August Bulletin
Issue 83
Community Notices
Next seminar: September 11, 4-5pm (Luria Auditorium)
Please save the date for next Marble Center seminar on Monday September 11 (4-5pm, Luria Auditorium). Akiva Gordon of the Anderson lab will be giving a research update on pulmonary mRNA delivery. Following his talk, we will host a hot topic talk co-presented by Justine Johnson (Nanolive) and Elizabeth Nelson (Straehla lab) on live cell imaging of nanoparticle delivery with Nanolive technology.
Watch the talks from the 2023 Koch Institute at MIT Symposium on Cancer Vaccines
Recordings are now available from the 21st Annual Cancer Research Symposium, including the panel discussion (below) on the history and future of cancer vaccines with Kyle Holen (Head of Development, Therapeutics, and Oncology, Moderna), Bob Langer (MIT), and Catherine J. Wu (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute) moderated by Darrell Irvine (MIT).
In the News
Open Philanthropy awards $3 million to the Bhatia Lab to develop novel methods to diagnose pediatric pneumonia in lower- and middle-income countries
Team members from left to right: Sahil Patel, Qian Zhong, Daniel Kim, Audrey Lord, Liang Hao, Sangeeta Bhatia, Kristin Moffitt, Loza Tadesse, Mohanraja Kumar, Marissa McDonald, Shih-Ting (Christine) Wang, Sakshee Jadhav, Brenda Kashi. Not pictured: Lucia Castello Pedrero, Tarek Fadel, Heather Fleming, Jeon W. Kang
(MIT Koch Institute) Pneumonia is the leading cause of death among children worldwide, accounting for 14% of deaths among those under age five. Although pneumonia can arise from either bacterial or viral infection, reliable methods of diagnosing young children are invasive and expensive, frequently putting timely diagnosis out of reach of patients in low- and middle-income countries. Furthermore, new, simpler detection tools will also benefit patients in rural, under-served areas within the United States and other more resourced countries, as well. Where available, the standard treatment for pneumonia is an antibiotic. However, if given to a patient with a viral infection, antibiotics will do nothing to treat the infection and may also contribute to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. Meanwhile, an expansion of available medicines to treat viral lung infections creates opportunities to save lives of children who are correctly diagnosed at an early stage.
Aiming to address this issue, Sangeeta Bhatia and her group have received a grant from Open Philanthropy to develop a non-invasive, accessible platform to diagnose pediatric pneumonia in under-resourced areas. In 2022, the Bhatia Lab demonstrated that their nanosensor diagnostic could reliably and quickly measure different immune responses to viral and bacterial pneumonia in preclinical models. Read more…
Prof. Paula Hammond appointed vice provost for faculty at MIT
Throughout her nearly three decades at MIT, Dr. Paula Hammond has been passionate about building a better MIT and empowering those around her to excel and lead. She chaired the Initiative on Faculty Race and Diversity and co-chaired the Ad Hoc Committee on Faculty Advising and Mentoring as well as the implementation team responsible for shaping MIT’s response to the landmark 2018 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report on the sexual harassment of women in academia. Her leadership in these efforts demonstrates Paula’s dedication to bringing about important changes in our culture so that every member of the MIT community can do their best work and thrive.
Paula joined the Department of Chemical Engineering in 1995 and has led the department for the past eight years. In 2021, she became an Institute Professor, the highest honor awarded by MIT’s administration and faculty.
Paula’s contributions to her field are renowned. She received the 2023–2024 James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award for her extraordinary professional contributions to designing novel polymers and nanomaterials. Her work at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research has wide-ranging applications in medicine, including in ovarian cancer research, and she has also introduced new approaches for developing complex drug delivery systems for treatment and non-invasive imaging. Paula serves on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and is among only 25 individuals elected to all three National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
In her new role as vice provost for faculty, Paula will focus on many aspects of professional development, community, and climate for faculty. She will advocate for faculty development, mentoring, diversity, and inclusion, working to complement local recruitment and retention efforts led by the schools and college.
Her responsibilities will also include guiding the design of Institute-wide programs offered by the Office of Faculty Programs and serving as a faculty resource to address conflicts and develop constructive solutions. Read more…
New study aims to decipher the mystery of vitiligo
A new $3.75 million clinical trial, led by John E. Harris, MD, PhD, Manuel Garber, PhD, and Mehdi Rashighi, MD, at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, will investigate factors that may predispose individuals to vitiligo. “Vitiligo is influenced by our genes, but further understanding the interplay of genetics, environmental and other biological factors such as RNA and protein biomarkers is critical to identifying disease preclinically,” said Harris in a university press release. “If we can isolate subclinical signatures of disease, we can potentially predict which patients are at the greatest risk of developing vitiligo and develop new treatments for the disease.”
Saliva will be genetically sequenced for each participant. An at-home blood and serum collection platform developed by Tasso uses negative pressure to draw blood without the need for syringes or venipunctures. Blood samples will be genotyped and analyzed for antibodies and other biomarkers. DermTech tape strips and custom microneedles, developed by collaborator Darrell Irvine, PhD, at MIT, will be used to collect skin samples and analyzed for biomarkers and RNA associated with disease onset and severity. Read more…
Meet 20 women reshaping biopharma
Endpoints News names Sangeeta Bhatia one of 20 women reshaping biopharma in 2023 for her efforts to help women in academia launch startups. Read more…
Jobs
mRNA Senior Scientist, Vaccine Drug Product Development, Sanofi.
As an experienced Senior Engineer/Scientist in the Global Drug Product Development group, you will focus on development, optimization and scale-up of mRNA lipid nanoparticle drug product development including encapsulation and purification processes with the ultimate goal of transferring at scale methods to either the internal or external manufacturing team for GMP manufacturing of mRNA lipid nanoparticles. Read more…
82VS Senior Venture Associate, Alloy Therapeutics.
As a Senior Venture Associate, you will work and collaborate across scientific, operational, and business areas to build new biotech companies from idea to Series A. You will work daily with Founders to help them build their ideas into companies, and also have space to explore your own ideas. This role requires a PhD and a tremendous passion for advancing science into medicines for patients. This role will report to the President of 82VS with autonomy owning various stakeholders, projects, and initiatives in a dynamic start-up environment while keeping up the pace of 82VS. Read more…
RNA Biology Lead, GSK.
Successful candidate will lead strategies to answer scientific questions pertaining to mRNA vaccines mechanism of action and performance at the molecular, biochemical, cellular and tissue level to establish structure-activity information. The candidate will act as a liaison across research and technical development global teams within platform and research areas groups to advance platform and vaccine programs. In close partnership with cross-functional teams, the candidate will set strategies and sponsor cutting-edge technologies to characterize existing and novel RNA vaccines modalities. Read more…
Funding opportunities
| Funding Source | Grant ID | Deadline | Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research: Seed Grants | N/A | August 15, 2023 | Michelson Philanthropies and Science: Prize for Immunology | N/A | October 1, 2023 |
|---|
