The Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT

an accordion of endothelial cells stained in pink and green

Using MIT ingenuity to create knowledge, tools, and treatments to fight cancer

Join us 

Our Research Areas

From fundamental discoveries to engineering advances, we strategically pursue five areas of research that, across tumor types, are critical for rapid progress toward defeating cancer.

As a National Cancer Institute-designated basic cancer research center, we produce knowledge and tools to fight one of humanity's most persistent challenges.

NCI Cancer Center: A Cancer Center Designated by the National Cancer Institute
Detection & monitoring  
Metastasis  
Immunology & immunotherapy  
Nano-based drugs  
Precision medicine  

News

Mapped to purrfection

MIT News

November 4, 2025

Burge Lab researchers have created KATMAP, a framework for predicting gene splicing. While DNA is the same across most cells in an organism, gene splicing allows RNA to be remixed to support cells specialized for different tissues. Described in Nature Biotechnology, KATMAP can be used to investigate how splicing mutations give rise to diseases such as cancer and how nucleic acid therapies influence splicing. 

Engineering better care in the Traverso Lab

MIT Technology Review

MIT Technology Review shines a spotlight on the cutting-edge work taking place in Giovanni Traverso’s lab. From ingestible biosensor pills to capsules that can replace insulin shots, Traverso is focused on improving patients’ lives.   

Near-Perfect Response for Elicio’s Vaccine

Investing.com

Elicio Therapeutics’ cancer vaccine—designed to train the immune system to attack KRAS-mutated tumors—continues to show strong promise. In a Phase 2 trial, it induced immune responses in 99% of evaluable pancreatic cancer patients, with 88% responding to their own tumor-specific mutation.

More News 

At the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, scientists and engineers work together to solve some of the most difficult problems in cancer. We ask big questions in strategic areas, where the answers have big impacts on how we understand and treat cancer.