Letter of Intent deadline: September 30, 2016

Please send an email to ki-bridge@mit.edu that includes the names and affiliations of your Bridge Project proposal team members, a title and a brief description of your proposal.

Proposal submission deadline: October 20, 2016 at 5 p.m.

The review committee meeting, at which finalists present as a team, will take place on December 13, 2016. All team members must be available that day for an in-person interview. If your team members cannot make this date, or have time restrictions, please let us know when you submit your letter of intent. 

On September 8, 2015, David Livingston, deputy director of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, and Tyler Jacks, director of the Koch Institute, announced details of the new and expanded 2015 Bridge Project RFA. This event also featured presentations by successful Bridge Project awardees and highlighted information and resources that may benefit teams' application packages. Click here to view the full RFA.

On May 29, 2014, the Koch Institute's with/in/sight lecture series showcased the work of the Bridge Project. With introductory remarks by Anne Deconinck and Bridge Project co-leader Tyler Jacks, the event offered a clinician's perspective on the challenges of pancreatic cancer and examples of Bridge Project-funded research focused on developing novel approaches and technologies for its treatment. Click here to view photos from evening's program.

Introduction

Anne Deconinck (Koch) and Tyler Jacks, PhD(Koch)

Presentations

Mandar Muzumdar, PhD (Koch/DFCI)
Robert Langer, ScD, (Koch)
Elazer Edelman, MD, PhD (Koch)

This event held on May 22, 2014, included the announcement of newly awarded Bridge Project Teams and presentations by two of last year's winning teams, as well as experts in the three newly added research areas of interest. Participants learned about new opportunities associated with the Bridge Project and networked with colleagues to build bridges toward future collaboration. View selected videos from the event below.

Speakers and Presentations

Introduction to Bridge Project 2014

David Livingston, MD (DFCI)
Tyler Jacks, PhD (Koch)

Bridge to Success

Targeting Mutant IDH1 in Malignant Gliomas, a collaboration between Matthew Vander Heiden, MD, PhD (Koch), William Kaelin, MD (DFCI), and Daniel Cahill, MD, PhD (MGH)

Osmotic Micro-Pump as Delivery System for Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy in the Treatment of Advanced Ovarian Cancer, a collaboration between, Michael Birrer, MD, PhD (MGH), Marcela Del Carmen, MD (MGH), and Michael Cima, PhD (Koch)

Cachexia — Alfred Goldberg, PhD (HMS)

Cancers with Viral Etiology — James DeCaprio, MD (DFCI)

New Technologies for Tumor Monitoring — Peter Ghoroghchian, MD, PhD (Koch)

Closing Remarks

Tyler Jacks, PhD (Koch)
David Livingston, MD (DFCI)

During this program, which took place on June 27, 2013, engineers from MIT and the Koch Institute presented new technologies for cancer diagnosis and drug development. The aim of the session was to stimulate new collaborations between MIT and the Koch Institute scientists and engineers with DF/HCC members, in preparation for the 2014 round of Bridge funding.

Speakers and Presentations

Opening Remarks

David Livingston, MD (DFCI)

Early Detection/Diagnostics

Barbara Imperiali, PhD(MIT)
Peter So, PhD (MIT)
Joel Voldman, PhD (MIT)
Krystyn van Vliet, PhD (MIT)

Systems Biology

Doug Lauffenburger, PhD (Koch)
Ron Weiss, PhD (MIT)
Michael Cima, PhD(Koch)

At this May 6, 2013 event, cancer biologists, engineers, and clinicians gathered at the Koch Institute at MIT for an open discussion of the greatest challenges and most promising solutions in cancer care.

Speakers and Presentations

Catherine Wu, MD (DFCI/MGH)
Matthew Smith, MD, PhD (MGH)
Steven Balk, MD, PhD (BIDMC)
Phillip Sharp, PhD (Koch)
Sangeeta Bhatia, MD, PhD (Koch)
K. Dane Wittrup, PhD (Koch)
Michael Yaffe, MD, PhD (Koch)

The event also featured presentations by researchers working on existing Bridge Project teams:

Novel Immunotherapies Against Pancreatic Cancer, a collaboration between KaiWucherpfennigMD, (DFCI), J. Christopher Love, PhD (Koch), and Hidde Ploegh, PhD (Whitehead/Koch)

A Pancreatobiliary Chemotherapy Eluting Stent for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinomas, a collaboration between J(MGH) and Elazer Edelman, MD, PhD (Koch)

Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs) as a Novel Approach to Improve Drug Delivery in the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer, a collaboration between Rakesh Jain, PhD (MGH) and Robert Langer, ScD (Koch)

Single-Cell Functional, Genomic and Transcriptomic Analysis in Glioblastoma, a collaboration between Keith Ligon, MD, PhD (DFCI) and J. Christopher Love, PhD (Koch)

The event, which took place on March 21, 2013, was hosted by MIT President L. Rafael Reif, PhD, and featured opening remarks by Reif, David Livingston, MD, Deputy Director of the DF/HCC, Tyler Jacks, PhD, Director of the Koch Institute, and David Nathan, MD, President Emeritus, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The award ceremony and luncheon included presentations by researchers working on the four newly awarded Bridge Project projects:

Presentations

Osmotic Micro-Pump as Delivery System for Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy in the Treatment of Advanced Ovarian Cancer, a collaboration between Michael Birrer, MD, PhD (MGH), Marcela Del Carmen, MD (MGH), and Michael Cima, PhD (Koch)

Developing Novel Therapeutic Approaches in Small Cell Lung Carcinoma Using Genetically Engineered Mouse Models and Human Circulating Tumor Cells, a collaboration between Tyler Jacks, PhD (Koch), Jeffrey Engelman, MD, PhD (MGH), and Daniel Haber, MD, PhD (MGH). Presented by Anna Farago, MD, PhD (Koch/MGH)

Detection of 'Invisible' Nevi in Redheads, a collaboration between David Fisher, MD, PhD (MGH), Peter So, PhD (MIT), and Conor Evans, PhD (MGH)

Targeting Mutant IDH1 in Malignant Gliomas, a collaboration between William Kaelin, Jr., MD (DFCI), Daniel Cahill, MD, PhD (MGH), and Matthew Vander Heiden, MD, PhD (Koch)

The event also featured a presentation from one of the existing Bridge Project teams:

A Pancreatobiliary Chemotherapy Eluting Stent for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinomas, a collaboration between Jeffrey Clark, MD (MGH), Robert Langer, ScD (Koch), and Elazer Edelman, MD, PhD (Koch)

This program, which took place on September 20, 2012, brought together engineers and technologists from across MIT and the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center to introduce tools and capabilities that could be used by collaborative teams to improve cancer treatment.

Speakers and Presentations

Introduction

David Livingston, MD (DFCI)

Drug Delivery Presentations

Robert Langer, ScD (Koch)
Paula Hammond, PhD (Koch)
Darrell Irvine, PhD (Koch)

Early Detection/Diagnostics Presentations

Sangeeta Bhatia, MD, PhD(Koch)
Cesar Castro, MD (MGH)
Jongyoon Han, PhD (MIT)
Mehmet Toner, PhD (MGH)

Systems Biology Presentations

Michael Yaffe, MD, PhD(Koch)
Marc Vidal, PhD (DFCI)

Conclusion

David Livingston, MD (DFCI)

Understanding the Unmet Needs in Melanoma

On July 31, 2012 the Bridge Project invited scientists and engineers to talk with clinicians and form interdisciplinary teams to address pressing challenges in the field of melanoma research.

Clinician Presenters

David Fisher, MD, PhD(DFCI) (General Overview)
Keith Flaherty, MD (MGH) (Targeted Therapy)
Alan Geller MPH, RN (HSPH) (Early Detection-High Risk Identification)
Jennifer Wargo, MD (MGH) (Surgery)
Lyn Duncan, MD (MGH) (Dermatopathology)
Steven Hodi, MD (DFCI) (Melanoma and Immunotherapy)

On July 18, 2012 the Bridge Project invited scientists and engineers to talk with clinicians and form interdisciplinary teams to address pressing challenges in ovarian cancer research.

Presenters

Michael Birrer, MD, PhD (MGH)
Ronny Drapkin, MD, PhD (DFCI/BWH)
Christopher Awtrey, MD (BIDMC)
Joyce Fu Liu, MD, MPH (DFCI)

On May 24, 2012 researchers, engineers, and clinicians gathered to discuss the clinical, translational, and basic science aspects of lung cancer and explore opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Presenters

Yolonda Colson, MD, PhD (DFCI)
Tyler Jacks, PhD (Koch)
Matthew Meyerson, MD, PhD (DFCI) (not recorded)
Alice Shaw, MD, PhD (MGH/Koch)