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 future of humanity.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/looking-back-looking-forward/
Apr 11, 2016... In a place that fosters curiosity and the pursuit of "what if," where scientists come to work every day with the knowledge that anything can happen, astounding discoveries are realized on a regular basis. That place is the Weizmann Institute of Science, where accomplishments are so remarkable and varied that, at times, we need to pause and take it all in. The beginning of a new year is just such a time.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/one-patent-three-drugs/
Mar 16, 2016...
A protocol that arose from Weizmann Institute of Science research has led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a new biological drug for the treatment of a certain form of lung cancer. This is the third cancer drug to be developed on the basis of studies conducted by the Department of Immunology’s Prof. Michael Sela and colleagues.
Prof. Michael Sela
All three drugs are antibodies that block a receptor called the epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR. This receptor, which is on the surface of cells, plays a role in the formation and spread of cancerous tumors. Used in combination with chemotherapy or radiation, blocking EGFR may prevent cancer from growing. Prof. Sela and colleagues Drs. Esther Aboud-Pirak and Esther Hurwitz discovered, a number of years ago, that EGFR-inhibiting antibodies produce a synergistic anticancer effect when used together with chemotherapy.
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.
Jan 18, 2016...
Drugs which are already available on the NHS may help Alzheimer's patients, scientists believe Photo: Alamy
Cancer drugs already available on the NHS may help reverse Alzheimer’s disease by boosting the immune system, scientists believe.
A range of immunotherapy treatments, which harness the body’s own defences to ward off tumours are already revolutionising cancer care.
But now scientists believe that a similar immune boost could help people with dementia.
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:
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:
Jun 07, 2006...
Between April 2004 and February 2005, 28 men with prostate cancer showed up at three Canadian hospitals for one-time injections of an experimental drug designed to eradicate their deadly tumors. Radiation had already failed them.
By December tumors in the earliest-treated patients had shrunk by as much as 84%. But the real test began in March, when doctors started studying tissue samples. If they find the tumors are gone or reduced to a manageable level, it may indicate that the drug is reliable over time, and researchers could be on their way to a radical advancement in localized prostate cancer treatment.
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.
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