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MIT Advocacy in Action at the AACR’s 2025 Hill Day

Koch Institute

May 29, 2025

MIT Koch Institute postdoc Meaghan McGeary traveled to Washington, DC to advocate for increased federal funding for cancer research as part of the annual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Hill Day. Joining other early-career scientists in a mission to make more than 50 congressional visits in a single day, she shared her experiences with policymakers, emphasizing the importance of stable research funding.  

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Showing 231–240 of 638 stories

Thanks for the Cellular Memories

MIT News

January 2, 2023

Boyden Lab researchers programmed cells to produce protein chains that record the timing of gene and pathway activation during cellular events. The chains, described in in Nature Biotechnology, can be imaged through light microscopy. The technique could illuminate various cellular functions, including cancer-relevant processes like therapeutic response and gene expression. 

Celebrating Young Scientists

MIT Koch Institute

December 13, 2022

On Nov. 17, the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research hosted the inaugural winners of the Angelika Amon Young Scientist Award, Alejandro Aguilera Castrejón and Melanie de Almeida, both recognized for their passion for fundamental biology and discovery science.

A+ Microparticles

MIT News

December 12, 2022

Jaklenec/Langer Lab researchers are using polymer microparticles to fight vitamin A deficiency, the world’s leading cause of childhood blindness. Their approach, which was featured in the 2021 Image Awards and published in PNAS, provides the encapsulated vitamin A with much-needed stability under harsh cooking and storage conditions and shows good absorption in humans.

Liftoff for Dragonfly Trials

Dragonfly Therapeutics

December 8, 2022

Following on the announcement of Phase 2 advancement of their first NK-cell-based immunotherapy, KI startup company Dragonfly Therapeutics has dosed their first patient in the Phase 1/2 trial of another drug, DF9001. The sixth in an exciting pipeline of Dragonfly drugs to enter clinical trials, DF9001 is being tested alone and in combination with PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors.

Handle With Care

MIT News

December 7, 2022

KI member Michael Birnbaum has been recognized by MIT’s Office of Graduate Education as “Committed to Caring" for his wide-reaching support for students and his departmental leadership. The current cohort of honorees also includes the late Angelika Amon.

Introducing the 2022-2023 Convergence Scholars

MIT Koch Institute

December 6, 2022

The Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine and the MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine are pleased to announce the 2022-2023 class of Convergence Scholars. Founded in 2017, the Convergence Scholars Program is designed to foster the career development of aspiring independent scientists with diverse interests in research, technology, and STEM outreach. This year's scholars are: Elizabeth (Liz) Calle (Langer Lab), Andrea Casiraghi (Koehler Lab), Gil Covarrubias (Hammond Lab), Keith Eidell (Hemann Lab), Susanna Elledge (Bhatia Lab), Sophie Herbst (White Lab), B.J. Kim (Irvine Lab), Shalmalee Pandit (Belcher Lab), Malte Roerden (Spranger Lab), and Jacob Witten (Anderson Lab).

A Key Honor

American Institute of Chemical Engineers

December 2, 2022

At the 2022 American Institute of Chemical Engineers gala, Paula Hammond received the AIChE Foundation’s Doing a World of Good Medal. Established to recognize individuals who have advanced the societal contribution of engineers, the award honors Hammond’s leadership in creating a more equitable, diverse and inclusive engineering talent pool. 

Gene Screen Reveals Unseen

MIT News

November 15, 2022

Genome-wide screens can be performed in cell culture models, but fail to capture important information from cells' native contexts. Seeking to address this shortfall, Kristin Knouse has developed a new high throughput technique that uses CRISPR to perform genome-wide screens in living mice. Described in Cell Genomics, the approach is accessible, scalable, and adaptable to diverse applications. She demonstrated the approach in a study of cell fitness genes in the mouse liver, which revealed insights not evident in cell culture, involving cellular interactions with molecules in the surrounding environment or immune cells. Her team plans to apply the new screening technique to liver regeneration, and could also use it to study conditions such as fatty liver disease and cirrhosis, which both can lead to liver cancer. 

Some Kind of Wunderful

STAT News

November 14, 2022

Congratulations to Sharp Lab postdoc Dig Bijay Mahat on being named to STAT's 2022 class of Wunderkinds. Recognized for his work advocating for vaccine equity in his home country of Nepal, Jay continues to channel his KI experience toward fundamental research and new tools for navigating public health crises, including cancer and Covid-19.

Deep Dives and Genetic Drives

Whitehead Institute

November 7, 2022

A study published in Cell describes the pooled screening approach behind 2021 Image Awards winner "Nucleotide Pool." The researchers, including KI member Paul Blainey, use visual and computational analysis to identify irregularities in core biological processes such as cell growth, division, and proliferation, and match them to specific genetic disruptions.