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Golden particles join a DNA strand.

Precision gene editing

MIT News

September 17, 2025

Robert Langer, Phillip Sharp, and research scientist Vikash Chauhan developed an engineered prime editing system, reported in Nature, that reduces unintended DNA changes by up to 60-fold. The new gene editor could make it easier to explore cell biology questions, such as how populations of cancer cells evolve, as well as develop gene therapy treatments for cancer and other diseases.

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Showing 61–70 of 683 stories

Brainstorming treatments for gliobastoma

The Tech

April 28, 2025

At the inaugural Glioblastoma Tumor Microenvironment Symposium on March 27, led by Koch Institute faculty member Forest White and Franziska Michor of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, national leaders in glioblastoma research explored strategies for advancing models, therapies, and collaboration to accelerate progress against the disease.

Regina Barzilay receives IEEE Medal

IBM

April 25, 2025

Regina Barzilay has received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Frances E. Allen Medal for her groundbreaking work applying machine learning to medicine. Honored alongside Miklós Ajtai, Barzilay was recognized for using unexpected methods to advance computer science and for transforming how AI is used in clinical and scientific settings.

Shaking up the STATus quo

STAT News

April 23, 2025

STAT has named Nancy Hopkins to the 2025 STATUS List, recognizing her for both her innovative work using zebrafish as a cancer model and tireless advocacy for gender equality in science. While helping to make science a more viable career for women, Hopkins also contributed groundbreaking research in genetics and molecular biology.

Is There a Pill for That?

Wired

April 18, 2025

Syntis Bio, a spinout from the Langer and Traverso labs, has announced promising early data for its obesity pill, which mimics the effects of a gastric bypass surgery via a temporary coating in the upper intestine. Interest in controlling obesity has surged as research uncovers its roles in cancer and other diseases, and the new pill is aimed at offering more effective and personalized choices for patients. 

Making de-grade

MIT Koch Institute

April 17, 2025

CDK9 and MYC are protein targets for many cancers, but developing therapies has proved quite challenging. A Koehler lab study published in Cell Chemical Biology demonstrates a promising approach for controlling MYC via CDK9. The group developed a CDK9 PROTAC (proteolysis targeting chimera), a molecule that can be used to degrade, or break up, a specific protein and showed it overcomes a key paradox and potentially offers a broadly useful CDK9 strategy.

Anders Sejr Hansen wins Edgerton Award

MIT News

April 16, 2025

Congratulations to Anders Sejr Hansen on winning the Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award for exceptional distinction in teaching, research and service at MIT. The award recognizes Hansen’s remarkable productivity and passion for mentorship and career development for members of his laboratory.

Mapping cancer's ecosystem

MIT News

April 7, 2025

By treating diseased tissue as an ecosystem, Alex Shalek and team codeveloped MESA, a tool that reveals hidden interactions between cancer and immune cells. Their research, published in Nature Genetics,  shows that when applied to a diverse range of cancer tissue types, including colorectal and liver cancer, MESA uncovered critical hotspots of cellular activity, offering new insights into disease progression.

Cancer nanotech built to scale

MIT News

April 3, 2025

Paula Hammond and her team have developed a scalable method to mass-produce polymer-coated nanoparticles via layer-by-layer assembly. Their research, published in Advanced Functional Materials, shows that these nanoparticles target tumors directly—reducing chemotherapy side effects—and can now be produced more rapidly, advancing their potential for human clinical use.  

Cellular sleuths decode T cell targets

The Scientist

April 1, 2025

Immunotherapy changed the landscape of cancer treatment by equipping T cells to fight tumors, but even when these therapies are effective, their exact workings can be a mystery. The Scientist recently highlighted Michael Birnbaum’s Cancer Grand Challenges team, which leverages artificial intelligence and structural biology to decode T cell receptor recognition. The team, which includes Brandon DeKosky and Regina Barzilay, aims to enhance immunotherapy precision and broaden its potential for more effective cancer treatments.  

The mechanisms of metastasis

Knowable Magazine

March 27, 2025

How do cancer cells spread? Knowable Magazine offers an accessible, in-depth look at metastasis and cancer metabolism, featuring KI director Matthew Vander Heiden. He discusses how his lab has shown that cancer cells thrive in familiar tissue environments, which may explain why primary tumors often metastasize to specific organs while avoiding others.