Douglas Lauffenburger

Douglas Lauffenburger

Ford Professor of Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Biology

Douglas Lauffenburger fosters the interface of bioengineering, quantitative cell biology, and systems biology to determine fundamental aspects of cell dysregulation — identifying and testing new therapeutic ideas.

617-252-1629

Phone

16-429

Office

lauffen@mit.edu

Email

Lab Website
Lindsay King

Assistant

617-253-0805

Assistant Phone

Education

  • PhD, 1979, University of Minnesota
  • BS, 1975, Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Research Summary

The Lauffenburger laboratory emphasizes integration of experimental and mathematical/computational analysis approaches, toward development and validation of predictive models for physiologically-relevant behavior in terms of underlying molecular and molecular network properties. Our work has been recognized as providing contributions fostering the interface of bioengineering, quantitative cell biology, and systems biology. Our main focus has been on fundamental aspects of cell dysregulation, complemented by translational efforts in identifying and testing new therapeutic ideas. Applications addressed have chiefly resided in various types of cancer (including breast, colon, lung, and pancreatic cancers along with leukemias and lymphomas), inflammatory pathologies (such as endometriosis, Crohn's disease, colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's disease), and the immune system (mainly for vaccines against pathogens such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis). We have increasingly emphasized complex tissue contexts, including mouse models, human subjects, and tissue-engineered micro-physiological systems platforms in association with outstanding collaborators. From our laboratory have come more than 100 doctoral and postdoctoral trainees. Many hold faculty positions at academic institutions in the USA, Canada, and Europe; others have gone on to research positions in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies; and others yet have moved into policy and government agency careers.

Awards

  • Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education, National Academy of Engineering, 2021
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science, Member, 2019
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow, 2001
  • John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Guggenheim Fellowship, 1989

Recent Publications

  1. COVID-19 mRNA vaccines drive differential antibody Fc-functional profiles in pregnant, lactating, and non-pregnant women. Atyeo, C, DeRiso, EA, Davis, C, Bordt, EA, De Guzman, RM, Shook, LL, Yonker, LM, Fasano, A, Akinwunmi, B, Lauffenburger, DA et al.. 2021. Sci Transl Med , eabi8631.
    doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abi8631PMID:34664972
  2. Computational Interspecies Translation Between Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Models and Human Subjects Identifies Innate Immune Complement, TYROBP, and TAM Receptor Agonist Signatures, Distinct From Influences of Aging. Lee, MJ, Wang, C, Carroll, MJ, Brubaker, DK, Hyman, BT, Lauffenburger, DA. 2021. Front Neurosci 15, 727784.
    doi: 10.3389/fnins.2021.727784PMID:34658769
  3. Early cross-coronavirus reactive signatures of humoral immunity against COVID-19. Kaplonek, P, Wang, C, Bartsch, Y, Fischinger, S, Gorman, MJ, Bowman, K, Kang, J, Dayal, D, Martin, P, Nowak, RP et al.. 2021. Sci Immunol 6, eabj2901.
    doi: 10.1126/sciimmunol.abj2901PMID:34652962
  4. A Mycobacterium tuberculosis Specific IgG3 Signature of Recurrent Tuberculosis. Fischinger, S, Cizmeci, D, Shin, S, Davies, L, Grace, PS, Sivro, A, Yende-Zuma, N, Streeck, H, Fortune, SM, Lauffenburger, DA et al.. 2021. Front Immunol 12, 729186.
    doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.729186PMID:34630406
  5. Fab and Fc contribute to maximal protection against SARS-CoV-2 following NVX-CoV2373 subunit vaccine with Matrix-M vaccination. Gorman, MJ, Patel, N, Guebre-Xabier, M, Zhu, AL, Atyeo, C, Pullen, KM, Loos, C, Goez-Gazi, Y, Carrion, R Jr, Tian, JH et al.. 2021. Cell Rep Med 2, 100405.
    doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100405PMID:34485950
  6. Antibody Subclass and Glycosylation Shift Following Effective TB Treatment. Grace, PS, Dolatshahi, S, Lu, LL, Cain, A, Palmieri, F, Petrone, L, Fortune, SM, Ottenhoff, THM, Lauffenburger, DA, Goletti, D et al.. 2021. Front Immunol 12, 679973.
    doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.679973PMID:34290702
  7. IP-10 (CXCL10) Can Trigger Emergence of Dormant Breast Cancer Cells in a Metastatic Liver Microenvironment. Clark, AM, Heusey, HL, Griffith, LG, Lauffenburger, DA, Wells, A. 2021. Front Oncol 11, 676135.
    doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.676135PMID:34123844
  8. Cell surface integrin α5ß1 clustering negatively regulates receptor tyrosine kinase signaling in colorectal cancer cells via glycogen synthase kinase 3. Starchenko, A, Graves-Deal, R, Brubaker, D, Li, C, Yang, Y, Singh, B, Coffey, RJ, Lauffenburger, DA. 2021. Integr Biol (Camb) 13, 153-166.
    doi: 10.1093/intbio/zyab009PMID:34037774
  9. Therapeutically reprogrammed nutrient signalling enhances nanoparticulate albumin bound drug uptake and efficacy in KRAS-mutant cancer. Li, R, Ng, TSC, Wang, SJ, Prytyskach, M, Rodell, CB, Mikula, H, Kohler, RH, Garlin, MA, Lauffenburger, DA, Parangi, S et al.. 2021. Nat Nanotechnol 16, 830-839.
    doi: 10.1038/s41565-021-00897-1PMID:33958764
  10. Systematic in silico analysis of clinically tested drugs for reducing amyloid-beta plaque accumulation in Alzheimer's disease. Madrasi, K, Das, R, Mohmmadabdul, H, Lin, L, Hyman, BT, Lauffenburger, DA, Albers, MW, Rissman, RA, Burke, JM, Apgar, JF et al.. 2021. Alzheimers Dement 17, 1487-1498.
    doi: 10.1002/alz.12312PMID:33938131
More Publications
Photo credit: Kathy Wittman