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Luc7, the blue group of proteins, against a background of human cells.

Splice of life

MIT News

February 20, 2025

The Burge lab has discovered a new type of control over RNA splicing, a process critical for gene expression. Appearing in a new Nature Communications paper, their study sheds light on how this control mechanism can go wrong—and serve as a potential therapeutic target—in acute myelogenous leukemias and other diseases.

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Showing 431–440 of 617 stories

Imaging Science

MIT Museum

June 30, 2020

The Koch Institute teamed up with the MIT Museum for Imaging Science, a two-week exploration of everyday science photography. A series of photography tutorials and webinars featured images and insight from KI Image Awards contributors, including Lina Colucci, Keith Ellenbogen, Felice Frankel, Jeffrey Kuhn, Sudha Kumari, Erika Reinfeld, Quinton Smith, and Matheus Victor.

Shared Knowledge for Improved Biomanufacturing

The AltHost Consortium

June 22, 2020

A Love Lab-led consortium unites leading organizations in biopharmaceuticals and vaccines to accelerate the development and accessibility of alternative host cells for manufacturing drugs and vaccine components. With an eye toward global access for health solutions, including pandemic-relevant vaccines, the effort establishes a new framework for biomanufacturing, large-scale production of low-cost biopharmaceuticals and rapid clinical translation.

SOLUTIONS with/in/sight: How Are Cancer Researchers Fighting COVID-19?

MIT Koch Institute

June 15, 2020

The Koch Institute hosted a second Zoom webinary showcasing cancer researchers who have pivoted existing research to address biomedical challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Koch Institute faculty members Michael Yaffe, Angela Koehler, Sangeeta Bhatia, and Robert Langer shared their work developing new treatment strategies and interventions for the disease. The program included Q&A sessions for learning more about the science and understanding how the Koch Institute’s flexible, collaborative research models accelerate innovation in the face of rapidly evolving understanding.

Sensors & Sensibility

MIT Koch Institute

June 10, 2020

Novel devices have (Austensibly) landed two KI postdocs on MIT Technology Review’s annual 35 Innovators Under 35 list. Siddharth Krishnan, from the Anderson/Langer Lab, developed a sensor for monitoring shunt flow in hydrocephalus. Gregory Ekchian, from the Cima Lab, created a sensor to make radiation therapy more effective. Ekchian will continue his translational pursuits as a Blavatnik Fellow in Life Science Entrepreneurship.

Keap-ing Lung Cancer in Check

Nature Cancer

June 8, 2020

The Jacks Lab identified a new therapeutic target for an aggressive form of lung cancer. Lung adenocarcinoma accounts for about 40 percent of lung cancers in the U.S., with 20–30% of lung adenocarcinomas harboring mutations in the gene KEAP1. In previous work, the group showed that lung adenocarcinomas that are mutated for both KRAS and KEAP1 are highly aggressive and dependent on the breakdown of glutamine—paving the way for clinical trials of glutaminase inhibitors in combination with other therapies that target KEAP1-mutant non-small cell lung cancers.

In a new study, led by graduate student Rodrigo Romero and appearing in Nature Cancer, researchers screened of a library of genes that are known or predicted to be druggable in a comprehensive and systematic search for new therapeutic targets for KEAP1 mutant non-small cell lung cancers. The screens identified the gene Slc33a1, as well as several other genes that are associated with the unfolded protein response, a process key to cell viability. Tests in cell lines and in mouse models showed a strong dependency for Slc33a1 in non-small cell lung cancers, suggesting that patients with Keap1-mutant tumors may respond to SLC33A1 inhibition.

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.