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A group of scholars in the Koch Institute Public Galleries

Introducing the 2023-2024 Convergence Scholars

MIT Koch Institute

November 13, 2023

The Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine and the MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine are pleased to announce the 2023-2024 class of Convergence Scholars. Founded in 2017, the Convergence Scholars Program (CSP) is designed to enhance the career development of aspiring independent scientists with diverse interests across academia, industry, science communication, and STEM outreach. This year's scholars are Jonuelle Acosta (Hemann Lab), Margaret Billingsley (Hammond Lab), Asheley Chapman (Irvine Lab), Allison Greaney (Langer Lab), Yizong Hu (Anderson Lab), Vardhman Kumar (Bhatia Lab), Corey Stevens (Belcher Lab), Elen Torres (Spranger Lab), and Bocheng Wu (Koehler Lab).

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Showing 401–410 of 582 stories

Counting Your Antigens

MIT News

June 2, 2020

A team led by White Lab grad student Lauren Stopfer developed a tool that may help researchers and clinicians make cancer immunotherapies more effective: a platform that precisely quantifies the number of antigens presented on cell surfaces. In a study appearing in Nature Communications, researchers profiled changes in cell-surface antigens resulting from treatment with CDK4/6 inhibitors, a class of anticancer agents. Their results added to a growing body of evidence that CDK4/6 inhibitors may increase the effectiveness of immune checkpoint blockade inhibitors, and demonstrated that the platform could be used to identify new immunotherapy targets. Because of its sensitivity and speed, the new platform could be used in the clinic to tailor treatment strategies to individual patients.

This study was funded in part by the MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine and the Koch Institute Frontier Research Program through the Kathy and Curt Marble Cancer Research Fund.

Cancer Researchers Take on COVID-19

MIT Koch Institute

June 1, 2020

Professors Angela Belcher and Christopher Love, with Charles W. (1955) and Jennifer C. Johnson Clinical Investigators Salil Garg and Hojun Li, shared their work to address the COVID-19 crisis at the first online SOLUTIONS with/in/sight. Their virtual tours of ongoing PPE, diagnostics, and vaccine development projects highlighted how the KI’s flexible, collaborative research models allow for rapid response to pressing biomedical needs. 

Immunostimulatory Nanoparticles Improve Checkpoint Therapy

MIT News

June 1, 2020

The Bhatia Lab is developing a modular nanoparticle system to make immunotherapy more accessible and effective across a wider swath of cancer patients. Their tumor-targeting and membrane-penetrating peptides deliver small pieces of DNA to amplify the body’s immune response to tumors and boost the effectiveness of immunotherapy drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors. By combining the particles with the checkpoint inhibitor antibody in mouse models of cancer, researchers were able to halt cancer progression and generate a systemic response against treated and untreated tumors. The work, published in PNAS, was supported in part by the Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine.

AACR-uing Honors 

MIT Koch Institute

May 29, 2020

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) named Phillip A. Sharp as the recipient of the 17th AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research. The award recognizes Sharp's groundbreaking research into RNA splicing and gene expression, which shaped understandings of the genetic causes of cancer.

Fellow biologist Tyler Jacks was also honored for his pioneering work in cancer genetics. In recognition of his genetically engineered models for improving the detection, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of cancer, Jacks will deliver the 2020 AACR Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship at the 2021 AACR annual meeting.

Three KI Faculty Members Awarded Grants for COVID-19 Research

MIT Koch Institute

May 19, 2020

Angela Belcher and Jianzhu Chen were awarded grants from the Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness. Belcher's grant will support efforts to develop novel nanocarbon materials that filtrate and neutralize dangerous viruses and bacteria for PPE for medical professionals and civilians. Chen's grant will help fund the development of vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens.

Brad Pentelute received a Fast Grant to develop safe and effective peptides for prophylactic treatment and rapid early therapeutic intervention against COVID-19 infection.

Safer Ventilator Sharing

Science Translational Medicine

May 18, 2020

Researchers led by KI postdoc Shriya Srinivasan developed a safer method for COVID-19 patients to share ventilators. The approach, described in Science Translational Medicine, enables ventilation that's customized to each patient. The team is looking for partners to help fund, supply, and deploy the system.

Critical Analysis

MIT News

May 12, 2020

As head of a COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and co-director of the acute care and ICU section at Boston Hope, Michael Yaffe offers his perspective as both cancer researcher and intensivist/trauma surgeon on the evolution of emergency care during this crisis and beyond. 

“I wish I was chilling.”

Boston Globe

May 12, 2020

The Boston Globe reports that physical isolation is no match for Bob Langer. From vaccine development to viral blood-brain barrier studies, the ever-prolific engineer is doing his part for coronavirus response efforts. Catch up with him (if you can) via recorded web chat or help your student at home channel their inner-Langer with some STEM inspiration.

High-Capacity Viral Diagnostics

MIT News

April 29, 2020

A new CRISPR-based diagnostic platform simultaneously performs thousands of tests to detect viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. In a study published in Nature, researchers adapted microfluidic technology developed in the Blainey Lab and supported in part by the Bridge Project to create chips that can run thousands of tests flexibly configured across different numbers of samples and viruses.

Nothing to Sneeze At

Whitehead Institute

April 22, 2020

Sabatini Lab postdoc and pulmonologist Raghu Chivukula used cell culture and electron microscopy to unravel the mystery of a rare genetic mutation behind an unknown lung disease. His 2019 Image Awards winning image shows the “airway in a dish” that proved the foundational model for the eventual diagnosis.