Jessica Stark
@jcstark.bsky.social
Understanding and engineering glycoimmunology | Asst Prof @ MIT BE, MIT ChemE, and Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research | jstarklab.com
It's a great year to join the Leading Edge community 🕊️🤍
The Leading Edge Fellows gathered this week to celebrate Zara Weinberg, a beloved member of our community. Our 7th cohort of Leading Edge Fellows (2026) will be named in her honor.
The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
November 6, 2025 at 12:56 AM
It's a great year to join the Leading Edge community 🕊️🤍
Great to see this story in print! Congrats @megtriesscience.bsky.social @douglaspdyer.bsky.social and team! Looking forward to sharing Megan's first contributions as a postdoc in our lab at @mitdeptofbe.bsky.social @mitcheme.bsky.social @mitkochinstitute.bsky.social soon... 👀
My PhD work is (finally) published in Science Signaling! And it made the cover!
Here’s what we found 🧵⬇️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Here’s what we found 🧵⬇️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 4, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Great to see this story in print! Congrats @megtriesscience.bsky.social @douglaspdyer.bsky.social and team! Looking forward to sharing Megan's first contributions as a postdoc in our lab at @mitdeptofbe.bsky.social @mitcheme.bsky.social @mitkochinstitute.bsky.social soon... 👀
Reposted by Jessica Stark
Why fundamental research is fundamental to progress, seeding major breakthroughs
Editorial @nature.com this week
And 7 basic science discoveries that changed the world
nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/d41...
Editorial @nature.com this week
And 7 basic science discoveries that changed the world
nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/d41...
October 29, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Why fundamental research is fundamental to progress, seeding major breakthroughs
Editorial @nature.com this week
And 7 basic science discoveries that changed the world
nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/d41...
Editorial @nature.com this week
And 7 basic science discoveries that changed the world
nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Jessica Stark
We are recruiting new faculty in IMES at MIT!
IMES (Institute for Medical Engineering and Science) is the MIT home of the famous HST program. As faculty are also appointed in a department at MIT, we have diverse research programs, all focused on human health.
faculty-searches.mit.edu/imes-search/
IMES (Institute for Medical Engineering and Science) is the MIT home of the famous HST program. As faculty are also appointed in a department at MIT, we have diverse research programs, all focused on human health.
faculty-searches.mit.edu/imes-search/
MIT Faculty Searches MIT INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE FACULTY SEARCH
faculty-searches.mit.edu
October 14, 2025 at 8:07 PM
We are recruiting new faculty in IMES at MIT!
IMES (Institute for Medical Engineering and Science) is the MIT home of the famous HST program. As faculty are also appointed in a department at MIT, we have diverse research programs, all focused on human health.
faculty-searches.mit.edu/imes-search/
IMES (Institute for Medical Engineering and Science) is the MIT home of the famous HST program. As faculty are also appointed in a department at MIT, we have diverse research programs, all focused on human health.
faculty-searches.mit.edu/imes-search/
Reposted by Jessica Stark
“It will take decades to recover from this, if we ever do.” America’s cancer research system, which has helped save millions of lives and is in one of its most productive moments, is under threat by the Trump administration.
Trump Is Shutting Down the War On Cancer
America’s cancer research system, which has helped save millions of lives, is under threat in one of its most productive moments.
nyti.ms
September 14, 2025 at 4:15 PM
“It will take decades to recover from this, if we ever do.” America’s cancer research system, which has helped save millions of lives and is in one of its most productive moments, is under threat by the Trump administration.
Reposted by Jessica Stark
Wow!
Covid vaccine development and delivery cost $79.4 billion, but the health and economic benefits of vaccination were valued between $4.83 trillion–$37.8 trillion.
A return on investment of $59.8–$475 per dollar invested!!
This is why vaccine equity matters!
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Covid vaccine development and delivery cost $79.4 billion, but the health and economic benefits of vaccination were valued between $4.83 trillion–$37.8 trillion.
A return on investment of $59.8–$475 per dollar invested!!
This is why vaccine equity matters!
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
The global return-on-investment of COVID-19 vaccines in the first year of the vaccination programme
COVID-19 vaccines played a critical role in reducing global health burden during the COVID-19 pandemic, but their rapid development required extraordinary effort. This study aims to evaluate their glo...
www.medrxiv.org
September 7, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Wow!
Covid vaccine development and delivery cost $79.4 billion, but the health and economic benefits of vaccination were valued between $4.83 trillion–$37.8 trillion.
A return on investment of $59.8–$475 per dollar invested!!
This is why vaccine equity matters!
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Covid vaccine development and delivery cost $79.4 billion, but the health and economic benefits of vaccination were valued between $4.83 trillion–$37.8 trillion.
A return on investment of $59.8–$475 per dollar invested!!
This is why vaccine equity matters!
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Jessica Stark
#ThrowbackThursday: In 1980 the 🌍🌎🌏 was declared #smallpox free, thanks to mass vaccination efforts.
Smallpox was an acute contagious disease caused by the variola virus. It was one of the most devastating diseases known to humanity. #VaccinesWork
Smallpox was an acute contagious disease caused by the variola virus. It was one of the most devastating diseases known to humanity. #VaccinesWork
August 28, 2025 at 9:17 AM
#ThrowbackThursday: In 1980 the 🌍🌎🌏 was declared #smallpox free, thanks to mass vaccination efforts.
Smallpox was an acute contagious disease caused by the variola virus. It was one of the most devastating diseases known to humanity. #VaccinesWork
Smallpox was an acute contagious disease caused by the variola virus. It was one of the most devastating diseases known to humanity. #VaccinesWork
"The ideas and technologies that are being destroyed today, ... some of them irreversibly, those are the cures that would have been present 20 years from now."
"It’s people who will get cancer in 10, 20, or 30 years who will really pay the price for these cuts."
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...
"It’s people who will get cancer in 10, 20, or 30 years who will really pay the price for these cuts."
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...
Opinion | America First? Not When It Comes to Your Health.
www.nytimes.com
August 24, 2025 at 9:31 PM
"The ideas and technologies that are being destroyed today, ... some of them irreversibly, those are the cures that would have been present 20 years from now."
"It’s people who will get cancer in 10, 20, or 30 years who will really pay the price for these cuts."
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...
"It’s people who will get cancer in 10, 20, or 30 years who will really pay the price for these cuts."
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...
Reposted by Jessica Stark
Spending a few days with intramural researcher at NIH has me thinking about the old Bell Labs, the storied research institute where major breakthroughs in physics, chemistry and mat sci (and associated @nobelprize.bsky.social awards) were made in the 70s-80s 1/n
June 13, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Spending a few days with intramural researcher at NIH has me thinking about the old Bell Labs, the storied research institute where major breakthroughs in physics, chemistry and mat sci (and associated @nobelprize.bsky.social awards) were made in the 70s-80s 1/n
Reposted by Jessica Stark
Federal science cuts aren’t just halting medical research or disrupting clinical trials. They are already costing us $8.1 billion and 35,000 jobs. The projected loss is $16 billion and 68,000 jobs every year. This reaches every corner of America.
scienceimpacts.org
scienceimpacts.org
SCIMaP - Impacts of Federal Cuts to Science and Medical Research
Developed by an interdisciplinary research team, this website shows how funding cuts reduce economic activity and employment nationwide
scienceimpacts.org
June 13, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Federal science cuts aren’t just halting medical research or disrupting clinical trials. They are already costing us $8.1 billion and 35,000 jobs. The projected loss is $16 billion and 68,000 jobs every year. This reaches every corner of America.
scienceimpacts.org
scienceimpacts.org
Reposted by Jessica Stark
“As the Trump administration continues to drastically defund and dismantle basic science in America, the United States is presenting other countries with opportunities to take the lead …” writes H. Holden Thorp in a new #ScienceEditorial. scim.ag/43R82B5
June 9, 2025 at 4:15 PM
“As the Trump administration continues to drastically defund and dismantle basic science in America, the United States is presenting other countries with opportunities to take the lead …” writes H. Holden Thorp in a new #ScienceEditorial. scim.ag/43R82B5
Reposted by Jessica Stark
Reposted by Jessica Stark
The gutting of US biomedical research with loss of ~2,500 grants affecting research for cancer, Alzheimer’s, infectious disease, global health and much more
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
June 4, 2025 at 2:03 PM
The gutting of US biomedical research with loss of ~2,500 grants affecting research for cancer, Alzheimer’s, infectious disease, global health and much more
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Jessica Stark
Where was this important 1st randomized trial performed?
China
Where are 8 of the 10 most productive research institutions in the world as of March 2025?
China
nature.com/nature-index...
What country is radically defunding research and will lose its competitiveness?
USA
China
Where are 8 of the 10 most productive research institutions in the world as of March 2025?
China
nature.com/nature-index...
What country is radically defunding research and will lose its competitiveness?
USA
June 2, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Where was this important 1st randomized trial performed?
China
Where are 8 of the 10 most productive research institutions in the world as of March 2025?
China
nature.com/nature-index...
What country is radically defunding research and will lose its competitiveness?
USA
China
Where are 8 of the 10 most productive research institutions in the world as of March 2025?
China
nature.com/nature-index...
What country is radically defunding research and will lose its competitiveness?
USA
MIT ACCESS is an opportunity for undergraduates to explore cutting-edge research and graduate education in science and engineering. See for yourself what grad life is like at MIT!
Applications open June 1: access.mit.edu
@mitdeptofbe.bsky.social @mitcheme.bsky.social @mitchemistry.bsky.social
Applications open June 1: access.mit.edu
@mitdeptofbe.bsky.social @mitcheme.bsky.social @mitchemistry.bsky.social
MIT ACCESS – Opening doors and promoting diversity in science and engineering
access.mit.edu
May 30, 2025 at 9:38 PM
MIT ACCESS is an opportunity for undergraduates to explore cutting-edge research and graduate education in science and engineering. See for yourself what grad life is like at MIT!
Applications open June 1: access.mit.edu
@mitdeptofbe.bsky.social @mitcheme.bsky.social @mitchemistry.bsky.social
Applications open June 1: access.mit.edu
@mitdeptofbe.bsky.social @mitcheme.bsky.social @mitchemistry.bsky.social
Reposted by Jessica Stark
On a day when all research grants at Harvard were terminated, and in a context where Congress seems to broadly accept the notion that destroying science and health research in the US is fine, it’s worth noting that this is not what the public wants.
The American public is broadly supportive of maintaining federal science and medical research funding, and against punishing universities by taking their funding away, according to a new poll:
Few support punitive funding cuts to colleges and universities - AP-NORC
Most of the public believes that colleges and universities make significant contributions to scientific and technological advancement and think their federal research funding should be maintained.
apnorc.org
May 15, 2025 at 9:54 PM
On a day when all research grants at Harvard were terminated, and in a context where Congress seems to broadly accept the notion that destroying science and health research in the US is fine, it’s worth noting that this is not what the public wants.
Reposted by Jessica Stark
Go beyond the ABCs of ADCs! Join us for the 23rd Annual @kochinstitute Symposium on Antibody Drug Conjugates, June 27th! Our keynote speaker is Nobel-prize winner @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social of @stanford.edu & an array of industry and academic leaders. Register: mit-ki.org/4lfoxiz
May 13, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Go beyond the ABCs of ADCs! Join us for the 23rd Annual @kochinstitute Symposium on Antibody Drug Conjugates, June 27th! Our keynote speaker is Nobel-prize winner @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social of @stanford.edu & an array of industry and academic leaders. Register: mit-ki.org/4lfoxiz
Reposted by Jessica Stark
youtu.be/aXdoExz_cd4?...
The anti-vaccine movement has been so successful that children are now dying from preventable infections.
The anti-vaccine movement has been so successful that children are now dying from preventable infections.
Beyond the Noise #64: Anti-vaxxers, the dog that caught the car
YouTube video by MicrobeTV
youtu.be
May 12, 2025 at 9:59 AM
youtu.be/aXdoExz_cd4?...
The anti-vaccine movement has been so successful that children are now dying from preventable infections.
The anti-vaccine movement has been so successful that children are now dying from preventable infections.
Enjoyed discussing the interface of glycobiology and immunology with @mitcheme.bsky.social colleague Brandon Dekosky on The Chain podcast. Looking forward to sharing our work at #PEGSummit next month!
@mitdeptofbe.bsky.social @mitkochinstitute.bsky.social
www.healthtech.com/the-chain/pe...
@mitdeptofbe.bsky.social @mitkochinstitute.bsky.social
www.healthtech.com/the-chain/pe...
Episode 71 PEGS Young Scientist Keynote Jessica Stark on the Role of Glycans in Cancer Research
April 15, 2025 | In this episode of The Chain, host Brandon DeKosky, associate professor, speaks with MIT colleague Jessica Stark, Underwood-Prescott career development professor, about glycans and wh...
www.healthtech.com
April 16, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Enjoyed discussing the interface of glycobiology and immunology with @mitcheme.bsky.social colleague Brandon Dekosky on The Chain podcast. Looking forward to sharing our work at #PEGSummit next month!
@mitdeptofbe.bsky.social @mitkochinstitute.bsky.social
www.healthtech.com/the-chain/pe...
@mitdeptofbe.bsky.social @mitkochinstitute.bsky.social
www.healthtech.com/the-chain/pe...
Great summary of last month's senate forum on what cuts to NIH funding mean for Americans: fewer treatments and fewer cures for diseases that collectively affect us all. Worth the ~12 min watch!
April 14, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Great summary of last month's senate forum on what cuts to NIH funding mean for Americans: fewer treatments and fewer cures for diseases that collectively affect us all. Worth the ~12 min watch!
Yesterday we celebrated @mitdeptofbe.bsky.social PhD student Brian Cho, who received an honorable mention in this year's #NSFGRFP competition. Brian's work promises to shed new light on the adaptive immune response to glycans and glycoproteins. Congratulations! 🍾
April 9, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Yesterday we celebrated @mitdeptofbe.bsky.social PhD student Brian Cho, who received an honorable mention in this year's #NSFGRFP competition. Brian's work promises to shed new light on the adaptive immune response to glycans and glycoproteins. Congratulations! 🍾
Reposted by Jessica Stark
"The vaccine provides close to 100% protection against infections and pre-cancers caused by certain types of HPV. That is remarkable."
Effective cancer prevention. www.voicesforvaccines.org/hpv-vaccine-...
Effective cancer prevention. www.voicesforvaccines.org/hpv-vaccine-...
HPV Vaccine is Cancer Prevention
A couple of years ago I was waiting in a clinic to see my physician for a normal well check. When a nurse I had never met came in to check my vitals, she started with small talk. “How are you doing…
www.voicesforvaccines.org
April 5, 2025 at 5:33 PM
"The vaccine provides close to 100% protection against infections and pre-cancers caused by certain types of HPV. That is remarkable."
Effective cancer prevention. www.voicesforvaccines.org/hpv-vaccine-...
Effective cancer prevention. www.voicesforvaccines.org/hpv-vaccine-...
Reposted by Jessica Stark
Peter Marks’s resignation letter. Everyone should read this.
March 29, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Peter Marks’s resignation letter. Everyone should read this.
Looking forward to representing @mitdeptofbe.bsky.social and @mitkochinstitute.bsky.social at #AACRIO! Thanks @theaacr.bsky.social for highlighting our work on glycans as emerging targets for cancer immunotherapy, just one of many exciting stories on the agenda:
www.aacr.org/about-the-aa...
www.aacr.org/about-the-aa...
AACR IO: Revolutionizing Treatment through Immunotherapy
The AACR’s immuno-oncology meeting in Los Angeles, Feb. 23-26, 2025, brings together the leading experts in immunotherapy to accelerate progress in cancer science and medicine.
www.aacr.org
February 18, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Looking forward to representing @mitdeptofbe.bsky.social and @mitkochinstitute.bsky.social at #AACRIO! Thanks @theaacr.bsky.social for highlighting our work on glycans as emerging targets for cancer immunotherapy, just one of many exciting stories on the agenda:
www.aacr.org/about-the-aa...
www.aacr.org/about-the-aa...
More good news from our team: @mitdeptofbe.bsky.social PhD student Tran Luu is one of this year's MIT-Accenture Fellows, recognized for her efforts to understand how glycans mediate immune tolerance in cancer. Learn more about Tran's work here: convergence.mit.edu/fellowships/
Congratulations! 🍾
Congratulations! 🍾
February 14, 2025 at 8:10 PM
More good news from our team: @mitdeptofbe.bsky.social PhD student Tran Luu is one of this year's MIT-Accenture Fellows, recognized for her efforts to understand how glycans mediate immune tolerance in cancer. Learn more about Tran's work here: convergence.mit.edu/fellowships/
Congratulations! 🍾
Congratulations! 🍾