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

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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

Splice of life

MIT News

February 20, 2025

The Burge lab has discovered a new type of control over RNA splicing, a process critical for gene expression. Appearing in a new Nature Communications paper, their study sheds light on how this control mechanism can go wrong—and serve as a potential therapeutic target—in acute myelogenous leukemias and other diseases.

Dual duty microneedles

Nature Materials

A new Jaklenec lab study published in Nature Materials demonstrates novel microneedle patches that can be applied to the skin to deliver mRNA drugs and store billions of bits of anonymous and reliable information.

Tardi-grade A science

MIT News

In a study published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, a team led by Giovanni Traverso discovered that a protein from tardigrades (microscopic "water bears") can protect human cells from radiation damage, minimizing treatment side effects.

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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.