| | Hallmark Channels
Bhatia Lab researchers engineered nanoprobes for real-time tracking of tumor progression and treatment response, and to map enzyme activity to precise locations within cancer tissue. Appearing in Nature Communications, the study revealed cellular populations and signals linked to a key cancer hallmark—the recruitment and formation of blood vessels. Applying their approach to additional hallmarks, they aim to better understand and disrupt interactions between tumors and their environments.
This work was supported in part by the Koch Institute Frontier Research Program through a gift from Upstage Lung Cancer.
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Introducing the Amon Award Winners Cheers to the inaugural winners of the Koch Institute’s Angelika Amon Young Scientist Award, Alejandro Aguilera Castrejón (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel) and Melanie de Almeida (Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Austria). The new award recognizes graduate students in the life sciences or biomedical research from institutions outside the U.S. who embody Professor Amon’s infectious enthusiasm for discovery science. |
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Funnel Vision
The Weissman Lab has solved the mystery of the function of MTCH2, a mitochondrial protein implicated in many diseases, including cancer. In a study published in Science, researchers found that MTCH2 acts as a funnel, shuttling various proteins (including those involved in programmed cell death) from the cytoplasm into the mitochondrial membrane. By introducing a mutation that makes MTCH2 more “greedy,” researchers made leukemia cells more sensitive to a cancer treatment. |
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Sweet Success
Congratulations to Laura Kiessling on being elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the field of health and medicine. Kiessling was elected for her work on interactions between proteins and glycans—sugar-based polymers coating the surface of cells—and for leveraging her findings for new therapeutic strategies. |
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Express Yourself
An assistant professor of biology and one of our newest Koch Institute faculty members, Yadira Soto-Feliciano studies gene regulation and epigenetics—mechanisms cells use to change their gene expression without altering the DNA itself. Her specialty is chromatin, compact DNA packaging whose physical structure adapts to turn genes on and off in response to environmental changes and throughout normal organismal development. Watch Soto-Feliciano describe these dynamic structures, and her views on training, collaboration, and modern science.
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Soto-Feliciano also presented her work as part of October's SCIENCE with/in/sight: Cancer Research Futures, which showcased several of the Koch Institute’s newest investigators. |
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Kornbluth Named MIT President
Hearty congratulations and welcome to incoming MIT President Sally Kornbluth! As a cell biologist, Kornbluth’s research has focused on cell proliferation and programmed cell death, key processes in cancer and degenerative disorders. Her work has helped show how cancer cells evade programmed death and how metabolism regulates this process. As an administrator at Duke, Kornbluth is known as a creative problem-solver and inclusive leader who can catalyze initiatives across disciplines. Overseeing basic and clinical research enterprises, she has spearheaded improvements to research resources, as well as training and recruitment efforts to expand access and diversity. |
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Deep Dives & Genetic Drives
A study published in Cell describes the pooled screening approach behind 2021 Image Awards winner "Nucleotide Pool." The researchers, including KI member Paul Blainey, use visual and computational analysis to identify irregularities in core biological processes such as cell growth, division, and proliferation, and match them to specific genetic disruptions. |
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Koehler Outside the Lines
Angela Koehler is not an engineer, yet her appointment is in MIT's Department of Biological Engineering. Focused on so-called “undruggable” targets for cancer, Koehler’s training as a chemical biologist allows her to think creatively about how to find and deploy small molecules that intervene in transcriptional processes, including those that influence tumor formation and growth. Her approach has led to several promising drug candidates and spin-out companies. |
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Precise Protein Production
The Lu Lab has developed a CRISPR-based approach to precisely program gene expression in mammalian cells. The method, described in Nature Communications, works with high consistency across different cell types and target genes, and could help fine-tune the production of proteins such as monoclonal antibodies used to treat cancer and other diseases. |
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