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.
May 31, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—May 31, 2022—Ketamine, a well-known anesthetic used in smaller doses as a party drug, was hailed as a “new hope for depression” in a Time magazine cover story in 2017. Two years later, the arrival of the first ketamine-based antidepressant – the nasal spray esketamine, made by Johnson & Johnson – was applauded as the most exciting development in the treatment of mood disorders in decades. Yet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration still limits the spray’s use. It is mainly given to depressed patients who have not been helped by other therapies – in part, because the new drug’s mechanism of action is insufficiently understood, leading to concerns over its safety.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/new-hope-for-depression/
Jul 15, 2022...
According to the World Health Organization, depression afflicts nearly 300 million people worldwide. Yet despite decades of research, there are very few new treatments, and we still have so much to learn about how depression itself works.
A new study published in Neuron – conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science and at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany, in collaboration with the Helmholtz Zentrum, Munich – might lead to a better understanding of depression itself and increase the treatment options. These developments could help address two challenges that many people, and especially underrepresented groups, face when it comes to depression: stigma and lack of options for care. In honor of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, we want to acknowledge those unique challenges and share Weizmann research that provides new hope for depression.
Dec 29, 2022... Prof. Alon Chen, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science, has been awarded the 2022 Bennett Family Award for Collaboration in the Science of Wellness, along with Juan de Pablo, the Executive Vice President for Science, Innovation, National Laboratories, and Global Initiatives, and the Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. Each year, the Bennett Family Award will recognize individuals engaged in collaborative research, merging science and wellness for the advancement of human health.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/plant-research-reaches-a-new-high/
Apr 30, 2023... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—May 1, 2023—A South African plant called a woolly umbrella is completely unrelated to the cannabis plant, yet it makes a slew of the active compounds found in cannabis – cannabinoids – including some that may have new medical uses. In a study published today in Nature Plants, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers identified more than 40 cannabinoids in the woolly umbrella, and they revealed the series of biochemical steps the plant takes when it makes these compounds. The researchers also showed how these steps can be reproduced in the lab to synthesize or even engineer new cannabinoids.
©2023 American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science
FOR THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR
