The Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT

an accordion of endothelial cells stained in pink and green

Using MIT ingenuity to create knowledge, tools, and treatments to fight cancer

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Our Research Areas

From fundamental discoveries to engineering advances, we strategically pursue five areas of research that, across tumor types, are critical for rapid progress toward defeating cancer.

As a National Cancer Institute-designated basic cancer research center, we produce knowledge and tools to fight one of humanity's most persistent challenges.

NCI Cancer Center: A Cancer Center Designated by the National Cancer Institute
Detection & monitoring  
Metastasis  
Immunology & immunotherapy  
Nano-based drugs  
Precision medicine  

News

Solving the puzzle of immune evasion

MIT News

February 26, 2025

Stefani Spranger’s work is focused on uncovering why some tumors evade the immune system’s attack. For example, her latest research, published in Cancer Immunology Research, reveals that lung cancer cells expressing SOX2 can block CD8+ T cells, undermining checkpoint blockade therapy. “By understanding these resistance mechanisms, we can develop smarter immunotherapies to outmaneuver cancer,” says Spranger.

Tardi-grade A science

MIT News

In a study published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, a team led by Giovanni Traverso discovered that a protein from tardigrades (microscopic "water bears") can protect human cells from radiation damage, minimizing treatment side effects.

Protein location prediction

MIT News

Inspired by AlphaFold, a groundbreaking tool for predicting protein structure, researchers led by Regina Barzilay and Richard Young developed ProtGPS, a machine learning model that predicts protein location based on the sequence of its amino acid components.

More News 

At the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, scientists and engineers work together to solve some of the most difficult problems in cancer. We ask big questions in strategic areas, where the answers have big impacts on how we understand and treat cancer.