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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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Showing 231–240 of 582 stories

Beneath the Skin, More Than Meets the Eye

PNAS

May 5, 2022

Lees Lab researchers probed the genetic underpinnings of cutaneous and uveal melanoma—cancers of pigment-producing cells found in the skin and eye, respectively. Their findings, published in PNAS, reveal key biological distinctions that can inform both clinical treatment development and broader understanding of how cancers of similar lineage develop in different tissue contexts.

Tumor Lineage: The Next Generation

STAT News

May 5, 2022

A lineage-tracing collaboration between the Weissman, Jacks, and Yosef (UC Berkeley) labs boldly goes where far too many cells have gone before—from cancer-causing mutation to deadly tumor. Their CRISPR-enabled barcode technology allows them to track the evolution of cancer cells in unprecedented detail. The work was published in Cell and supported in part by the Ludwig Center at MIT.

Belcher Elected to NAS

National Academy of Sciences

May 3, 2022

Cheers to KI member Angela Belcher, recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Belcher, who is also a member of the National Academy of Engineers and the National Academy of Inventors, is being recognized for distinguished and continuing achievements as a materials scientist and biological engineer. She is the fourth KI member to hold all three of these memberships. 

Dragonfly and Gilead Partnership Takes Flight

Fierce Biotech

May 2, 2022

Immunotherapy startup Dragonfly, co-founded by KI member Tyler Jacks, announced a strategic research collaboration with pharmaceutical giant Gilead to advance their natural killer cell engager-based immunotherapies for cancer and inflammatory diseases. The partnership opens up broader pipelines for cancer drug development and approvals, and accelerates opportunities for patient impact and major distribution.

AAAS the World Turns

MIT News

April 28, 2022

Congratulations to KI members Regina Barzilay and Ron Raines for their election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Honored in the “Class 1” cohort of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, they join 19 other current KI members as part of one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies.

MIT Koch Institute Receives $6M to Intercept and Cure Deadly Cancers

MIT Koch Institute

April 11, 2022

KI researchers will receive $6 million in grants from Break Through Cancer, a foundation supporting collaborative, multi-disciplinary research teams from leading US cancer centers. The grants support projects aiming to intercept cancer at early stages and find treatments for some of the deadliest cancers, including pancreatic and ovarian cancer, and glioblastoma.

The Molecular Makings of Metastasis

Whitehead Institute

April 11, 2022

Examining breast cancer cells in various hybrid states across the epithelial-mesenchymal spectrum, the Weinberg Lab is screening for genes and molecules that influence a cell's plasticity. Their findings, published in Nature Cell Biology, will help clarify the mechanisms that drive metastasis and could inform the development of related therapies.  

One Tool to Screen Them All

MIT News

April 8, 2022

The Birnbaum Lab developed a new method for screening huge libraries of antigens and immune cells at the same time, allowing researchers to identify specific interactions between immune cells and their target antigens among myriad possible pairings. The team modified lentiviruses so that they can only enter immune cells if the viral antigen “key” fits a receptor “lock” on the cell’s surface, mirroring the interplay of immune cells and antigens in the body. Because lentiviruses integrate their DNA into their host cells, specific immune cell pairings can be identified by sequencing the genome of a cell sample. The tool, described in Nature Methods, could help researchers make sense of complex immune recognition in diseases such as HIV, COVID, and cancer, and accelerate the development of more effective vaccines and immunotherapies.

The work was supported in part by the Koch Institute Frontier Research Program through the Michael (1957) and Inara Erdei Fund and the Casey and Family Foundation Cancer Research Fund.

Diversifying Innovation

The Boston Globe

April 6, 2022

The Boston Globe profiles the efforts of Sangeeta Bhatia, Susan Hockfield, and Nancy Hopkins to ensure that women have access to the information, resources, and connections needed to start companies. Through their Future Founders Initiative, the trio aims to recenter opportunities for women of color in the Kendall Square innovation ecosystem.

Survey Says

Scientific Reports

March 31, 2022

Collateral sensitivity is when cells’ vulnerability to a particular drug coincides with resistance to another. Hemann and Lauffenbuger Lab researchers conducted a comprehensive survey of collateral sensitivities associated with different combination chemotherapy regimens for cancer. Their findings, published in Scientific Reports, reveal that such responses are uncommon and heterogeneous, suggesting the existence of multiple different states of resistance.

This work was funded in part by the MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine and the Ludwig Center at MIT.