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.
Jan 02, 2019...
Tumor heterogeneity, clonal evolution and therapy resistance revealed using single-cell profiling of multiple myeloma patients. Illustration by Noa Godin/Weizmann Institute of Science
Israeli researchers have developed a new technology that profiles the genetic makeup of cancerous cells, allowing for better diagnosis and treatment.
Multiple myeloma is the second most-common type of blood cancer. Multiple myeloma occurs when plasma cells in the bone marrow – the cells that produce antibodies – proliferate out of control and lead to organ failure and death.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/p53-and-personalized-medicine/
Jan 06, 2010...
As a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 30 years ago, Prof. Varda Rotter was among the first scientists to study a little-known gene called p53. "We didn't know then that it was going to turn out to be so important for cancer research," she says.
It was during those early days of her research in the laboratory of microbiologist and Nobel laureate David Baltimore that she realized, she says, "that science is one of the most exciting things one can do—you can really pursue your dreams."
Dec 22, 2015... The Weizmann Institute of Science's Moross Integrated Cancer Center (MICC) aims to revolutionize cancer prevention, detection, and treatments. Several of the senior scientists involved with the MICC – Prof. Zvi Livneh, Prof. Moshe Oren, Dr. Tamar Paz-Elizur, Dr. Eran Elinav, and Dr. Ayelet Erez – discuss directions in cancer prevention research.
Sep 22, 2015... September is both Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. In the U.S., prostate cancer is the most common cancer (after skin cancer) in men: about 1 in 7 will be diagnosed during his lifetime. However, as the American Cancer Society points out, prostate cancer is now quite treatable, and “most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die from it.” But there is still progress to be made: for example, current treatments can have undesirable side effects, such as erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.The situation with ovarian cancer is rather reversed. It is far less common – a woman’s risk of being diagnosed is about 1 in 75 – but has much lower survival rates, largely because it is difficult to detect until it has spread. The American Cancer Society reports that only 15% of ovarian cancers are found and treated at the crucial early stages. Development of a reliable way to diagnose ovarian cancer is vital, as is a greater understanding of its tendency to aggressively metastasize and resist treatment. Fortunately, multiple research groups at the Weizmann Institute of Science are investigating prostate and ovarian cancers. Here are just some of their advances:
Sep 13, 2019...
Illustrative photo of a doctor with a cancer patient (via Shutterstock)
Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have found that diversity in cancer cells causes the cancers to be less responsive to immunotherapies — treatments that harness the immune system to tackle the devastating disease.
The Weizmann researchers say their findings indicate that heterogeneity of the cancer cells should be taken into account when trying to understand whether a patient will benefit from immunotherapies.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/rare-genetic-defect-may-lead-to-cancer-drug/
May 18, 2017...
Dr. Ayelet Erez says that rare genetic diseases provide a lens on cancer
The path to understanding what goes wrong in cancer could benefit from a detour through studies of rare childhood diseases. Dr. Ayelet Erez explains that cancer generally involves dozens – if not hundreds – of mutations, and sorting out the various functions and malfunctions of each may be nearly impossible. Rare childhood diseases, in contrast, generally involve mutations to a single gene.
Oct 01, 2017...
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and people everywhere are running, walking, and even shopping in support – and, at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, investigating, researching, and pursuing creative new ways to attack this still-insidious, too-common disease.
The Weizmann Institute has a history of successfully fighting breast cancer; for example, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation supported early Weizmann research that helped develop Herceptin® (trastuzumab), one of the first – and most widely used – breast cancer drugs on the market. Today, thanks to the Institute’s new Moross Integrated Cancer Center, which will enable highly specific focus on individual cancers, breast cancer research will become ever more advanced and personalized.Here are just a few of our current investigations into breast cancer:
May 01, 2007...
New techniques developed by Weizmann Institute scientists in Rehovot, Israel, to study molecules in action may hold the key to cures for cancer and Alzheimer's disease. In fact, the first steps have already been taken to minimize the uncontrolled proliferation and spread of cancer cells.
At first glance, cancer and Alzheimer's disease appear to have little in common. Cancer is a group of over a hundred diseases in which cells grow out of control and spread throughout the body. Alzheimer's is a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by the abnormal buildup of protein in the brain. The common link between the diseases is the role played by enzymes called proteases, which cut long strands of protein into fragments. Cancer cells secrete proteases that dissolve collagen, creating holes in the surrounding cell matrix that enable the cancer cells to bulldoze their way through tissue and into other cells. In Alzheimer's disease, insoluble fragments of a protein snipped from a larger protein by proteases accumulate in the brain, interfering with cognitive function and memory.
Sep 14, 2017...
Bacteria, in green, inside a pancreatic cancer cell
Cancers have unwitting allies: the healthy cells that surround them. Several groups of scientists have now found that normal cells can inadvertently release substances that shield their malignant neighbors from anticancer drugs. That would explain why even targeted therapies—smart drugs that are meant to hit the specific genetic faults behind various cancers—sometimes stumble right out of the gate. When pitted against isolated cancer cells in laboratory tests, they perform as expected. But when pitted against actual tumors, which enjoy a kind of innate resistance because of the healthy cells around them, the drugs can fail.
Nov 16, 2017...
Pancreatic cancer cells. Anne Weston/Wellcome Images
Pancreatic cancer is deadly: It’s difficult to detect and bedeviling to treat. Just 20 percent of patients survive a year after diagnosis. Less than 10 percent make it to the five-year mark.
But recent discoveries — both in the lab and in patients — are raising hope. They’re still early stage. Yet they offer new insight into the causes and progression of the disease — and they may ultimately help doctors better detect, and treat, this difficult cancer.
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