In the News

Staggered Drug Delivery Shows Promise in Treating Aggressive Breast Cancer

KI member Michael Yaffe and his laboratory team report finding, in the May 11 issue of Cell, that staggering the doses of two common cancer drugs dramatically boosts their ability to kill a particularly malignant type of breast cancer cells. Yaffe has been studying the complex cell signaling pathways of cancer cells and the ability of dysfunctional pathways to promote uncontrolled cell growth. He is now working with researchers at Dana Farber Cancer Institute to plan clinical trials of the novel approach. more...

Targeted Nanoparticles Deliver Antibiotics Directly  to Bacteria

KI researchers, together with physicians from Brigham and Women's Hospital, have engineered a nanoparticle that evades the immune system to fight bacteria.  They created the new nanoparticles from a polymer, originally developed under a CCNE grant for use in cancer treatment, capped with polyethylene glycol (PEG), which is commonly used for drug delivery because it is nontoxic and can help nanoparticles travel through the bloodstream by avoiding detection by the immune system. The well-designed vehicles deliver powerful doses of existing antibiotics and may have great potential for treating infectious diseases. This research recently appeared in the journal ACS Nano. more...

National Academy of Sciences Elects KI Member

The National Academy of Sciences announced today that Richard Young, a member of the Koch and Whitehead Institutes, is among 84 new Academy members elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Young was recognized for his work mapping the circuitry that controls the differentiation, development, and function of multiple cell types, including embryonic stem cells.There are now 16 Koch Institute faculty members elected to the NAS. One the highest hours accorded U.S. scientists and engineers, the elections were announced during the 149th annual meeting of the Academy. more...

Koch Institute Members Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences today announced the election of 220 new members, among them the KI's Angela Belcher and director Tyler Jacks. The new class of fellows continue a 230-plus year history recognizing some of the world’s most accomplished scholars, scientists, writers, artists, and civic, corporate, and philanthropic leaders. One of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies, the Academy is also a leading center for independent policy research. Members contribute to Academy publications and studies of science and technology policy, energy and global security, social policy and American institutions, the humanities and culture, and education. more...

Cancer Drug Therapy Direct to Tumor

KI researchers devised new nanoparticles that, triggered by UV light, can synthesize proteins to fight cancer cells once they reach the tumor site. The proteins battle the cancer cells while avoiding healthy cells, reducing side effects of treatment. The research appears in the journal NanoLetters. more...

Targeted Drug Delivery Successful in Early Clinical Trials

KI researchers, along with scientists from BIND Biosciences and Brigham and Women's Hospital, have shrunk cancer tumors using targeted drug delivery nanoparticles that specifically attack cancer cells while avoiding the immune system. In this first human test, side effects were minimal and results achieved even in patients receiving substantially lower dosage than in typical chemotherapy treatment. The study appears in the April 4, 2012 edition of Science Translational Medicine. more...

KI Member Receives 2012 Pezcoller Foundation AACR International Award for Cancer Research

Robert Weinberg, KI member and founding member of the Whitehead Institute, will be recognized for his outstanding work in the fields of cell and molecular biology and cancer genetics in April at the annual meeting of the AACR. more...

KI Member Receives Kripke Legend Award  

KI’s Nancy Hopkins, noted cancer biologist and advocate of equality for women in science, was selected as the 2012 recipient of the Margaret L. Kripke Legend Award for Promotion of Women in Cancer Medicine and Cancer Science by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. more...

AAAS Named President-elect for 2013

KI member, Nobel Laureate, and Institute Professor Phillip Sharp has been named the 2013 President-elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He will begin the one year term in February 2013. The international organization is dedicated to advancing science around the world by serving as an educator, leader, spokesperson and professional association. more...

Collaboration Key in Unique Attack on Cancer

The Bridge Project collaboration between the Koch Institute at MIT and Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) awarded funding to four interdisciplinary teams on March 6, 2012 The teams will work together on two of the most lethal forms of cancer - pancreatic and glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer.  The unprecedented clinical research effort awards teams made up of biologists, bioengineers and clinical researchers from both cancer centers. It is the most extensive collaboration of its kind between Boston's two National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers.  more...

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