Thank you to our generous philanthropic partners.
From the smallest questions to the biggest, your support means taking an active role in empowering cutting-edge research with global impact. Together we are LIMITLESS. Thank you!
NATHALIE & LAURENT AMAR
Spearheading the quantum foundry project for the new Centre for Advanced and Intelligent Materials
Weizmann is creating the Center for Advanced and Intelligent Materials (C-AIM), in which cutting-edge, groundbreaking research on advanced materials will be conducted, with an eye towards possible applications in medicine, space, and aeronautics, energy and sustainability, electronics and optics, and more. The realization of this vision will not only advance materials science but also improve humanity’s quality of life. The Quantum Foundry will provide Weizmann Institute scientists with the cleanrooms they need to cast, fabricate, and assemble intelligent materials composed of nanoscale building blocks. The cleanrooms will be built to rigorous standards, with air locks, ultra-pure air filtration, and a dust-free environment in which highly sensitive materials and technologies can be produced. In addition to the communal service laboratories, the facility will also be home to chemistry research groups and intellectual exchange facilities.
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THE STEPHEN KAPLAN FAMILY FOUNDATION
Funding research on the neuroendocrine system
Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) affect at least 35 people per 100,000 and are often misdiagnosed at first; time from symptom onset to proper diagnosis often exceeds five years. Many physicians and specialists are not aware of current diagnostic and treatment options, and often, NETs that may have been treatable early go undetected until they have metastasized. These tumors originate from cells that release hormones into the blood in response to a signal from the nervous system. They occur most often in the gastrointestinal tract (and occasionally in the lungs or pancreas). For over 50 years, cancer research has been one of the main pillars of scientific endeavor at the Weizmann Institute. Dozens of scientists from a variety of disciplines work tirelessly to uncover the complex mechanisms that govern this deadly disease. Newer areas of interdisciplinary emphasis at the Institute include neuroscience and immunology. Insights from combinations of these fields may be harnessed to inform the design of therapeutic strategies to combat NETs, as well as many other diseases and disorders. The scientists involved in this project, Professors Gil Levkowitz and Irit Sagi and Dr. Itay Tirosh are conducting research of particular relevance to the neuroendocrine function, the central nervous systems, cancer, and NETs. They will no doubt increase our understanding in this important area.
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LAURIE & JEFFREY COHEN JOANNE & HOWARD NEMEROFF
Providing funding for PhD Scholarships
Financial support for students at all levels enables the Institute to attract the best students. It increases its competitiveness on the one hand while freeing its bright, young students from the need to seek an income and thereby compromise their studies. As government support for science continues to shrink, private philanthropic funding must step in to strengthen the Institute’s graduate program and help meet this critical need. Donor-funded student scholarships cover the expenses connected with the students’ research projects.
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DAHLIA & PHILIP LAWEE
Funding research on Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Prof. Elior Peles from the Department of Molecular Cell Biology combines molecular, biochemical, and advanced light and electron microscopy techniques to study myelin, the insulating membrane sheath that enables fast and efficient nerve conduction and supports nerve cell integrity and survival. His research focuses on studying key molecular mechanisms and proteins that mediate the interactions between the axons and the myelinating cells. These proteins are crucial for the correct wrapping of axons with myelin and determine the precise molecular organization of these nerve fibers, which is crucial for their normal function. Better understanding of the mechanisms that control myelination and the organization of myelinated axons may inform the design of new therapeutic strategies for MS and other demyelinating disorders.
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ESTATE OF GABRIELLA SCHMIDT
Supporting research on the regeneration of the heart
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) take a huge toll on the world population. More than 20 million people die every year from CVDs, representing 30 percent of all global deaths. Moreover, CVDs are projected to remain the single leading cause of death in the Western world. Perhaps one of the most devastating CVDs is called ischemic heart disease (a heart attack or myocardial infarction). The research of Prof. Eldad Tzahor’s group in the Department of Molecular Cell Biology focuses on the emerging field of regenerative medicine. His research has led to the identification of a novel gene regulatory network, which could pave the way to a deeper understanding of certain birth defects. Currently, Prof. Tzahor studies molecular mechanisms that control muscle development and methods to regenerate heart tissue, paving the way towards treatments for CVD in adults.
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THE AZRIELI FOUNDATION
Supporting research in systems biology, Fragile X and human brain imaging and research
The Azrieli Institute for Systems Biology provides a platform for collaboration between various disciplines that, together, are creating new, holistic approaches to characterizing the networks that govern complex interactions within biological systems. From genome architecture and function to model organism development, to the multi-scale dynamics that drive both health and disease, Systems Biology provides a computational framework for understanding life in all its complexity. The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research promotes studies related to the physiology, biochemistry, and functioning of the human brain, with the goal of devising improved therapies and, eventually, cures for brain-related diseases. The Azrieli Foundation also supports Prof. Irit Sagi’s research in Fragile X syndrome (FXS). FXS is the most common inherited form of intellectual disability, affecting between 1:4,000 and 1:6,000 individuals and 30% of those are diagnosed with autism. Nevertheless, there is slow progress in understanding the pathophysiology and the development of effective therapies. Prof. Sagi and her team discovered that MMP-9 an enzyme which was identified as a direct therapeutic target in FXS brain disorder was present with elevated protein levels in FXS patients and relevant mice models. Using biophysical and drug design tools Prof. Sagi and co-workers established a novel experimental scheme to design and generate novel anti-MMP9 inhibitors capable of passing the brain BBB. Their on-going work already yielded novel mechanistic insights on FXS initiation and progression.
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GOODMAN FAMILY FOUNDATION
Supporting excellence in science teaching
The program was initiated in 2008 by the Department of Science Teaching at the Weizmann Institute as part of its mission to give teachers the tools to keep up with new trends in science and science education. The program serves to empower science teachers and increase their motivation by providing them with unique opportunities to expand their knowledge. The long-term goal of the program is to raise the bar for science teaching across Israel. The program has three tracks: studies towards an MSc degree in science teaching, a post-MSc professional development track and an alumni activities track. The post-MSc professional development track is geared toward teachers with MSc or PhD degrees in science or science education and alumni of the program’s MSc track who wish to expand and enrich their teaching skills and science education knowledge. To date, the program has been extremely successful; 208 teachers from all sectors of Israeli society have received their MSc degrees from this program.
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PEGGY & PAUL SCHACHTER
Supporting a student in the lab of Prof. Michael Schwartz
Prof. Michal Schwartz’s research is focused on the role of innate and adaptive immunity in central nervous system (CNS) plasticity in health and disease, and on developing methodologies to manipulate the immune system to benefit the CNS under acute injuries, chronic neurodegenerative conditions, mental dysfunction, and brain aging. Her team established the pivotal role of the systemic immune system in healthy brain function and repair.
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CYNTHIA & ANDREW ADELSON
Supporting an endowed MSc scholarship on water, drought and climate change
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MIKE & VALERIA ROSENBLOOM FOUNDATION
Supporting an endowed MSc scholarship in neuroscience
The World Health Organization estimates that 7.4 percent of global years lost to illness, disability, or premature death are caused by disorders in the mental and behavioral disorders category, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, among other debilitating conditions. Throughout the world, individuals who suffer from a serious mental illness, in which the ability to function in daily life is significantly impaired, die 10 years earlier than individuals in the general population, on average. Mental illnesses rank as the third costliest medical conditions in terms of overall health care expenditures, behind only cardiac conditions and traumatic injury. As we have known for many years, different people react differently when exposed to the same level of stress, be it biological, chemical, or environmental stress. Some people’s brains successfully adapt and respond in a way that promotes continued vitality and function, leading to resilience; other people’s brains react with maladaptive responses, which can begin with subtle alterations in the genome or epigenome and spiral into post-traumatic stress, anxiety, or substance use disorders, psychosis, metabolic dysfunction, or even death. Understanding such differences in the brain’s ability to compensate for injury and adjust to changes in the environment would clarify the mechanisms governing healthy human behavior and address an urgent public health need. Weizmann Institute neuroscientists are studying how the brain adapts and responds to the stressors of daily life, and how maladaptive neurological responses to these stressors can cascade into mental illnesses.
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SYLVIA & TED QUINT
Supporting Prof. Yardena Samuels’ research on melanoma
Prof. Yardena Samuels’ research aims to discover recurrent tumor-specific mutations in melanoma using high-throughput, whole exome and whole genome sequencing approaches. Once mutations are identified, her research group focuses on characterizing the biochemical, functional, and clinical aspects of the most highly mutated genes. To facilitate this search, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, Prof. Samuels and her research team have established a bank of metastatic melanoma tumors and matched normal tissues. In addition to the potential insights into basic tumor biology new opportunities for clinical intervention are likely to be generated through this research.
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CAROL BERALL KARINE & SAM COHEN-SCALI
Supporting Prof. Irit Sagi’s ground-breaking research related to Crohn’s disease
Prof. Irit Sagi’s ground-breaking cellular research has led to the development of antibodies with therapeutic potential to be used in the treatment of invasive diseases such as cancer and Crohn’s. Merging real-time spectroscopic and molecular imaging techniques, Prof. Sagi was the first to reveal the complex molecular nature of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a group of human enzymes linked to cancer and autoimmune diseases. Insights derived from these studies led her to design a new class of inhibitory antibodies that thwart the negative action of these enzymes. These prototype antibodies are currently being developed for clinical use in inflammatory and cancer diseases. Aiming to highlight the latest advances in MMP research from a multidisciplinary perspective, Prof. Sagi coedited a book on the subject called Matrix Metalloproteinase Biology in 2015. Prof. Sagi continues to develop novel experimental tools to decrypt the extracellular matrix molecular remodeling code at near-atomic resolution in healthy and diseased tissues. Her unique biophysical approach is used to decipher molecular mechanisms of dysregulated break-down of proteins in tissues and to develop a new generation of safe and effective drugs.
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SARYL & STEVE GROSS AND FAMILY
Supporting research on removing pollutants from ground water
While nearly 70 percent of the world is covered by water, only 2.5 percent of it is safe to drink, and fully 97 percent of this potable water is found underground. Protecting underground water sources from contamination is essential because polluted water isn’t just dirty—it’s deadly. Prof. Brian Berkowitz of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences is a hydrologist whose quantitative models of underground water flow— which inform the work of engineers and regulatory agencies all over the world—make it possible to predict how contaminants will spread. And when contamination occurs, protecting drinking water is a race against time. Prof. Berkowitz is developing tools that could be used world-wide to test ground water and see what effects, if any, these components have on our water. The implications of his research are global and could potentially change the world.
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CLAUDIA & GARY POLACHEK
Supporting research on leukemia
World-renowned researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science are actively investigating cancers of the blood-forming organs. Over half of all life sciences research at the Institute is focused on cancer, and Weizmann’s unique multidisciplinary environment means that collaborative teams armed with the most advanced research tools, as well as with a massive body of institutional expertise, are bringing their considerable resources to bear on the unique problems posed by blood-related cancers.
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DANIELLE BITTON & RAPHAEL BENBARON
Supporting the quantum foundry project for the new Centre for Advanced and Intelligent Materials
Weizmann is creating the Center for Advanced and Intelligent Materials (C-AIM), in which cutting-edge, groundbreaking research on advanced materials will be conducted, with an eye towards possible applications in medicine, space, and aeronautics, energy and sustainability, electronics and optics, and more. The realization of this vision will not only advance materials science but also improve humanity’s quality of life. The Quantum Foundry will provide Weizmann Institute scientists with the cleanrooms they need to cast, fabricate, and assemble intelligent materials composed of nanoscale building blocks. The cleanrooms will be built to rigorous standards, with air locks, ultra-pure air filtration, and a dust-free environment in which highly sensitive materials and technologies can be produced. In addition to the communal service laboratories, the facility will also be home to chemistry research groups and intellectual exchange facilities.
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CYNTHIA & ANDREW ADELSON
Supporting an endowed MSc Scholarship in climate change
While finishing her PhD, Dr. Segev read research insights that suggested that there is chemical crosstalk between algae and marine bacteria. She suspected that there might be some critical interaction that—in the absence of bacteria—was not happening in the lab. As a microbiologist, she was aware of the growing number of Microbiome studies showing how bacteria vastly influence their hosts, like bacteria in the human gut. She decided to investigate whether micro-algae have their own “Microbiome” and started by growing algae together with common marine bacteria often found in association with algae blooms. Dr. Segev is currently preparing a more complex model that, like the ocean environment, includes more than one type of bacteria. Examination of complex cultures under various environmental conditions is necessary in order to understand how ambient conditions during Earth’s history have influenced microbial interactions and different paleo-proxies. Dr. Segev’s proposed research will create a bridge between the micro-scale mechanisms of algal-bacterial interactions, the global scale bio-geochemical cycles and the geologic record.
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Why Weizmann? Hear what some of our philanthropic partners have to say.