[1] Lowe entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with an interest in oncogene cooperation in carcinogenesis,[2] and went on to earn his PhD studying the role of p53 in cancer development.

[3] While at MIT, he showed that the tumor suppressor p53 is required for the cell death program that occurs in response to cytotoxic agents such as ionizing radiation and DNA-damaging chemotherapies.

A key outcome of this research was the discovery of a process known as oncogene-induced senescence, which is now a well-established tumor suppressive program.

[2] His laboratory's findings related to the p53 gene mutation status and responsiveness of a tumor to chemotherapy was among the pieces of evidence that ushered in the era of personalized cancer medicine.

[5] In collaboration with Gregory Hannon and Stephen Elledge, he has made extensive use of RNA interference to study the roles of tumor suppressor genes.