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Golden particles join a DNA strand.

Precision gene editing

MIT News

September 17, 2025

Robert Langer, Phillip Sharp, and research scientist Vikash Chauhan developed an engineered prime editing system, reported in Nature, that reduces unintended DNA changes by up to 60-fold. The new gene editor could make it easier to explore cell biology questions, such as how populations of cancer cells evolve, as well as develop gene therapy treatments for cancer and other diseases.

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Sanghyun Park Selected as 2025 Collegiate Inventors Competition Finalist

National Inventors Hall of Fame

September 29, 2025

Congratulations to Traverso Lab PhD student Sanghyun Park on being selected as a finalist in the 2025 Collegiate Inventors Competition! This competition is organized by the National Inventors Hall of Fame. 

Park was nominated for his project Self-Aggregating Long-Acting Injectable Microcrystals (SLIM) —a formulation designed to enable long-lasting injectable therapies by forming drug microcrystals that self-aggregate after injection. This innovative work was also recognized with a 2024 KI Image Award.

Watch the video of his research      

From Dormant to Dangerous

MIT News

September 18, 2025

New Weinberg lab research, published in PNAS, reveals how cancer cells reawaken from dormancy. They showed this mechanism is sparked by inflammation in surrounding tissue, then driven by M2 macrophages that secrete EGFR ligands signaling dormant cancer cells to rapidly multiply. Moreover, cells develop ‘awakening memory,’ no longer requiring inflammatory signals to stay active. Understanding these mechanisms could enable more effective strategies against metastatic cancer. This work was supported in part by the MIT Stem Cell Initiative.

Biogen Expansion Signals Optimism for Kendall Square

MIT News

September 18, 2025

Biogen, co-founded in 1978 by the Koch Institute's Phillip Sharp and Harvard's Wally Gilbert, broke ground on its new Kendall Square headquarters in September. The 580,000-square-foot complex, expected to open in 2028, reflects optimism for Cambridge’s future as a global biotech hub and a continued engine for innovation.

Precision gene editing

MIT News

September 17, 2025

Robert Langer, Phillip Sharp, and research scientist Vikash Chauhan developed an engineered prime editing system, reported in Nature, that reduces unintended DNA changes by up to 60-fold. The new gene editor could make it easier to explore cell biology questions, such as how populations of cancer cells evolve, as well as develop gene therapy treatments for cancer and other diseases.

FDA approves bladder cancer drug delivery device

MIT News

September 15, 2025

The FDA approved Johnson & Johnson's INLEXZO™ (gemcitabine intravesical system), a bladder cancer treatment system that originated in the lab of Michael Cima. Developed in the thesis work of KI alum Heejin Lee as well as at KI spinout TARIS Biomedical, the pretzel-shaped device is made of a special alloy with "shape memory," which folds in the bladder after insertion, delivering drugs over slowly over three weeks, to be repeated at the physician's discretion.  This approach offers safer and more effective treatment for one of the most expensive cancers, marked by high recurrence rates. In one study, 82% of patients treated with the system showed no evidence of cancer, with more than half remaining cancer-free nine months later. 

Vander Heiden goes to the State House

Massachusetts Legislature

September 11, 2025

On September 11, Koch Institute Director Matt Vander Heiden appeared before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies to represent MIT and the Koch Institute at a hearing exploring the contributions of universities to local and state economies.

Therapeutic vaccine elicits strong response

NBC Nightly News

September 10, 2025

NBC Nightly News covers robust early results from Elicio's clinical trials of its vaccine for treating pancreatic and colorectal cancer. In the Phase I trial, the vaccine generated strong anti-cancer T-cell responses in nearly 85% of patients, extending both recurrence-free and overall survival time. The vaccine builds on research carried out at the Koch Institute and funded in part by the Bridge Project.

Antibodies make better bottlebrushes

MIT News

September 9, 2025

Adapting his bottlebrush polymer drug delivery platform, Jeremiah Johnson has engineered new antibody-targeted particles that outperform existing antibody drug conjugates to deliver concentrated chemotherapy directly to cancer cells. The study, which appears in Nature Biotechnology, shows that each antibody-guided particle can carry dozens or hundreds of drug molecules tethered to polymer chains, eradicating most tumors in mouse models. This work was supported in part by the Koch Institute Frontier Research Program.

PanTher launches Phase 1b trial

BioSpace

September 8, 2025

PanTher Therapeutics, a spinout from the Edelman and Langer Labs, has initiated a Phase 1b trial of its absorbable, high-dose chemotherapy patch for pancreatic cancer. The thin-film formulation is designed to target tumors locally while limiting systemic side effects. Early work on the film was supported by the Bridge Project.

Get a grip

MIT News

September 8, 2025

Attaching to bendable, bumpy, uneven, or otherwise complex surfaces can be a critical challenge for drug delivery, medical implants, and other fields. Drawing KI Image Awards-winning inspiration from fishes including remora and gourami, Traverso lab members Troy Ziliang Kang, Ben Muller, and colleagues have developed a mechanical adhesive system that could be used for delivering medicines in the gastrointestinal tract or aquatic monitoring.