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.
Jun 02, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 2, 2020—Cancer cells are comfy havens for bacteria. That conclusion arises from a rigorous study of over 1,000 tumor samples of different human cancers. The study, headed by researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, found bacteria living inside the cells of all the cancer types – from brain to bone to breast cancer – and even identified unique populations of bacteria residing in each type of cancer. The research suggests that understanding the relationship between a cancer cell and its “mini-microbiome” may help predict the potential effectiveness of certain treatments or may point, in the future, to ways of manipulating those bacteria to enhance the actions of anticancer treatments. The findings of this study were published in Science and featured on the cover.
Jul 16, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—July 16, 2020—Choosing the right drug for each cancer patient is key to successful treatment, but physicians currently have few reliable pointers to guide them in designing treatment protocols. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have now developed a new method for selecting the best drug therapy for a given tumor, based on assigning scores to the cells’ internal messaging activities. In addition to helping physicians choose from a list of existing treatments, the method can help identify new molecular targets for the development of future drugs. In fact, the researchers have already used it to single out a gene that can be targeted for effectively treating breast cancers with a BRCA mutation. The study was recently published in Nature Communications.
Sep 04, 2020...
Blood cancers are far too common, comprising almost 10% of new cancer diagnoses each year in the U.S. Almost every 10 minutes, an American succumbs to a blood cancer. Unfortunately, many of these are children.
That's why the Weizmann Institute of Science’s researchers are conducting innovative studies and taking novel approaches to blood cancers. September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month, and we’d like to share with you some of Weizmann’s current investigations.
Oct 06, 2020...
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:
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/the-cell-whisperer/
Nov 21, 2020... These are coronavirus days, and very few people can be seen in the narrow corridors of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. We’re in the molecular immunology laboratory, located in one of the institute’s old buildings. It’s a simple place, the instruments are banal and dull. It looks like any lab in the world, one of thousands. But a miracle is occurring between the walls here. In the small details. The smallest.
Dec 16, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—December 16, 2020—Cancers like melanoma are hard to treat, not least because they have a varied bag of tricks for defeating or evading treatments. Now, a combined research effort by the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, and the University of Oslo shows exactly how tumors, in their fight to survive, will go so far as to starve themselves in order to keep the immune cells that would eradicate them from functioning. The work was published in Nature.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/video-gallery/bacteria-in-tumors-improving-cancer-treatment/
Dec 17, 2020... This virtual conversation, hosted by the American Committee, features Weizmann’s Dr. Ravid Straussman, the NIH’s Dr. Daniel Douek (Chief of the Human Immunology Section of the Vaccine Research Center), and is moderated by Dr. Alan Leishner, former CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which publishes the prestigious journal Science.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/bacteria-may-aid-anti-cancer-immune-response/
Mar 17, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 17, 2021—Cancer immunotherapy may get a boost from an unexpected direction: bacteria residing within tumor cells. In a new study published in Nature, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science and their collaborators have discovered that the immune system “sees” these bacteria and shown that they can be harnessed to provoke an immune reaction against the tumor. The study may also help clarify the connection between immunotherapy and the gut microbiome, explaining the findings of previous research showing that the microbiome affects the success of immunotherapy.
Mar 17, 2021...
Cancer cells present bacterial peptides on the outside of their walls, marking them as a foreign element to the body’s immune system, Weizmann Institute scientists report in a new article published in Nature.
This is crucial as while immunotherapy has been able to help melanoma cancer patients in roughly 40% of cases, the new findings could pave the road to more effective treatments and many lives saved in the future.
May 14, 2021... This summer, after more than a year of pandemic shutdowns, we are more excited than ever to get outside. But we can’t let down our guard when it comes to sun exposure, which is the primary cause of the most common cancer in the world: skin cancer. In fact, the Skin Cancer Foundation says that over 85% of melanomas are linked to UV radiation, and having more than five sunburns doubles your risk of developing this deadliest form of skin cancer.
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