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Two tumor cells, one with forcefield. two blue spheres with green and purple spheres on them

Kinase Closed: Shutting Down Cancer's Escape Routes

MIT News

March 26, 2026

Forest White and Cameron Flower PhD ’24 have uncovered why drugs that inhibit tyrosine kinase signaling pathways, such as imatinib (Gleevec), fail in some patients.  By analyzing tumor phosphoproteomics, the White Lab team found that many resistant cells are intrinsically wired to resist tyrosine kinase inhibitors: backup signaling networks are already running to support vital functions such as cell growth and division, even when tyrosine kinase inhibitors work as intended. 

As reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers overcame this resistance in cell models by pairing a tyrosine kinase inhibitor with a drug that targets the backup pathway—an approach currently in clinical trials for lung cancer. 

“We are really excited to watch these clinical trials and to see how well patients do on these combinations. And I really think there’s a future for using tyrosine phosphoproteomics to guide this clinical decision-making,” White says. The research was funded in part by the MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine.
 

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Studying Cancer Across Continents

MIT News

May 19, 2022

New MIT alum and aspiring MD/PhD student Daniel Zhang is headed to the Netherlands on a Fulbright scholarship. His planned project, developing an organoid co-culture system to study malignant rhabdoid tumors and screen for therapeutic vulnerabilities, builds on his longtime work in the Jacks Lab developing genetic knockout models for colorectal cancer.

Becoming Bob Langer

Becoming X

May 17, 2022

A new installment of the Bear Grylls Becoming X series features Bob Langer, who shares how he ended up in the chemical engineering field, how he eventually achieved his research goals, and how he’s put them to work in service of millions of people worldwide.
 

With an AI Towards the Clinic

MIT News

May 17, 2022

Regina Barzilay co-chaired the AI Cures conference for physicians and researchers interested in bringing artificial intelligence tools into the clinic. Fellow KI members Susan Hockfield and Phillip Sharp and Bridge Project collaborator Lecia Sequest were among those who attended the event, which was co-hosted by MIT and Mass General Brigham.
 

A Case for Commendation

MIT News

May 13, 2022

Congratulations to our newest extramural faculty member, biologist Lindsay Case, on being named a Searle Scholar. This annual award honors 15 outstanding U.S. assistant professors who have high potential for ongoing innovative research contributions in medicine, chemistry, or the biological sciences. Case studies the molecular mechanisms that lead to aberrant cell migration and signaling during cancer metastasis.  

What's Next for RNA Vaccines?

MIT News

May 13, 2022

KI member Dan Anderson recently co-authored a review in Nature Biotechnology on mRNA therapies. He sat down with MIT News to discuss the history and lessons learned from the development of mRNA vaccines for Covid-19 as well as future directions for the field.
 

Thrown for a Loop

National Science Foundation

May 10, 2022

Human genomes are folded into loops that control important processes, such as gene expression and DNA repair, and may lead to cancer when misfolded. The Hansen Lab visualized loop formation—for the first time—and discovered that loops are more rare and short-lived than previously thought. The study, published in Science, illuminates the need for new models of how the genome’s 3D structure regulates cellular processes.

Spring Cleaning

MIT News

May 10, 2022

Manalis Lab researchers have discovered that before cells divide, they take out the molecular trash. In a study appearing in eLife and funded by the MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine, the team detected a drop in the dry mass of cancer cells using a technique deploying the Manalis Lab’s signature suspended microchannel resonator. Further experimentation revealed an uptick in lysosomal exocytosis, a process where lysosomes—cell organelles that process cellular waste—jettison their contents. Because exocytosis plays a role in the development of resistance to some chemotherapies, the findings could inform new strategies for making cancer cells more susceptible to treatment.

New Partnerships for the Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine

MIT Koch Institute

May 6, 2022

The Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine—housed within the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT—announces the launch of an affiliate program that will fuel scientific collaborations between academic and industry members and enable breakthrough innovations in all areas impacted by nanomedicine, from drug delivery to gene editing, biomedical imaging, and diagnostics. Inaugural members of this program are Alloy Therapeutics, Danaher Corporation, FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation, and Sanofi.

Beneath the Skin, More Than Meets the Eye

PNAS

May 5, 2022

Lees Lab researchers probed the genetic underpinnings of cutaneous and uveal melanoma—cancers of pigment-producing cells found in the skin and eye, respectively. Their findings, published in PNAS, reveal key biological distinctions that can inform both clinical treatment development and broader understanding of how cancers of similar lineage develop in different tissue contexts.

Tumor Lineage: The Next Generation

STAT News

May 5, 2022

A lineage-tracing collaboration between the Weissman, Jacks, and Yosef (UC Berkeley) labs boldly goes where far too many cells have gone before—from cancer-causing mutation to deadly tumor. Their CRISPR-enabled barcode technology allows them to track the evolution of cancer cells in unprecedented detail. The work was published in Cell and supported in part by the Ludwig Center at MIT.