The Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT

Probing Enzyme Activity with Nanosensors

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

How We Do It 

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.

Detection & monitoring  
Metastasis  
Immunology & immunotherapy  
Nano-based drugs  
Precision medicine  

News

Prime Time for Mouse Models

MIT News

May 11, 2023

In a study by senior authors Tyler Jacks and Francisco Sánchez-Rivera, researchers developed a method for easily engineering specific cancer-linked mutations into mouse models. With a CRISPR-based prime editing system installed in the mouse genome, researchers can induce a tumor in a specific tissue, expressing a specific mutation, by injecting an activating protein together with an RNA editing guide. In a Nature Biotechnology study, the researchers created models of several different mutations of the cancer-causing gene Kras, in different organs. They believe this technique could also be used for nearly any other type of cancer mutation that has been identified.

This research was supported in part by the Koch Institute Frontier Research Program.  

Victor Damptey Wins 2023 Fulbright Fellowship

MIT News

Congratulations to the Hammond Lab's Victor Damptey on being named one of 2023's Fulbright Fellows!

Hammond Honored by MIT Faculty

MIT News

Congratulations to Paula Hammond for winning MIT's Killian Award!

More News 

At the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, scientists and engineers work come 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.