Koch Institute

MIT researchers are working on an implantable device that could make intraperitoneal chemotherapy more bearable. “As we entered into this project, our question was how do we get the same beneficial outcomes and reduce all the side effects?” says professor Michael Cima. Pictured is a micrograph of ovarian cancer.

Study offers guidance for targeting residual ovarian tumors

Findings support new strategy of continuous drug delivery by implantable device.

May 23, 2017

Professor Michael Cima and his colleagues are now designing brain implants that can not only deliver electrical stimulation but also record brain activity or deliver drugs to very targeted locations.

Making brain implants smaller could prolong their lifespan

Thin fibers could be used to deliver drugs or electrical stimulation, with less damage to the brain.

May 16, 2017

MIT researchers have found that lung tumors such as this one contain stem-cell-like cells that drive tumor aggression. In this image, those cells are tagged with a green fluorescent protein.

Biologists identify key step in lung cancer evolution

Blocking the transition to a more aggressive state could offer a new treatment strategy.

May 10, 2017

Top row, left to right: Stephen Bell, Sangeeta Bhatia, and Christopher Cummins. Bottom row, left to right: Esther Duflo, Klavs Jensen, and Nergis Mavalvala.

National Academy of Sciences elects six MIT professors for 2017

Bell, Bhatia, Cummins, Duflo, Jensen, and Mavalvala honored for research achievements.

May 3, 2017

MIT researchers created this colon tumor by delivering RNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles to the colon. The RNA can activate or delete specific genes, leading to tumor growth.

New model could speed up colon cancer research

Introducing genetic mutations with CRISPR offers a fast and accurate way to simulate the disease.

May 1, 2017

Wireless power could enable ingestible electronics

Small sensors or drug delivery devices could reside in the GI tract indefinitely.

April 27, 2017

Eleven from MIT elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2017

Prestigious honor society announces 228 new members this year.

April 12, 2017

MIT Professor Tyler Jacks, director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, recently testified before a U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing titled, “Federally Funded Cancer Research: Coordination and Innovation.” He is seen here presenting recommendations from the Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel report to the National Cancer Advisory Board in Septem...

Tyler Jacks: NIH budget cuts would have “devastating” effects on progress against cancer

Koch Institute director advocates support for biomedical research in testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

April 10, 2017

A high-magnification micrograph of an ovarian clear cell carcinoma. The images show, focally, the characteristic clear cells with prominent nucleoli and the typical hyaline globules.

New technology can detect tiny ovarian tumors

“Synthetic biomarkers” could be used to diagnose ovarian cancer months earlier than now possible.

April 10, 2017

A deconvolved wide-field fluorescence microscope image of human HeLa cancer cells, during late anaphase/early telophase, showing a lagging chromosome. If this fails to get into a daughter cell, it may lead to aneuploidy.

Study helps explain varying outcomes for cancer, Down Syndrome

Differences in chromosome number may underlie variation among genetically identical individuals.

April 6, 2017

MIT researchers have devised a new vaccine candidate for the Zika virus. “It functions almost like a synthetic virus, except it’s not pathogenic and it doesn’t spread,” says postdoc Omar Khan.

Progress toward a Zika vaccine

Researchers program RNA nanoparticles that could protect against the virus.

March 29, 2017

The immune system often builds up a wall of dense scar tissue around implanted medical devices, a process known as fibrosis. The cell shown in blue represents a macrophage that has been blocked from initiating fibrosis.

Study points a way to better implants

Selectively blocking immune cells can prevent formation of scar tissue around medical devices.

March 20, 2017

By tethering hundreds of tiny particles to the surfaces of tumor cells in the presence of a mechanical force, an MIT team made the cells much more vulnerable to attack by a drug that triggers cancer cells to commit suicide.

Tethered nanoparticles make tumor cells more vulnerable

New strategy could improve performance of some immune-based drugs.

March 20, 2017

AJAS attendees Jessica Frank (left) and Sriharshita Musunuri (right) chat with MIT Professor Phillip Sharp, former AAAS president and Nobel laureate.

Top high school researchers from across the nation meet at MIT

Talented high school researchers attending the annual AAAS/AJAS conference in Boston meet with MIT faculty.

March 8, 2017

Mild heating of graphene oxide sheets makes it possible to bond particular compounds to the sheets’ surface, a new study shows. These compounds in turn select and bond with specific molecules of interest, including DNA and proteins, or even whole cells. In this image the treated graphene oxide on the right is nearly twice as efficient at capturing cells as the untreated material on the left.

Graphene sheets capture cells efficiently

New method could enable pinpoint diagnostics on individual blood cells.

March 3, 2017

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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