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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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Showing 251–260 of 660 stories

Suono Doses First Patient

Medical Device Network

January 5, 2023

Langer/Traverso Lab startup Suono Bio has dosed its first patient with SuonoCalm, an ultrasound-based platform that enhances the delivery of nucleic acids, biologics, and other drugs that are too large or delicate to be absorbed effectively by the gastrointestinal tract. Clinical testing begins with a drug for ulcerative colitis (a known cancer risk factor) and could expand to additional diseases, including cancer.
 

Fascination of Science at the KI

MIT News

January 5, 2023

The Koch Institute is delighted to host Fascination of Science, an exhibition by renowned German portrait photographer Herlinde Koelbl. Having interviewed dozens of top scientists from around the world, Koelbl has captured the essence of their inspiration and pursuits of knowledge. View selected portraits, including those of KI members Sangeeta Bhatia, Ed Boyden, Robert Langer, and Robert Weinberg, in the Koch Institute Public Galleries through the end of January 2023. The installation was produced by the German Consulate General Boston. 

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.