collagen’s strength and flexibility—that offers new ways to study how cancer cells migrate through tissue. |
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