Meet Mass General's POD People!
This year’s Celebration of Science at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) started with a poster session that featured 250+ posters from research staff and trainees. From this impressive group, MGH judges selected 24 finalists to give a brief oral presentation on their paper. From those finalists, 12 Poster of Distinction winners were selected.
Each of the winners received $1,000 that they can use to support travel to a scientific conference or meeting. In this series, you’ll meet the 2025 Poster of Distinction winners (who we have affectionately nicknamed the POD People) and learn more about them and their research.
In this Q&A, you’ll meet Alexander Jucht, an MD-PhD student in the lab of Mario Suva, MD, PhD, at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he studies single-cell genomics in brain cancers such as glioblastoma.
Outside of the lab, Alexander enjoys reading and going to the gym. In the winters, he is happiest hiking and skiing in the alps back home in Switzerland and spends his summers playing tennis and golf.
Can you give us a quick elevator pitch for your poster?
My work aims to better understand the metabolic needs and vulnerabilities of glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer.
What inspired this research?
Glioblastoma is a terrible disease, resembling more a multi-headed hydra than a single disease. Despite the identification of four distinct cellular states, we still know very little about their underlying biology.
By studying the structure of these different cells and how they interact, we have identified a potential vulnerability—metabolism—that could be targeted for treatment.
Essentially, if we can disrupt the pathways that cancer cells use to produce energy, we may be able to eliminate them.
Was there a moment when things didn’t go as planned? How did you navigate it?
Was there a moment when things did? This project has definitely been a challenge from the start, but I’m grateful to be in a fantastic lab surrounded by an extremely supportive professor and group of colleagues.
What’s a fun or surprising fact about your research not included in your poster?
Glioblastoma cells have an astonishing capacity for self-renewal: if you let even one type of cell survive your treatment, it will recreate the initial tumor diversity within a week.
This has shaped our lab’s approach to brain cancer: we must understand this plasticity to be able to target all cells within the tumor.
If you could invite one scientist—living or historical—to view your poster, who would it be and why?
I’d invite Otto Warburg, who first uncovered how cancer cells rewire their metabolism—a discovery so fundamental it still carries his name.
I think he’d be amazed that we can now measure hundreds of metabolites on a single cell resolution, directly within patient tumors—something that would’ve seemed like science fiction in his time.
What's your go-to order at a coffee shop?
If I’m at a coffee shop before noon, I’ll order a cappuccino. The rest of the time, I survive off home-brewed espresso that I spend way too much time and effort optimizing.
Be honest—how many computer tabs do you have open (on average) per day?
Too many, but I won’t say how many of those are directly related to my immediate work.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
Despite the best efforts of other postdocs in the lab, I have managed to avoid karaoke so far. It’s in everyone’s best interest that I don’t sing.
Research at Mass General Brigham
At Mass General Brigham, research isn’t just about discovery—it’s about transforming patient care worldwide.
With a community of more than 3,700 Principal Investigators and 16,000 scientists, we are pioneering discoveries in fields ranging from AI and gene therapy to cancer, neuroscience, and global health.
Through collaboration, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of knowledge, we turn groundbreaking ideas into real-world impact. Follow us for the latest research insights, clinical advancements, and stories of discovery from across Mass General Brigham.
Leave a Comment