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.
Aug 29, 2017...
The headquarters of Gilead Sciences in Foster City, California Credit: Eric Risberg, AP
The almost $12 billion that Gilead Sciences agreed on Monday to pay for Kite Pharma is testament not only to Israeli innovation but also to the entrepreneurship of Kite’s Israeli founder and CEO, Prof. Arie Belldegrun, and his ability to leverage a vast store of medical knowledge and Wall Street connections.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/target-blood-cancers/
Feb 06, 2017...
Our blood is our very life force, performing the basic functions that keep us alive. It carries nutrients and oxygen to our cells, and bears away metabolic waste. And yet it also plays a role in a number of all-too-common diseases, such as blood cancers. In fact, according to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer every three minutes.
Blood cancers begin in the bone marrow, where blood cells are produced, or in the lymphatic system, which removes excess fluids from the body’s tissues and produces immune cells. In most blood cancers, uncontrolled growth of abnormal blood cells interferes with the development and function of normal, healthy blood cells.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/profiling-a-killer-in-warm-blood/
Dec 06, 2018...
Tumor heterogeneity, clonal evolution, and therapy resistance are revealed using single-cell profiling of multiple myeloma patients
REHOVOT, ISRAEL —December 6, 2018—Cancer arises when cells lose control. Deciphering the “blueprint” of cancer cells – outlining how cancer cells hijack specific pathways for uncontrolled proliferation – will lead to more efficient ways to fight it. Now, in a joint effort, scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science and clinicians from major hemato-oncology departments in Israel have successfully created detailed profiles of myeloma cancer in both pre-cancer stages, in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients, as well as post-treatment and relapse. These detailed blueprints will help in future precision diagnosis and treatment of this disease.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-october-2015/
Oct 26, 2015... Of the hundreds of genes that can be mutated in a single case of melanoma, only a handful may be true “drivers” of cancer. In research that recently appeared in Nature Genetics, a Weizmann Institute of Science team has now revealed one of the drivers of a particularly deadly subset of melanomas that is seeing a rise in new cases. This gene is a newly identified member of a group of genes called tumor suppressor genes, and is mutated in some 5.4% of melanomas. Furthermore, its expression was found to be lost in over 30% of human melanomas; this loss, according to the research, was associated with reduced patient survival. The discovery might open new doors to understanding how this cancer grows and spreads, and may lead in the future to new directions in treatment.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/why-chemotherapy-fails/
May 29, 2012... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—May 29, 2012—The fight against cancer is not won in a single battle: long after a cancer has been beaten into remission, it can return. The reason for this is under debate, and much is unclear. New research led by Weizmann Institute scientists shows that, at least for one type of blood cancer, the source of cancer recurrence is in a set of cells that do not proliferate as quickly as regular cancer cells, and thus are able to survive chemotherapy. The findings, which appear in the journal Blood, have some important implications for the future of the war on cancer.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/safer-chemo-thanks-to-israeli-math/
Oct 10, 2012...
Not all white blood cells are created equal. Image via www.shutterstock.com
Waning white blood-cell counts in chemotherapy patients are commonly taken as a warning of an increased risk of infection.
Now, a new Israeli study suggests that it is critical to evaluate not only the quantity of these “neutrophil” blood cells essential to immunity against infection, but also their quality, which varies from one patient to another.
Nov 01, 2016... Understanding Immunotherapy: History and Lifesaving Breakthroughs
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/working-toward-personalized-cancer-treatment/
Jul 10, 2018...
Prof. Yardena Samuels wants to reveal the big cancer picture.
“We don’t just want to find the genes involved in cancer,” says Prof. Yardena Samuels of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Molecular Cell Biology, “we want to understand what those genes do. We want to reveal the complete picture of a cancer genome.”
That is something of a tall order, considering that cells from melanoma, the cancer Prof. Samuels is researching, can contain anywhere from tens to thousands of mutations. On average, melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer – has more mutations in the DNA of its cells than any other solid tumor. Among other things, this range of mutations explains why a recent treatment designed to target melanoma will only help around 50% of those with the disease, despite representing a large step forward.
Apr 16, 2019... The Weizmann Institute brings together scientists from a variety of disciplines to tackle cancer head-on. In the fourth episode of Weizmann in Focus, CEO Dave Doneson highlights a recent headline-making breakthrough from the labs of Profs. Ido Amit and Amos Tanay. Working with hospitals across Israel, the scientists identified a very small number of malignant cells in what is considered a pre-malignant stage of multiple myeloma—the second-most common type of blood cancer. Their discovery holds the promise of earlier, more precise treatment.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/saving-your-skin-melanoma-awareness/
May 10, 2016...
May is Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month: the perfect time to learn more about the disease – and what the Weizmann Institute of Science is doing to help.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in America, and it’s on the rise, at least in part due to the increased intensity of ultraviolet (UV) rays as a result of climate change. In fact, while skin cancers can have several causes, “the vast majority of melanomas are caused by the sun,” according to the Skin Cancer Foundation, which also cites a U.K. study finding that “about 86 percent of melanomas can be attributed to exposure to ultraviolet … radiation from the sun.”
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