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Linzixuan (Rhoda) Zhang holding the medal she won in the 2024 Collegiate Inventors Competition

Rhoda Zhang Wins 2024 Collegiate Inventors Competition

MIT News

November 5, 2024

Graduate student Linzixuan (Rhoda) Zhang has won the 2024 Collegiate Inventors Competition in both the Graduate and People's Choice categories. With advisors Robert Langer and Ana Jaklenec, Zhang and KI postdoc Xin Yang are developing metal-organic frameworks and other safe, sustainable nutrient stabilizing materials to address global micronutrient deficiencies. They are also launching MOFe™ Coffee, the first iron-fortified coffee.

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Steven Truong Awarded Soros Fellowship for New Americans

MIT News

April 21, 2023

Steven Truong, a Koch Institute alum, has been awarded a 2023 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. Currently an MD-PhD student at Stanford, he aspires to help solve and treat metabolic disorders such as diabetes. Truong graduated from MIT in 2020 with a double major in biological engineering and writing, and worked in the Langer and Anderson Labs to develop smart insulins and in the Lauffenburger Lab to study the link between the immune system and diabetes.

Emit at MIT

Emit Imaging

April 20, 2023

Emit Imaging, Inc. will launch a project with the MIT Koch Institute's Preclinical Imaging and Testing Facility to enhance 3D imaging technology. The project will incorporate the Koch Institute’s research-based experiences into cryo-fluorescence tomography (CFT) workflow and method improvements, allowing for greater accuracy and efficiency in studying cancer and other diseases. Emit's CFT technology is a 3D imaging technique that allows for high-resolution, high-sensitivity imaging of biological samples, providing crucial insights into the behavior of drugs and proteins. 

Brushing Away Side Effects

MIT News

April 19, 2023

An interdisciplinary team of Koch Institute researchers designed bottlebrush-shaped nanoparticles that provoke immune response against tumors. In a study appearing in Science Advances, researchers from the Johnson, Irvine, Spranger, Langer, and Shalek labs based their nanoparticle prodrug on imidazoquinolines, a class of drugs that activates the immune system against cancer, but can also trigger significant side effects when administered intravenously. The prodrug, or an inactivated form of the medicine, is bound to the bottlebrush backbone, timed to be released in active form once it reaches the tumor. Mice treated with the nanoparticles showed a significant reduction in tumor growth, and showed no side effects.

This study was supported in part by the Koch Institute Frontier Research Program via the Kathy and Curt Marble Cancer Research Fund, and the Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine.

Daniel Anderson Wins 2023 Exner Medal

Wilhelm Exner Medal Foundations

April 17, 2023

Cheers to Daniel Anderson, 2023 Exner Medal laureate! The award is in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of nanotherapeutics and biomaterials and his pioneering work in the development of smart materials for medical devices. These advances have led to a range of products in clinical development, in particular in the field of RNA therapeutics.

A Boost for RNA Vaccines and Therapies

MIT News

April 11, 2023

Sanofi will provide $25 million in support of the Anderson Lab’s efforts to develop new delivery technology for mRNA, as well as RNA-based methods for CRISPR genome editing. Anderson Lab research has already resulted in several RNA vaccine applications currently in clinical trials at Sanofi, with new work including plans for new delivery platforms and improvements to vaccine uptake and effectiveness.

Bridging Gaps in Health Care

MIT News

April 6, 2023

With a major in bioengineering and a minor in Spanish, MIT senior Victor Damptey hopes to use his twin skill sets to address disparities in health care. Currently working in the Hammond Lab on new treatments for osteoarthritis, he plans to become a physician-scientist and use his Spanish fluency in overcoming patient care challenges often posed by language barriers.

Hydrogels for Biologics

MIT News

March 31, 2023

The Doyle and Hammond Labs created hydrogel particles for biologics. In a study appearing in Advanced Healthcare Materials, researchers delivered the cancer immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) via single injection. Normally, the drug must be administered in dilute solution over several hours, in a hospital or clinic.

Eyeing FDA approval in the next few years, the team notes their platform could also resuscitate drugs for which adequately concentrated formulations have remained elusive. This innovative approach can improve the patient experience, decrease the healthcare costs, and improve access to healthcare while bringing value to the industry.

Targets Acquired

MIT News

March 30, 2023

The Anderson Lab’s new inhalable lipid nanoparticles deliver mRNA to the lung and show greater efficiency, better targeting of cell populations, and lower risk of immune response over other formulations. Described in Nature Biotechnology, the nanoparticle’s key design features include a positively charged headgroup to engage the negatively charged RNA, a long lipid tail to help particles cross the cell membrane, and a structure that breaks down and is quickly cleared from the lung reducing risk of inflammation. Unlike virus-based RNA delivery methods, which induce an immune response upon repeat dosing, the nanoparticles can be delivered multiple times if needed.

Cancer Drug Pairing Overcomes Antibiotic Resistance

MIT News

March 24, 2023

With international collaborators, the Chen Lab has helped identify a new therapy for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE). VRE can cause a number of serious infections, including urinary tract, bloodstream, and wound infections associated with catheters or surgical procedures. In a study appearing in Science Advances, the team identified a synergistic relationship between the antibiotic vanomycin and mitoxantrone, a cancer drug used for leukemia and prostate cancer.

Given in combination, the drugs increased sensitivity of the bacterium to the antibiotics, and improved wound healing. As bacterial resistance to vancomycin is widespread, the discovery could be a general approach for treating vancomycin-resistant bacterial infections.   

Illuminating a Path to Approval

Lumicell

March 21, 2023

Lumicell’s single-cell imaging technology for eliminating residual cancer cells during tumor resection is one step closer to the clinic. Following fast track designations for the imaging agent/device pair and the recent conclusion of a pivotal trial in breast cancer patients, the company has filed a New Drug Application on its signature platform.

The technology’s early development was supported by the Koch Institute Frontier Research Program via the Curt and Kathy Marble Cancer Research Fund.