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.
Oct 18, 2021...
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time that is typically packed with runs, walks, and other events. While this year is different due to the coronavirus, stepping up to support and advance the science is as important as ever.
Breast cancer research is actively underway at the Weizmann Institute of Science, with researchers applying their formidable skills to improve understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of this still-too-common disease. Working in collaboration with oncologists and other medical professionals around the world, Institute scientists are continually making groundbreaking progress, demonstrating the role that curiosity-driven, interdisciplinary science plays in the battle against breast cancer. Just a few of the innovative projects taking place right now include:
Sep 23, 2021...
Although only around five out of every 100,000 people suffer from blood cancer, the disease is among the most serious and deadly.
An estimated 68,000 people die from blood cancer each year in the United States alone, according to the Leukemia Research Foundation. The statistics in Israel are unknown.
But new and innovative treatments are being explored, according to Dr. Martin Ellis, Chairman of the Israel Society of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/spotting-hotspots-for-cancer-immunotherapy/
Nov 18, 2021...
Immunotherapy has a great deal of potential for cancer patients, but for it to work, the immune system must be able to spot the tumor. Fortunately, new research by Weizmann’s own Prof. Yardena Samuels and her team is helping to do just that, and it could lead to off-the-shelf therapies being developed for entire groups of patients.
Prof. Samuels, her PhD student Dr. Aviyah Peri and their colleagues have now developed a method for identifying cancer “hotspots,” which are features that are common to many tumors and can therefore be used to develop effective immunotherapy for entire groups of patients. The researchers have already used the method to identify a hotspot characteristic of a particularly aggressive form of melanoma in one major subset of patients.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/antibodies-fight-cancer-too/
Mar 23, 2022...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 23, 2022—Immunotherapies for cancer rely on recruiting the patient’s immune system, but they still fall far short of tapping into the entire arsenal of the body’s natural defenses. In fact, most such therapies draw on one type of immune defense: the ability of T cells to battle the tumor.
A new study at the Weizmann Institute of Science, published in Cell, paves the way toward an immunotherapy that will exploit a different, previously unused immune system weapon: naturally produced antibodies.
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