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.
Sep 12, 2018...
T cells (red) attacking melanoma cells (green). The neo-antigen-specific T cells in this image are especially effective at killing cancer cells
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—September 12, 2018—With new immunotherapy treatments for melanoma, recovery rates have risen dramatically – in some cases to around 50%. But they could be much higher. A new study led by researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science showed, in lab dishes and animal studies, that a highly personalized approach could help the immune cells improve their ability to recognize the cancer and kill it. The results of this study were published in Cancer Discovery.
Oct 16, 2019...
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and people across the world are helping raise awareness and support through runs, walks, events – and, at the Weizmann Institute of Science, through research.
Before breakthroughs in breast cancer research ever appear in the news or on the market, there are cadres of scientists working tirelessly to discover new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat this all-too-common disease. Here are some of our advances over just the past year:
Jul 25, 2018... Response to treatment in cancer cells: The abundance of the EGFR (top row) and HER2 (bottom row) receptors is reduced when the cells are exposed to triple therapy – Tagrisso®, Erbitux®, and Herceptin® (right column) and to the two antibodies, Erbitux® and Herceptin® (second from right column), but not when they are exposed to Tagrisso® alone (second column from left) or to no therapy at all (left column)
Oct 09, 2014...
It’s news to no one that your body works differently when you’re awake and when you’re sleeping. But could the different states also affect how your body processes certain life-saving drugs? Researchers, reporting Friday in the journal Nature Communications, found that when it comes to cancer drugs, the answer may be yes.
Researchers at the Weizmann Institute discovered – by happy accident – that some of the body’s molecular functions during the day may interfere with the effectiveness of certain cancer medication. Specifically, they found that the normal day-time production of some steroid hormones in the body actually inhibited the work of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors – which are the proteins targeted by a class of anti-cancer drugs. Tumor cells plant these receptors on their surfaces to attract nutrients that help them survive and grow. Drugs, including the breast cancer agent lapatinib, can block these receptors on tumors, and such medications are a popular way to treat breast cancers expressing epidermal growth factor.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/the-transformation/
Sep 15, 2014...
An experimental new drug can make some leukemic cells mature into healthier ones. Illustration by Brian Stauffer
For almost thirty years, William Kuhens worked on Staten Island as a basketball referee for the Catholic Youth Organization and other amateur leagues. At seventy, he was physically fit, taking part in twenty games a month. But in July of 2013 he began to lose weight and feel exhausted; his wife told him he looked pale. He saw his doctor, and tests revealed that his blood contained below-normal numbers of platelets and red and white blood cells; these are critical for, respectively, preventing bleeding, supplying oxygen, and combatting infection. Kuhens was sent to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in Manhattan, to meet with Eytan Stein, an expert in blood disorders. Stein found that as much as fifteen per cent of Kuhens’s bone marrow was made up of primitive, cancerous blood cells. “Mr. Kuhens was on the cusp of leukemia,” Stein told me recently. “It seemed that his disease was rapidly advancing.”
May 03, 2012...
Do you know that skin cancer is the most common form of cancer? And that it’s on the rise, with increased incidence over the last 30 years? In fact, the American Cancer Society estimates that, in 2013, almost 77,000 new melanomas will be diagnosed in the U.S. alone, and over 9,000 people will die of the disease.
While prevention and early screening are critical, fighting skin cancer once it develops is still a challenge. That’s why researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science are attacking skin cancer and melanoma from a number of angles, including:
Mar 24, 2019...
Trial-In CEO Nir Erez. (photo credit: Courtesy)
Working in the field of oncology was a case of love at first sight for Weizmann Institute of Science graduate Nir Erez.
In 2003, after completing his Master’s degree, Erez joined pharma giant Roche Pharmaceuticals (Israel), which specializes in the development and marketing of cancer drugs. There, he worked alongside leading oncologists, learned of breakthrough cancer treatments and the development and types of the disease.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/ema-approves-steba-s-prostate-cancer-drug/
Sep 25, 2017...
Raphael and Fabrice Harari
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended by a majority of 29-2 the approval for marketing of the Tookad drug for treatment of prostate cancer developed by Israeli company Steba Biotech. Tookad is a complex treatment, in which the patient takes a drug, but the drug is activated only in the area of the tumor, through the skin. The product, developed by Professor Avigdor Scherz and Dr. Yoram Salomon of the Weizmann Institute of Science, has already been approved for marketing and sale in Israel and Mexico.
Sep 17, 2018... September is both Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in the U.S., where 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.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/predicting-immunotherapy-success/
Feb 18, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 18, 2020—One of the frustrations with anti-cancer therapy is that no one drug fits all: Most work well in some people but have little effect in other patients with the same type of cancer. This is as true of the newer immunotherapy treatments as it is of older types of chemotherapy. Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have now identified new markers that can help predict which patients have a better chance for a positive response to immunotherapy treatments. Their findings were reported in Nature Communications.
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