September Bulletin
Issue 60
Community Notices | News | Jobs | Funding | Events
Community Notices
Welcome back!
Next seminar is on Monday September 20th, 4-5pm, with a research update by Melodi Anahtar of the Bhatia lab, followed by a Q/A on the Convergence Scholar Program. The seminar will be in hybrid format and we will provide a Zoom link via email for remote access. Following the seminar, please join us for an outdoor social with food and soft drinks at the Hockfield Court (starting at 5pm).
Symposium on “Engineering the Next Wave of Immunotherapy”
***REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN*** The 19th Annual Cancer Research Symposium by the Koch Institute at MIT will be held on September 17, 2021, and will focus on cancer immunotherapy. This event will be a hybrid format with both in-person and zoom presentations.
In the News
New cancer treatments may be on the horizon—thanks to mRNA vaccines
(National Geographic) The COVID-19 pandemic brought mRNA vaccines into the limelight. But the technology may also prove to be a powerful weapon against hard-to-treat cancers.
Image by Christine Daniloff, MIT; and stock imagery
Back when people first heard about Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines, the mRNA technology behind them sounded like the stuff of science fiction. But while the mRNA approach seems revolutionary, long before anyone had heard of COVID-19, researchers had been developing mRNA vaccines to fight cancer, autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and to protect against other infectious diseases, such as the respiratory syncytial virus.
“It’s not a new idea: What COVID has shown us is that mRNA vaccines can be an efficacious and safe technology for millions of people,” says Prof. Daniel Anderson, a leader in the field of nanotherapeutics and biomaterials at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. Read more…
Drug delivery capsule could replace injections for protein drugs
(MIT News) A team of MIT engineers, in collaboration with scientists from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Novo Nordisk, is working on an alternative delivery strategy that could make it much easier for patients to benefit from monoclonal antibodies and other drugs that usually have to be injected. They envision that patients could simply swallow a capsule that carries the drug and then injects it directly into the lining of the stomach. Read more…
MIT welcomes 9 MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars
(MIT News) The flagship program honors the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by increasing the presence and recognizing the contributions of underrepresented minority scholars at MIT. Throughout the year, the cohort will enhance their scholarship through intellectual engagement with the MIT community and enrich the cultural, academic, and professional experience of students. Among the 2021-2022 scholars is Dr. Omolola "Lola" Eniola-Adefeso, who will work with Professor Paula Hammond on developing electrostatically assembled nanoparticle coatings that enable targeting of specific immune cell types. Dr. Eniola-Adefeso is the associate dean for graduate and professional education and associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of Michigan. She is co-founder and chief scientific officer of Asalyxa Bio, she is interested in the interactions between blood leukocytes and endothelial cells in vessel lumen lining, and how they change during inflammation response. Read more…
A Knee or Hip "‘Replacement’ Without Surgery? It’s on the Horizon
Image by Getty Images/Science Library
(Wall Street Journal) With better drugs and stem-cell therapies, researchers hope to repair cartilage—or prevent damage—before osteoarthritis sets in or an operation is needed
To protect injured cartilage from degrading further, MIT researchers are focusing on ways to get drugs into the cartilage tissue and keep them there. They are using microscopic particles called nanocarriers to deliver IGF-1, an insulinlike growth factor, to the tight mesh that holds cartilage in joints. The researchers designed the carriers to be just “sticky” enough to drive deep into the cartilage without getting stuck on outer surfaces. That could allow the IGF-1 compound to be delivered in one or a few injections “until there is full regeneration,” says Dr. Paula Hammond, Head of the department of chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.. Read more…
Jobs
Technology Specialist, Nanoparticles, Alloy Therapeutics.
The Alloy Legal group is looking for an organized, self-starting, efficient, and motivated individual to join the team in Lexington, Massachusetts or at the executive offices in Hanover, NH. The position will report directly to our Head of IP and will require the individual to leverage IP strategies in support of Alloy’s nanoparticle and non-viral vector delivery programs. Core duties and responsibilities will be in support of Alloy’s global patent preparation and prosecution strategy. You will be expected to routinely provide diligence and research support to the scientific and business teams of the company and its partners. You should have significant research or technical experience in non-viral drug delivery systems and, ideally, familiarity with patent drafting and prosecution. Candidate does not need to be registered to practice before the USPTO as a patent agent. Read more…
Scientist, LNP Formulation Development, Regeneron.
Regeneron is seeking a Scientist in the New Technology Group within the Formulation Development Group (FDG) of Regeneron Pharmaceutical Inc. (Tarrytown, NY). In this exciting new role, you will build capabilities for lipid nanoparticle-based delivery platforms within FDG and drive the development of therapeutic modalities with focus on (but not limited to) RNA-based therapeutics. Read more…
Funding opportunities
| Funding Source | Grant ID | Deadline | American Lung Association Lung Cancer Discovery Award | N/A | September 23, 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| NIH/NCI: Toward Translation of Nanotechnology Cancer Interventions | PAR-20-116 | November 18, 2021 |
