10/29/10   After receiving chemotherapy, many cancer patients go into a remission that can last months or years. But in some of those cases, tumors eventually grow back, and when they do, they are frequently resistant to the drugs that initially worked.   Now, in a study of mice with lymphoma, MIT biologists have discovered that a small number of cancer cells escape chemotherapy by hiding out in the thymus, an organ where immune cells mature. Within the thymus, the cancer cells are bathed in growth factors that protect them from the drugs’ effects.   The KI researchers plan to soon begin tests, in mice, of drugs that interfere with one of those protective factors. Those drugs were originally developed to treat arthritis, and are now in clinical trials for that use. Such a drug, used in combination with traditional chemotherapy, could offer a one-two punch that eliminates residual tumor cells and prevents cancer relapse, according to the researchers.

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10/28/10   In recent years, studies have shown that for many types of cancer, combination drug therapy is more effective than single drugs. However, it is usually difficult to get the right amount of each drug to the tumor. Now, researchers at MIT's Koch Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital have developed a nanoparticle that can deliver precise doses of two or more drugs to prostate cancer cells. Such particles, say the researchers, could improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy while minimizing the side effects normally seen with these drugs.   In a study appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of investigators led by Omid Farokhzad and Robert Langer, both members of the MIT-Harvard Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence, demonstrated the utility of their new particle by using it to deliver cisplatin and docetaxel, two drugs commonly used to treat many different types of cancer.

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10/27/10    Cancer researchers from across MIT’s campus have begun moving into their new headquarters at the recently completed David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.  The seven-story, 365,000-square-foot building, which stretches along Main Street between Ames and Vassar streets, will house ~25 faculty labs and about 600 researchers. Scientists and engineers will work side-by-side in the new building, fostering collaborations between disciplines such as biology, chemical engineering, computer science, materials science and more.
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10/25/10     The Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT announced it is awarding $800,000 in grants to 10 MIT research teams currently working on early-stage technologies. These projects have the potential to make a significant impact on our quality of life by revolutionizing materials, diagnostics, medical procedures, diabetes treatment, vision correction, high power electronics, solar energy efficiency, and software support, according to the center.   The Deshpande Center, acting as a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship, awards grants that fund proof-of-concept explorations and validation for emerging technologies. “Our grantees are developing exciting and innovative technologies” said Leon Sandler, the center’s executive director. “We look forward to these technologies solving important problems and creating an impact.”  Funded during this cycle is a product being developed by KI's Michael Cima that is designed to reduce brain swelling often caused by chemotherapy. 

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10/15/10   President Obama today named Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and Koch Institute Extramural Faculty Member Susan Lindquist a recipient of the National Medal of Science, the highest scientific honor bestowed by the United States government on scientists, engineers, and inventors. Awarded annually, the National Medal of Science recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and engineering. Lindquist and nine other recipients will receive their awards at a White House ceremony later this year.  Lindquist is being honored “for her studies of protein folding, demonstrating that alternative protein conformations and aggregations can have profound and unexpected biological influences, facilitating insights in fields as wide-ranging as human disease, evolution, and biomaterials.”  

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