About

Michael J. Cima is the David H. Koch Professor of Engineering and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. He is also the Faculty Director of the Lemelson-MIT Program. His research focuses on materials and engineered systems aimed at improving human health, including treatments for cancer, metabolic diseases, trauma, and urological disorders. His work encompasses advanced forming technologies for complex macro and micro devices, colloid science, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), and other micro components used in medical devices for drug delivery and diagnostics. Additionally, he develops methods for formulations of materials and pharmaceutical formulations. Professor Cima is a co-inventor of MIT’s three-dimensional printing process and has contributed to the development of chemically derived epitaxial oxide films for high-temperature superconductor coatings. His research includes developing implantable MEMS devices for precise control in pharmaceutical delivery and diagnostic systems.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Neuroscience
• Pathology
• Internal medicine
• Physics
• Biology
• Computer Science
• Biomedical engineering
• Virology
• Anatomy
• Endocrinology
• Psychology
• Demography
• Radiology
• Engineering
• Materials science
• Nuclear magnetic resonance
• Cell biology
• Pediatrics

Selected publications

• Region-specific proteomic profiling of brain interstitial fluid <i>via</i> a micro-invasive sampling platform

  Lab on a Chip · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Interstitial fluid (ISF) within the brain parenchyma contains secreted factors related to brain function, metabolism, and neurodegenerative disorders. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is commonly sampled due to its accessibility in well-defined spaces, but it does not fully capture the diversity of the brain secreted proteome. The brain is remarkably heterogeneous on a millimeter scale or smaller, and the secreted proteome likely reflects that heterogeneity. Traditional methods like cerebral microdialysis suffer from recovery loss and tissue damage due to semipermeable membranes and large probe sizes. This study develops a micro-invasive, membrane-free platform for ISF sampling, enabling mass spectrometry analysis of small sample volumes with high spatial resolution and minimal tissue damage. Also, this platform collects samples within approximately 15 minutes, representing a major reduction in sampling time compared to microdialysis. We analyzed proteomic profiles of ISF from the nucleus accumbens and substantia nigra, revealing significant differences in protein abundance and composition indicative of their biological functions. We also compared ISF with CSF and found significantly more proteins associated with brain-specific functions, such as synaptic transmission and vesicle-mediated transport. This novel ISF sampling method can enhance clinical liquid biopsy techniques for brain diseases and provides insights into distinct molecular profiles of different brain regions.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Magnetic Relaxation Sensor for Volume Status Measurements Among Hemodialysis Patients

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• INNV-33. Investigative needle core biopsies support multimodal deep-data generation in glioblastoma

  Neuro-Oncology · 2025-11-01

  article

  Abstract INTRODUCTION Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive primary brain cancer with few effective therapies. Standard endpoints such as overall survival, progression free survival or radiology are coarse markers of treatment response, and there is a strong need to improve the current understanding of how the tumor, host immune system and tumor microenvironment respond to therapies. Currently, few opportunities exist to obtain additional tissue samples to understand tumor responses apart from initial surgery. This lack of visibility into tumor and immune co-evolution under treatment is a fundamental limitation in our ability to develop and advance new GBM therapies. Stereotactic needle biopsies are routinely used for diagnosis; however, the feasibility and utility of investigative biopsies to monitor treatment response remains ill-defined. OBJECTIVE The goal of the present study was the investigate the feasibility of performing highly resolved multi-omics analyses on routine stereotactic biopsy samples obtained during surgery. METHODS Single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, metabolomics, proteomics, phosphoproteomics, T-cell clonotype analysis, and MHC Class I immunopeptidomics was performed on standard biopsy tissue obtained intra-operatively. We also examine biopsies taken from different locations and provide a framework for measuring spatial and genomic heterogeneity. Finally, we investigate the utility of stereotactic biopsies as a method for generating patient-derived xenograft (PDX)models RESULTS Optimized workflows resulted in sufficient yield to perform single cell RNA sequencing of biopsy samples and matched spatial proteomic profiling. MHC Class I immunopeptidomics and phosphoproteomics was generated and cross referenced to single cell gene expression data. Spatial proteomics data was integrated with single cell RNA sequencing and spatial metabolomics data. Multi-modal dataset integration highlights spatially mapped immune cell-associated metabolic pathways and validates inferred cell-cell ligand-receptor interactions. Intra- and inter-regional biopsy variance was also quantified. Finally, patient derived xenografts were generated using needle core biopsies. CONCLUSION In conclusion, investigative biopsies provide data-rich insight into disease processes and will likely play an increasingly important role in evaluating treatment responses going forward.

  PublisherDOI

• Serial multiomics uncovers anti-glioblastoma responses not evident by routine clinical analyses

  Science Translational Medicine · 2025-10-08 · 10 citations

  article

  Recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM) remains incurable. One barrier to the development of effective rGBM therapies is the difficulty in collecting posttreatment tumor tissue. Serial multiomic assays from longitudinal rGBM biopsies may uncover tumor responses to a treatment. Here, we obtained 97 serial rGBM biopsy cores over 4 months from the first two patients participating in a clinical trial of repeated intratumoral dosing of the immunotherapeutic agent CAN-3110. Multiomic analysis of the biopsy cores revealed therapeutic effects, including longitudinal and spatial reshaping of the rGBM's microenvironment, expansion of new T cell tissue-resident effector memory clonotypes against CAN-3110 epitopes and other undetermined antigens, and expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-presented immunopeptides, including cancer testis antigens. Moreover, serial integrated multimodal analyses provided evidence of therapeutic responses to CAN-3110 despite traditional magnetic resonance imaging indicating progression. Clinically, the two treated patients achieved a pathologic response or stable clinical disease, respectively. These results show the value of longitudinal tissue sampling to understand rGBM's evolution during administration of an investigational therapy.

  PublisherDOI

• Dis-impede the Achievement of Euvolemia in Kidney Failure

  Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology · 2024-12-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Intracerebral delivery of antiseizure medications by microinvasive neural implants

  Brain · 2024-09-06 · 5 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Focal epilepsy is a difficult disease to treat as two-thirds of patients will not respond to oral anti-seizure medications (ASMs) or have severe off-target effects that lead to drug discontinuation. Current non-pharmaceutical treatment methods (resection or ablation) are underutilized due to the associated morbidities, invasive nature and inaccessibility of seizure foci. Less invasive non-ablative modalities may potentially offer an alternative. Targeting the seizure focus in this way may avoid unassociated critical brain structures to preserve function and alleviate seizure burden. Here we report use of an implantable, miniaturized neural drug delivery system [microinvasive neural implant infusion platform (MINI)] to administer ASMs directly to the seizure focus in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy. We examined the effect local delivery of phenobarbital and valproate had on focal seizures, as well as adverse effects, and compared this to systemic delivery. We show that local delivery of phenobarbital and valproate using our chronic implants significantly reduced focal seizures at all doses given. Furthermore, we show that local delivery of these compounds resulted in no adverse effects to motor function, whereas systemic delivery resulted in significant motor impairment. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of ASM micro dosing to the epileptic focus as a treatment option for people with drug resistant epilepsy. This technology could also be applied to a variety of disease states, enabling a deeper understanding of focal drug delivery in the treatment of neurological disorders.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Rapid Fluid Assessment in Patients on Hemodialysis Using Portable Single-Sided Magnetic Resonance Sensor

  Journal of the American Society of Nephrology · 2024-10-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Microdosing of a kappa opioid receptor agonist within proximal nucleus accumbens shell microstructures revealing opposing behavioral outcomes

  Neuroscience · 2024-10-28 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Single-sided magnetic resonance-based sensor for point-of-care evaluation of muscle

  Nature Communications · 2024-01-10 · 16 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Magnetic resonance imaging is a widespread clinical tool for the detection of soft tissue morphology and pathology. However, the clinical deployment of magnetic resonance imaging scanners is ultimately limited by size, cost, and space constraints. Here, we discuss the design and performance of a low-field single-sided magnetic resonance sensor intended for point-of-care evaluation of skeletal muscle in vivo. The 11 kg sensor has a penetration depth of >8 mm, which allows for an accurate analysis of muscle tissue and can avoid signal from more proximal layers, including subcutaneous adipose tissue. Low operational power and shielding requirements are achieved through the design of a permanent magnet array and surface transceiver coil. The sensor can acquire high signal-to-noise measurements in minutes, making it practical as a point-of-care tool for many quantitative diagnostic measurements, including T2 relaxometry. In this work, we present the in vitro and human in vivo performance of the device for muscle tissue evaluation.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• PO-2073 Oxygen sensitivity of a silicone based magnetic resonance contrast agent

  Radiotherapy and Oncology · 2023-05-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant U54CA151884

  NIH · $8.9M · 2016

• Micro-invasive biochemical sampling of brain interstitial fluid for investigating neural pathology

  NIH · $2.5M · 2020–2024

• NIH Grant R21DK081783

  NIH · $402k · 2011

• Implantable device for high-throughput in vivo drug sensitivity testing

  NIH · $647k · 2014–2017

• A New Device for Electrical & Chemical Modulation of Pathological Neural Activity

  NIH · $5.5M · 2013–2019

Frequent coauthors

• Róbert Langer

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  90 shared

• Emanuel M. Sachs

  42 shared

• Ann M. Graybiel

  McGovern Institute for Brain Research

  35 shared

• Wendell E. Rhine

  Aspen Aerogels (United States)

  32 shared

• Lee Josephson

  Harvard University

  28 shared

• Raymond C. Chiu

  Materials Processing (United States)

  28 shared

• Oliver Jonas

  Brigham and Women's Hospital

  27 shared

• Jennifer A. Lewis

  24 shared

Labs

• The Cima LabPI

Education

• Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1990

• M.S., Materials Science and Engineering

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1985

• B.S., Materials Science and Engineering

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1983

Awards & honors

• W. David Kingery Award, The American Ceramics Society (2019)
• Elected member, National Academy of Inventors (2016)
• Elected member, National Academy of Engineering (2011)
• Fellow, The American Ceramics Society