About Us
Founded in 1944, the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science develops philanthropic support for the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and advances its mission of science for the benefit of humanity.
How did scientists develop an effective vaccine for Covid-19 in less than a year? In this webinar, the American Committee welcomed Dr. Mikael Dolsten, Chief Scientific Officer and President, Worldwide Research, Development, and Medical at Pfizer. In conversation with former American Committee President and renowned AIDS researcher Dr. Jay Levy, Dr. Dolsten shed light on the breakthroughs that enabled his team, in collaboration with researchers around the world, to produce a viable vaccine at such an extraordinary speed. He also shared his own scientific journey, including the transformative semester he spent at the Weizmann Institute as a PhD student. During a dynamic Q&A led by CEO Dave Doneson, Dr. Dolsten discussed the role of basic science in advancing lifesaving technologies and treatments.
March 23, 2021
A year into Covid-related shutdowns, we are seeing a host of devastating impacts unrelated to the illness itself. One of these is hunger.
Food insecurity – lack of consistent access to sufficient, nutritious food – was a major public-health concern before the pandemic. Climate change’s extended droughts, destructive fires and storms, and rising waters are wiping out resources in many areas, notably India and Africa. Poverty is another contributing factor, particularly in cities with “food deserts” where it is hard to find fresh fruit and vegetables and other healthy options. (Interestingly, the World Bank reports that “children who are properly nourished during the first 1,000 days of their lives are 33% more likely to escape poverty as adults.”)
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 17, 2021—To observe how a tiny ball of identical cells on its way to becoming a mammalian embryo first attaches to an awaiting uterine wall and then develops into the nervous system, heart, stomach, and limbs: This has been a highly sought-after grail in the field of embryonic development for nearly 100 years. Now, Prof. Jacob Hanna of the Weizmann Institute of Science and his group have accomplished this feat. The method they created for growing mouse embryos outside the womb during the initial stages after embryo implantation will give researchers an unprecedented tool for understanding the development program encoded in the genes, and may provide detailed insights into birth and developmental defects as well as those involved in embryo implantation. The results were published in Nature.
March 17, 2021
The New York Times reports on Prof. Jacob Hanna’s recent breakthrough: growing embryonic mice outside a uterus. The work could shed light on birth defects, reduce need for animal research, and more.
March 17, 2021
Covid-19 is now, by some measures, the leading cause of death in the U.S., surpassing heart disease. Yet not only is heart disease not going away, its rates are expected to increase due to Covid; as the American Heart Association recently reported, Covid’s influence “will directly and indirectly impact rates of cardiovascular disease prevalence and deaths for years to come.”
While coronavirus research at the Weizmann Institute of Science continues full speed ahead, so does critical work on heart disease. February is American Heart Month, so we’d like to share current Weizmann Institute research on this most celebrated organ.
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 2, 2021—Our minds may be affected by winter’s long nights or spring and its flowers, but what about our bodies? A new study at the Weizmann Institute of Science reveals that our hormones also follow a seasonal pattern. By analyzing data on several types of hormones from millions of blood tests, the researchers discovered that some hormones peak in winter or spring and others in summer. This research, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), provides a broad, dynamic picture of hormone production – covering those connected to fertility, for example, but also hormones such as cortisol, which are mostly short-lived and not thought to be seasonal.
February 02, 2021
The Scientist features “another fantastic study” from Prof. Rotem Sorek. He and his team recently showed that retrons help bacteria fight infection, resolving a longstanding mystery.
February 01, 2021
The Jerusalem Post reports on research by Prof. Alon Chen’s lab, which mapped gene sequences to track how and where stress develops in order to devise better treatments of stress-related health problems.
January 29, 2021
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—January 27, 2021—Chronic stress could be the prevailing condition of our time. In the short term, our jaws or stomachs may clench; in the long term, stress can lead to metabolic disease and speed up diseases of aging, as well as leading to more serious psychological disorders. The physical manifestations of stress originate in the brain, and they move along a so-called “stress axis” that ends in the adrenal glands. These glands then produce the hormone cortisol. When the stress axis is continually activated, changes occur in the cells and organs along the way, and the continual production of cortisol then substantially contributes to the symptoms of chronic stress.
January 27, 2021
©2021 American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science