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Black and white photo of a bearded man in very 70s apparel standing in front of a banner with "David Baltimore" and the mirror image text'

Remembering David Baltimore

MIT Koch Institute

September 8, 2025

With sadness, the Koch Institute marks the passing of Professor David Baltimore. A founding faculty member and formative influence behind the MIT Center for Cancer Research, he was not only a ground-breaking researcher but also a compelling and thoughtful voice for science. 

His discovery of reverse transcriptase changed the prevailing scientific dogma, earned him a 1975 Nobel Prize, and directly enables work in life sciences and biomedical laboratories everywhere. His decades-long advocacy work impacted national policy debates on topics such as recombinant DNA research, the AIDS epidemic, and genome editing.

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Emit at MIT

Emit Imaging

April 20, 2023

Emit Imaging, Inc. will launch a project with the MIT Koch Institute's Preclinical Imaging and Testing Facility to enhance 3D imaging technology. The project will incorporate the Koch Institute’s research-based experiences into cryo-fluorescence tomography (CFT) workflow and method improvements, allowing for greater accuracy and efficiency in studying cancer and other diseases. Emit's CFT technology is a 3D imaging technique that allows for high-resolution, high-sensitivity imaging of biological samples, providing crucial insights into the behavior of drugs and proteins. 

Brushing Away Side Effects

MIT News

April 19, 2023

An interdisciplinary team of Koch Institute researchers designed bottlebrush-shaped nanoparticles that provoke immune response against tumors. In a study appearing in Science Advances, researchers from the Johnson, Irvine, Spranger, Langer, and Shalek labs based their nanoparticle prodrug on imidazoquinolines, a class of drugs that activates the immune system against cancer, but can also trigger significant side effects when administered intravenously. The prodrug, or an inactivated form of the medicine, is bound to the bottlebrush backbone, timed to be released in active form once it reaches the tumor. Mice treated with the nanoparticles showed a significant reduction in tumor growth, and showed no side effects.

This study was supported in part by the Koch Institute Frontier Research Program via the Kathy and Curt Marble Cancer Research Fund, and the Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine.

Daniel Anderson Wins 2023 Exner Medal

Wilhelm Exner Medal Foundations

April 17, 2023

Cheers to Daniel Anderson, 2023 Exner Medal laureate! The award is in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of nanotherapeutics and biomaterials and his pioneering work in the development of smart materials for medical devices. These advances have led to a range of products in clinical development, in particular in the field of RNA therapeutics.

A Boost for RNA Vaccines and Therapies

MIT News

April 11, 2023

Sanofi will provide $25 million in support of the Anderson Lab’s efforts to develop new delivery technology for mRNA, as well as RNA-based methods for CRISPR genome editing. Anderson Lab research has already resulted in several RNA vaccine applications currently in clinical trials at Sanofi, with new work including plans for new delivery platforms and improvements to vaccine uptake and effectiveness.

Bridging Gaps in Health Care

MIT News

April 6, 2023

With a major in bioengineering and a minor in Spanish, MIT senior Victor Damptey hopes to use his twin skill sets to address disparities in health care. Currently working in the Hammond Lab on new treatments for osteoarthritis, he plans to become a physician-scientist and use his Spanish fluency in overcoming patient care challenges often posed by language barriers.

Hydrogels for Biologics

MIT News

March 31, 2023

The Doyle and Hammond Labs created hydrogel particles for biologics. In a study appearing in Advanced Healthcare Materials, researchers delivered the cancer immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) via single injection. Normally, the drug must be administered in dilute solution over several hours, in a hospital or clinic.

Eyeing FDA approval in the next few years, the team notes their platform could also resuscitate drugs for which adequately concentrated formulations have remained elusive. This innovative approach can improve the patient experience, decrease the healthcare costs, and improve access to healthcare while bringing value to the industry.

Targets Acquired

MIT News

March 30, 2023

The Anderson Lab’s new inhalable lipid nanoparticles deliver mRNA to the lung and show greater efficiency, better targeting of cell populations, and lower risk of immune response over other formulations. Described in Nature Biotechnology, the nanoparticle’s key design features include a positively charged headgroup to engage the negatively charged RNA, a long lipid tail to help particles cross the cell membrane, and a structure that breaks down and is quickly cleared from the lung reducing risk of inflammation. Unlike virus-based RNA delivery methods, which induce an immune response upon repeat dosing, the nanoparticles can be delivered multiple times if needed.

Cancer Drug Pairing Overcomes Antibiotic Resistance

MIT News

March 24, 2023

With international collaborators, the Chen Lab has helped identify a new therapy for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE). VRE can cause a number of serious infections, including urinary tract, bloodstream, and wound infections associated with catheters or surgical procedures. In a study appearing in Science Advances, the team identified a synergistic relationship between the antibiotic vanomycin and mitoxantrone, a cancer drug used for leukemia and prostate cancer.

Given in combination, the drugs increased sensitivity of the bacterium to the antibiotics, and improved wound healing. As bacterial resistance to vancomycin is widespread, the discovery could be a general approach for treating vancomycin-resistant bacterial infections.   

Illuminating a Path to Approval

Lumicell

March 21, 2023

Lumicell’s single-cell imaging technology for eliminating residual cancer cells during tumor resection is one step closer to the clinic. Following fast track designations for the imaging agent/device pair and the recent conclusion of a pivotal trial in breast cancer patients, the company has filed a New Drug Application on its signature platform.

The technology’s early development was supported by the Koch Institute Frontier Research Program via the Curt and Kathy Marble Cancer Research Fund.

Image Awards Unveiled

MIT Koch Institute

March 17, 2023

Spring is in the air and the KI Public Galleries are aglow with new images. Showcasing a range of biological investigations and technological innovations, the 2023 Image Awards exhibition opened on March 16 with lightning talks and a People’s Choice Award sponsored by Fujifilm. The prizes were given to the Jacks and Hwang Labs’ “That Takes Nerve” and the Boehm Lab’s “Just Grow With It,” but all ten winning images were presented with insight and humor. See this year’s images in the spotlight in Popular Science, Nature, and on Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien (beginning at 18:40).