Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES)

MIT affiliates were well represented in the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30, honoring young leaders.

At least 30 from MIT named to 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 lists

Students, faculty, staff, and alumni honored in "the most definitive gathering of today’s leading young change-makers and innovators."

January 5, 2017

“…[I]f humans behave similarly to mice in response to this treatment, I would say the potential is just enormous, because it’s so noninvasive, and it’s so accessible,” says Li-Huei Tsai, the Picower Professor of Neuroscience, when describing a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Unique visual stimulation may be new treatment for Alzheimer’s

Noninvasive technique reduces beta amyloid plaques in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease.

December 7, 2016

The star-shaped drug delivery device, held here by Giovanni Traverso, a Koch Institute research affiliate, can be folded inward and encased in a smooth capsule. Once ingested, the device delivers a full drug payload gradually over weeks or even months.

New capsule achieves long-term drug delivery

Technology could aid in elimination of malaria and treatment of many other diseases.

November 16, 2016

First row (left to right): Matteo Bucci, Tal Cohen, and Ali Jadbabaie. Second row (left to right): Zachary P. Smith, Stefanie Mueller, Adam Belay, David Sontag, and Virginia Vassilevska Williams. Third row (left to right): Max Shulaker, Jennifer Rupp, Ryan Williams, Carmen Guerra-Garcia, and Zachary Hartwig

New engineering faculty for 2016-2017

The School of Engineering welcomes 13 new professors.

October 27, 2016

“The process of how the neural circuits come back online following anesthesia has not really been studied in depth, and this is something that interested us from a clinical standpoint, because we are investigating ways to rapidly reverse anesthesia,” says Ken Solt, a research affiliate in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT and an anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hos...

Study suggests approach to waking patients after surgery

Activating certain brain neurons may spur recovery from general anesthesia.

October 24, 2016

A team led by Polina Golland’s group at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has made a new algorithm for identifying organs in fetal MRI scans, which should make MRI monitoring much more useful. Pictured is a stock image of a fetal MRI.

MRIs for fetal health

Algorithm could help analyze fetal scans to determine whether interventions are warranted.

October 21, 2016

Kwanghun Chung, the Samuel A. Goldblith Career Development Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and assistant professor at the Institute of Medical Engineering and Science

Kwanghun Chung receives NIH New Innovator Award

Award will support the development of technologies that can enable a better understanding of complex biological systems.

October 13, 2016

MIT shares $75 million grant to fight heart disease

One Brave Idea Research Award will support the search for new biomarkers and treatments.

October 5, 2016

Nanosensors could help determine tumors’ ability to remodel tissue

Measuring enzyme levels could help doctors select appropriate treatments.

September 29, 2016

Researchers at MIT and other institutions have created tiny freeze-dried pellets that include all of the molecular machinery needed to translate DNA into proteins, which could form the basis for on-demand production of drugs and vaccines.

To produce biopharmaceuticals on demand, just add water

Freeze-dried cellular components can be rehydrated to churn out useful proteins.

September 22, 2016

A new gene therapy technique being developed by researchers at MIT uses microRNAs — small noncoding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression — to control breast cancer metastasis.

Gene therapy technique may help prevent cancer metastasis

Gene-regulating RNA molecules could help treat early-stage breast cancer tumors before they spread.

September 19, 2016

MIT researchers have added an extra layer of control to the CRISPR gene-editing approach, by making the system responsive to light.

Using light to control genome editing

New technique offers precise manipulation of when and where genes are targeted.

August 25, 2016

MIT biological engineers have devised a memory storage system illustrated here as a DNA-embedded meter that is recording the activity of a signaling pathway in a human cell.

Recording analog memories in human cells

Engineers program human cells to store complex histories in their DNA.

August 18, 2016

Researchers at MIT are developing an adhesive patch that can stick to a tumor site, either before or after surgery. The patch delivers a triple-combination of drug, gene, and photo (light-based) therapy via specially designed nanospheres and nanorods, shown here attacking a tumor cell.

Patch that delivers drug, gene, and light-based therapy to tumor sites shows promising results

In mice, device destroyed colorectal tumors and prevented remission after surgery.

July 25, 2016

A new technique called magnified analysis of proteome (MAP), developed at MIT, allows researchers to peer at molecules within cells or take a wider view of the long-range connections between neurons.

Imaging the brain at multiple size scales

New technique can reveal subcellular details and long-range connections.