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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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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.

“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.

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. 

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.

Sussing Out Susceptibility

MIT News

April 22, 2020

A team including Alex Shalek, KI member and recently named Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award recipient, is using gene expression data to identify specific types of cells targeted by the coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic. Their study’s results, published in Cell and reported on in The Boston Globe and the NIH Director’s Blog, could be used to guide future treatment of the disease.

This work was supported in part by the MIT Stem Cell Initiative. The team recently received an award from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to study how cells in the airways of pediatric patients respond to SARS-CoV-2 and common respiratory viruses.