2021 - Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

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Technion – Israel Institute of Technology Assistant Professor Assaf Zinger and Dr. Caroline Cvetkovic from the Center for Neuroregeneration at the Houston Methodist Research Institute have created a novel means of delivering medicine to neurons in a targeted manner. They developed biomimetic nano-vesicles, or nature-mimicking, nanometer-scale “vehicles,” capable of specifically targeting neurons (i.e., nerve) cells. This tool paves the way for the treatment of multiple neurodegenerative diseases and traumatic brain injuries.

Their findings were recently published in Advanced Science.

Drug delivery is a major challenge that must be overcome in drug development, and it is one of the focus areas of the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering at the Technion. It is not enough that a substance can lead to the desired therapeutic effect in a specific cell. This therapeutic substance must also reach these cells without being changed or destroyed en route, and it must not end up in other organs if it might cause harm there.

In explaining what led him to this study, Dr. Zinger said, “One Saturday, my family and I were dining with friends. Their little girl has a neurodegenerative disorder; she can’t speak and has a motor disorder. I wanted to help her.”

Dr. Zinger was already working on various types of biomimetic nano-vesicles. These nano-vesicles are similar in their basic structure to human cells but much smaller – one millionth of a hair’s width in diameter. They can carry within them cargo that needs to be delivered to the cells – medication, mRNA, etc.

The targeting of these nano-vesicles is achieved by incorporating specific cell membrane-derived proteins on their surface, thus letting them be recognized and taken in by the correct cells. These specific proteins that cover the surface of these nano-vesicles are naturally used by the body to identify its cells and this is what biomimicry is all about. In essence, the nano vesicles (or taxis) masquerade as neurons, resulting in their being recognized and welcomed by other neurons, thereby making it possible for them to deliver their therapeutic cargo.

Assistant Professor Assaf Zinger

Potentially revolutionizing the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and traumatic brain injuries

These findings have broad implications. More than one neurodegenerative disorder might be treated if the correct medicine or genetic cargo (e.g., mRNA, SiRNA, miRNA) could be delivered to the brain. But these are not the only possible applications.

“With this, we can also potentially revolutionize the treatment of traumatic brain injuries,” Prof. Zinger explained. “In the case of a car accident and or a sports injury, as examples, the brain is first damaged by the impact, as it is struck against the skull. As a result, multiple brain cells are damaged. This starts a process of inflammation. If we could immediately deliver anti-inflammatory drugs to the brain, we could reduce the inflammatory processes, and hopefully prevent fatalities and long-term disabilities.”

“Neurosomes”- Humanized Biomimetic nano vesicles (red) for neuron targeting (green)

The lion’s share of this study was conducted by Dr. Zinger at the Houston Methodist Research Institute and Houston Methodist Hospital as part of his postdoctoral fellowship. Dr. Zinger recently opened a multidisciplinary laboratory at the Technion, in the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering. His lab aims to create advanced bioinspired technologies and translational therapeutics through a highly multidisciplinary approach. Specifically, Dr. Zinger’s group will integrate in vitro and in vivo models with imaging, molecular biology, and chemical techniques to design novel nano-based technologies that will achieve organ- and cell-specific targeting for improved therapeutic outcomes in different brain and neural diseases, injuries, and various cancers.

To read the full article, click here.

Israel is among the global leaders in research and innovation of alternative proteins – an immensely important issue for our planet – as we face the challenge to feed 10 billion people by 2050. This was one of the messages at the World Food Day conference, entitled “Alternative Ingredients and Technologies for a Sustainable Future,” hosted by the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology’s Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering earlier this month.

Greenhouse gases, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and overuse of antibiotics are all connected to our growing demand for meat. The challenge is real and requires global solutions.

Home to the only food engineering faculty in Israel

The conference was held in collaboration with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University, and focused on solutions to alternative proteins, alternative fats, and opportunities and solutions to meet the demands of a more environmentally and ecologically aware population, and our changing dietary habits. Lecture topics were diverse and showcased the best of the Technion and Cornell, as well as commercial startups and investment companies. The conference was organized by Dr. Maya Davidovich-Pinhas and Prof. Avi Shpigelman of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering.

Professor Marcelle Machluf, Dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, opened the conference by highlighting the Technion’s pioneering work in FoodTech – home to the only Food Engineering Faculty in Israel. Prof. Machluf also presented the Technion’s new Carasso FoodTech Innovation Center, which is supported by the Carasso Family and Carasso Motors. The center will promote cutting-edge food technologies, teaching, and R&D in the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering.

Prof. Marcelle Machluf, Dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, at the conference

“20kg of feed to get 1kg of protein”

Dr. Maya Davidovich-Pinhas of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering spoke about the search for alternatives to animal fats – no less important in creating the perfect meatless burger; and Technion Associate Professor Uri Lesmes of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering talked about the potential of insects as an alternative protein source, and the need to develop appropriate technologies.

“A cow needs to be fed with 20kg of feed for us to be able to get 1kg of cow protein,” Prof. Lesmes said at the conference. “Crickets only need 1.7 kg of feed to give us 1kg of cricket protein.”

Other subjects included how to harness synthetic biology to produce honey without bees, by Technion Professor Roee Amit of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering; and food engineering and cooking based on seaweed by Professor Alex Golberg of Tel Aviv University.

A quarter of global investments in cultivated meat – in Israel

Conference speaker Nir Goldstein, Managing Director of the Good Food Institute’s Israel branch, explained the changing trends in consumer markets, saying, “Israel has developed itself … as a global hub for research and innovation for solutions in this field. We are No. 2 in the world in the number of fermentation and cultivated meat companies. 25% of the global investment in cultivated meat in 2021 was in Israel. It’s a multidisciplinary field. It’s not only food engineering, bioengineering and tissue technology. It could be biochemistry, civil engineering and everything in between.”

Three Unilever employees who graduated from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering — Ran Harel, Marina Gambrin, Idan Curis — presented some of their company’s solutions for a more sustainable world. Much of it focused on sustainable packaging and a wide range of vegan products as part of their talk “Shaping the Future of Food.”

Three startups supported by EIT FAN (the European Food Accelerator Network), showcased their pioneering work – from creating bio-functional ingredients mimicking human breast milk (MAOLAC), to controlling naturally-occurring sugar in beverages such as milk (Lamu Ltd., a Technion Drive Accelerator startup), and using technologies for food shelf-life extension (Biotipac).

The conclusion of the event was a look at partners and players in business and science from the United States – from investors such as Stu Strumwasser, M.D., of Green Circle Capital Partners, as well as the Cornell-Technion NY-Israel FoodTech bridge program being developed to connect startups and scientists in both countries.

World Food Day Conference

Cornell Professor Carmen Moraru and Dr. Bruno Xavier both spoke about their respective work in the role of non-thermal processing technologies in solving sustainability challenges in the food world, and AgriTech as a global resource for entrepreneurship in food and agriculture.

Some cutting-edge US startups also presented their innovations: Akorn makes an edible food coating for longer lasting produce; Paragon Pure produces fat alternatives; and The Better Meat Co. makes meat substitutes.

Plenty of food for thought.

Story by Deborah Dwek

A novel approach to treating type 2 diabetes is being developed at the Technion, using an autograft of muscle cells engineered to take in sugar at increased rates.

The disease, caused by insulin resistance and reduction of cells’ ability to absorb sugar, is characterized by increased blood sugar levels. Its long-term complications include heart disease, strokes, damage to the retina that can result in blindness, kidney failure, and poor blood flow in the limbs that may lead to amputations. It is currently treated by a combination of lifestyle changes, medication, and insulin injections, but ultimately is associated with a 10-year reduction in life expectancy.

Prof. Shulamit Levenberg

Led by Professor Shulamit Levenberg, Ph.D. student Rita Beckerman from the Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering Laboratory in the Technion’s Faculty of Biomedical Engineering presents a novel treatment approach, using an autograft of muscle cells engineered to take in sugar at increased rates. Mice treated in this manner displayed normal blood sugar levels for months after a single procedure. The group’s findings were recently published in Science Advances.

Rita Beckerman

Muscle cells are among the main targets of insulin, and they are supposed to absorb sugar from the blood. In their study, Prof. Levenberg’s group isolated muscle cells from mice and engineered these cells to present more insulin-activated sugar transporters (GLUT4). These cells were then grown to form an engineered muscle tissue, and finally transported back into the abdomen of diabetic mice. The engineered cells not only proceeded to absorb sugar correctly, improving blood sugar levels, but also induced improved absorption in the mice’s other muscle cells, by means of signals sent between them. After this one treatment, the mice remained cured of diabetes for four months – the entire period they remained under observation. Their blood sugar levels remained lower, and they had reduced levels of fatty liver normally displayed in type 2 diabetes.

“By taking cells from the patient and treating them, we eliminate the risk of rejection,” Prof. Levenberg explained. These cells can easily integrate back into being part of the body and respond to the body’s signaling activity.

Currently, around 34 million Americans, just over 1 in 10, suffer from diabetes, 90% of them from type 2 diabetes. An effective treatment – and one that is a one-time treatment rather than daily medication – could significantly improve both quality of life and life expectancy of those who have diabetes. The same method could also be used to treat various enzyme deficiency disorders.

The implanted construct: the engineered muscle fibers (in red) express the GLUT4 (in green)

This work was funded by Rina and Avner Schneur as part of the Rina and Avner Schneur Center for Diabetes Research. Rita Beckerman is an Ariane de Rothschild Women Doctoral Program scholar.

Click here for the paper in Science Advances.

“We shape our buildings; therefore, they shape us,” Winston Churchill once said.

The next generation of Israel’s architects is already starting to shape our country, and as the first day of the 2021-2022 academic year approaches, it’s time to look at the accomplishments of our architecture students.

“Experiential Routine.” The project is among those that will be nominated for the Azrieli Award, the most prestigious award for architecture students in Israel

Here are some of the highlights from last year’s project fair, presenting the work of students from the various studios of the Technion’s Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning. Some of the following projects will be nominated for the Azrieli Award, the most prestigious award for architecture students in Israel:

Experiential Routine

How much of our commute do we spend in corridors, places “in between?” Between tube stations, between the train and the bus, in the corridors of an office building? Amit Sadik from the Technology Studio decided to focus on those everyday places, and turned the daily commute into an experience that could evoke feelings of novelty, curiosity and pleasure. To achieve this, using a station of the planned light rail in Tel Aviv as a test case, Amit incorporated plants and daylight into the space, and opened multiple optional pathways, inviting strolling and discovery.

Commuting “in between”

Productive Bay

We have tucked the industrial areas of our cities out of sight, and out of mind. The pollution they produce is something we’d rather not think about. Dina Gorodnitski from the Space, Consciousness and Sustainability Studio, re-examined the industrial area of Haifa Bay, the city’s “black hole”, and reimagined it as a sustainable mixed-use area. Dina proposed integrated recycling centers, promenades overlooking the port, a symbiotic environment of urban life and sustainable industrial production.

Reimagining the industrial area of Haifa Bay

Informalization

Asma Abu-Raya from the Urban Studio focused on the Bedouin villages in Israel’s desert The Negev. She examined the traditional lifestyle of the Bedouin community and the organic, “informal” development of the villages, compared to the “formal” development, and proposed ways in which city planning could take into consideration the local culture, involve residents in the planning, allow space for spontaneous growth to meet the changing needs, and encourage people to take responsibility for their environment as a community.

Encouraging people to take responsibility for their environment — as a community

Local knowledge as the basis of autonomy

Layan Salameh’s project outlines a discontinuous urban infrastructure that will enable autonomy over water, as a resource of life, and will revive the textile industry in the Old City of Jerusalem (East Jerusalem), in order to ensure future economic independence of the residents. The planning strategy is based on local knowledge; industrial spaces serve the public through planning tools that enable collective learning of the production process.

Discontinuous urban infrastructure

A few years ago, the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning changed its curriculum from a four-year to a six-year program. Students now leave the Technion with a master’s degree, having attained greater maturity and a broader understanding of the field. In 2021, the first class of students graduated under the new program. To learn more about the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning – the oldest academic institute in Israel for the study of architecture – visit https://architecture.technion.ac.il/.

“Experiential Routine”

Story by Tatyana Haykin

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Technion researchers have just published findings in ‘Science Advances’ that support the efficacy of the technology they had developed: Treatment of breast cancer by anesthesia of the nervous system around the tumor. The treatment not only inhibited tumor growth but also prevented metastasis to other organs.

Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have developed an innovative treatment for breast cancer, based on analgesic nanoparticles that target the nervous system. The study, published in Science Advances, was led by Professor Avi Schroeder and Ph.D. student Maya Kaduri of the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering.

Professor Avi Schroeder

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, and despite breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment, about one thousand women in Israel die of the disease per year. Around 15% of them are under the age of 50. Worldwide, some 685,000 women die each year from breast cancer.

Prof. Schroeder has years of experience in developing innovative cancer treatments, including ones for breast cancer and specifically triple-negative breast cancer – an aggressive cancer characterized by rapid cell division with a higher risk of metastasis. Technologies developed in his lab include novel methods for encapsulating drug molecules in nanoparticles that transport the drug to the tumor and release it inside, without damaging healthy tissue.

The researchers found that cancer cells have a reciprocal relationship with the nerve cells around them: the cancer cells stimulate infiltration of nerve cells into the tumor, and this infiltration stimulates cancer cell proliferation, growth, and migration. In other words, the cancer cells recruit the nerve cells for their purposes.

Based on these findings, the researchers developed a treatment that targets the tumor through the nerve cells. This treatment is based on injecting nanoparticles containing anesthetic into the bloodstream. The nanoparticles travel through the bloodstream toward the tumor, accumulate around the nerve cells in the cancerous tissue, and paralyze the local nerves and communication between the nerve cells and the cancer cells. The result: significant inhibition of tumor development and of metastasis to the lungs, brain, and bone marrow.

The nanoparticles simulate the cell membrane and are coated with special polymers that disguise them from the immune system and enable a long circulation time in the bloodstream. Each such particle, which is around 100 nm in diameter, contains the anesthetic.

Ph.D. student Maya Kaduri

According to Maya Kaduri: “We know how to create the exact size of particles needed, and that is critical because it’s the key to penetrating the tumor. Tumors stimulate increased formation of new blood vessels around them, so that they receive oxygen and nutrients, but the structure of these blood vessels is damaged and contains nano-sized holes that enable penetration of nanoparticles. The cancerous tissue is characterized by poor lymphatic drainage, which further increases accumulation of the particles in the tissue.

Therefore, the anesthetizing particles we developed move through the bloodstream without penetrating healthy tissue. Only when they reach the damaged blood vessels of the tumor do they leak out, accumulate around the nerve cells of the cancerous tissue, and disconnect them from the cancer cells. The fact that this is a very focused and precise treatment enables us to insert significant amounts of anesthetic into the body because there is no fear that it will harm healthy and vital areas of the nervous system.”

In experiments on cancer cell cultures and in treatment of mice, the new technology inhibited not only tumor development but also metastasis. The researchers estimate these findings may be relevant for treatment of breast cancer in humans.

The research is supported by the Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center (RTICC) as part of the Steven & Beverly Rubenstein Charitable Foundation Fellowship Fund for Cancer Research, and by Teva, as part of its National Forum for BioInnovators. The research was conducted in cooperation with the Faculty of Medicine at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Institute of Pathology at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.

Prof. Avi Schroeder is head of the Louis Family Laboratory for Targeted Drug Delivery & Personalized Medicine Technologies at the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering. Maya Kaduri, who has a B.Sc. from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion, began researching under the guidance of Prof. Avi Schroeder during her bachelor’s degree, and this year she is expected to complete her Ph.D. (direct track).

For the article in Science Advances click here.

For a video demonstrating the study:

From 3D-printing entire blood vessel networks to FoodTech innovation, this issue of our newsletter is jampacked with exciting news.

On October 10, 2021, German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel received an Honorary Doctorate from the Technion. To watch the video of the ceremony, during which Technion President Professor Uri Sivan bestowed the honorary degree on Dr. Merkel, and read about the latest FoodTech innovations, 3D-printing of blood vessel networks, predicting heart conditions, and more, check out our October 2021 newsletter, by clicking here.

3D-printing blood vessel networks

To read previous issues of Technion LIVE, click here. To subscribe, click here.

Technion researchers have presented an innovative method for the formation of nanowires. In it, the nanowires form within line defects that exist in metals. Such defects are known as dislocations. This is the first time that dislocation lines in a material of one kind serve as a template for the growth of a different inorganic material in the form of nanowires. The study, which was published in PNAS, was led by Professor Boaz Pokroy and Ph.D. student Lotan Portal of the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering and the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute.

Professor Boaz Pokroy

Dislocations are a significant phenomenon in materials science since they affect the material’s properties on both the macro- and microscales. For example, a high dislocation density increases a metal’s strength and hardness. The dislocation edges on metal surfaces and the atoms in their proximity tend to be more chemically activated compared to other atoms in the material and tend to facilitate various chemical reactions, such as corrosion and catalysis.

Lotan Portal

The researchers in Prof. Pokroy’s group created nanowires of gold-cyanide complex from classic Au-Ag alloy. In professional terminology, they synthesized inorganic gold(I)-cyanide (AuCN) systems in the shape of nanowires, using an autocatalytic reaction (i.e. through the acceleration of a reaction by one of its reactants). Gold-cyanide complex is used in numerous fields including ammonia gas detection (NH₃ sensors), catalysis (acceleration) of water-splitting reactions, and others.

In black and white: Scanning electron microscope image of a lateral section of a sample that contains a gold-cyanide nanowire created from Au-Ag (to a depth of 2 microns from the surface of the sample).

In the process developed by the researchers, nanowires crystallize at the dislocation ends on the surface of the original gold-silver (Au-Ag) alloy, and the final structure obtained is classic nanoporous (sponge-like) gold, with a layer of nanowires emerging from it. Formation of the nanowires occurs during the classic selective dealloying process that separates the silver from the system and forms the nanoporous gold and is achieved only when the dislocation density exceeds a critical value, as presented in the kinetic model developed and demonstrated in the article.

The model provides a possible route for growing one-dimensional inorganic complexes while controlling the growth direction, shape, and morphology of a crystal according to the original alloy’s slip system. As mentioned, this scientific and technological achievement has numerous potential applications.

In the figure: A schematic drawing depicting 1D nucleation and growth of a gold-cyanide nanowire along a dislocation in the original alloy during the classic selective dealloying process.

The research was sponsored by a European Research Council (ERC) Proof of Concept Grant (“np-Gold” project) as part of the Horizon 2020 Program.

For the article in PNAS click here

Approximately 80% of drinking water in Israel is desalinated water, coming from the Mediterranean Sea. Now, scientists from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, the Wageningen University, and Wetsus (European center of excellence for sustainable water) in the Netherlands have developed a way to improve the quality of desalinated water, while reducing the costs of the process. The findings of the international team’s study were published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America).

From left to right: Amit Shocron, Professor Matthew Suss, Eric Guyes

Desalination is the process that removes mineral particles (salts) from saltwater, making it fit for human consumption and for irrigation. The chemical properties of some particles make them more challenging to remove than others. Boron, which is naturally found in high quantities in the Mediterranean Sea, is among the hardest to remove, as change in acidity causes it to change its properties. It is toxic in high concentrations, and it harms plant growth, which is a problem in the context of irrigation. The normal process of boron removal involves dosing the water with a base in order to facilitate removing the boron, followed by removal of the base.

The most commonly used method of desalination is by means of a membrane – a sort of sieve that allows water to pass through it, while blocking other particles, based on their size or charge. This membrane, however, is expensive, and needs to be replaced periodically.

Ph.D. students Amit Shocron and Eric Guyes, under the supervision of Professor Matthew Suss of the Technion Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, together with their collaborators from Wageningen University and Wetsus, developed a new modeling technique to predict the behavior of boron during desalination by means of capacitive deionization. This is an emerging technique for water treatment and desalination using relatively cheap porous electrodes, as opposed to the expensive membrane. When an electric current is applied, charged particles (like boron under high pH conditions) are adsorbed by the electrodes and hence removed from the water.

Process of dissolved boron removal using a capacitive deionization cell. First, the cell dissociates boric acid to charged boron ions. The boron ions are then stored in the electrodes. (Credit: Paul Gerlach, Houten, The Netherlands)

Amit Shocron formulated the theoretical framework that allowed this breakthrough, while Eric Guyes constructed the experimental setup. Working together, they were able to develop the novel system. They found that for optimal boron removal, the positive electrode should be placed upstream of the negative electrode – counter to the accepted wisdom in their field. They also calculated the optimal applied voltage for the system, finding that higher voltage does not necessarily improve the system’s effectiveness.

This same method the group developed could be used to solve other water treatment challenges as well, for example the removal of medicine residues and herbicides, which are difficult to remove using conventional methods.

Schematic demonstrating boron removal by a capacitive deionization (CDI) cell. Shown is a CDI cell with an anode placed upstream and a snapshot of the developed pH profile within the anode. Right: A snapshot of ion and charge distributions in a pore near the anode/separator interface, showing boric acid dissociation and adsorption

Prof. Suss is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and is affiliated with the Nancy and Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program and Stephen and Nancy Grand Water Research Institute at Technion.

For the article in PNAS click here

On Sunday, October 10, 2021, Technion President Professor Uri Sivan bestowed an honorary doctorate on German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel after a moving speech, in which he praised her outstanding leadership and called her “arguably the most admired, influential leader of our time and a role model for all democrats around the world.”

Dr. Merkel was awarded for her continuous and steadfast support of the State of Israel; her unwavering fight against antisemitism and racism; her strong support of science and education, and particularly of scientific collaboration between Germany and Israel; and for her exemplary leadership, wisdom, and humanity.

“I am proud to receive this honorary degree from the Technion as a scientist and not just as a politician,” Dr. Merkel said at the ceremony, held at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem during the Chancellor’s official visit to Israel earlier this week.

Prof. Sivan named former Technion honorary doctorate recipients, such as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Chaim Weizmann, David Ben-Gurion, Yitzhak Rabin, and Margaret Thatcher, and talked of how Merkel has earned her place among these luminaries.

נשיא הטכניון פרופ' אורי סיון מעניק לקנצלרית מרקל את תואר הכבוד

President of the Technion, Prof. Uri Sivan, awarding German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel the honorary degree

President Sivan acknowledged that Chancellor Merkel has moved from a brilliant scientific career in quantum chemistry to an “unparalleled political career at a time of tectonic changes.” He also spoke of her great humanity toward refugees fleeing armed conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, and her compassion and social responsibility. He described her as a “steadfast friend of Israel and the Jewish people,” and commended her on her public stance against antisemitism and on her unwavering support for Israel.

He went on to talk about the scientific ties and cooperation between Israel and Germany, which under her leadership, “have grown stronger and reached unprecedented heights.”

Chancellor Merkel, who has never forgotten the true meaning of compassion and social responsibility … is constantly striving to improve the lives of millions around the world

President Sivan also spoke about the Technion’s long-standing relationship with Germany, which dates back to its inception in the early 1900s. For example, Prof. Sivan spoke of architect Alexander Baerwald from Berlin, who designed the Technion’s first building, which was inaugurated in 1912. Later, Baerwald was appointed the first Technion Professor of Architecture.

Prof. Sivan referred to the Holocaust, and said that only “a few epitomize the reconciliation” between the two peoples while “taking responsibility for the dark times, as our Laureate today, Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel.”

He concluded: “Dr. Merkel, we salute you, and wish you the best in your future endeavors. Thank you for what you have given Germany, Israel, and the world. We are forever grateful.”

מימין לשמאל: פרופ' אלון וולף, יו"ר הוועד המנהל של הטכניון מר גדעון פרנק, נשיא הטכניון פרופ' אורי סיון והקנצלרית מרקל.

From left to right: German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel; Technion President, Prof. Uri Sivan; Mr. Gideon Frank, Chairman of the Technion Council; and Technion VP Prof. Alon Wolf

Merkel responded by saying, ”I am proud to receive the honorary degree from the Technion as a scientist and not just as a politician, because science and technology are tools for advancing the economy and society. Israel was founded on a vision that was as scientific–technological as it was political, and some of the beginnings took place at the Technion. The Technion served as a cornerstone in the development of high tech and in what is now called the Startup Nation.”

Chancellor Merkel mentioned how “the Technion’s leadership is also evident in COVID-19, with 50 laboratories engaged in related research … We are amazed at the speed with which data is collected in Israel, data that serves the entire world and contributes to the fight against the virus.”

תמונה קבוצתית של משלחת הטכניון עם הקנצלרית מרקל

Technion professors, led by Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan (center), with German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel

The Chancellor received the honorary doctorate from Prof. Sivan, in the presence of Mr. Gideon Frank, Chairman of the Technion Council; Prof. Oded Rabinovitch, Senior Executive Vice President and a Professor at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Prof. Alon Wolf, Vice President for External Relations and Resource Development and a Professor at the Faculties of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering; Distinguished Professor Yitzhak Apeloig, former Technion President and Professor at the Schulich Faculty Of Chemistry; former Technion President, Prof. Peretz Lavie, Chairman of Israel Friends of Technion, and Professor Emeritus in the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine; Nobel Prize Laureate and Technion Distinguished Professor Aaron Ciechanover of the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine; Prof. Marcelle Machluf, Dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering; as well as graduate students Ms. Lina Muadlej of the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering (in a joint track with the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science), and Ms. Aseel Shomar, a Ph.D. student at the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering.

The ceremony was also attended by: Her Excellency, Ambassador Dr. Susanne Wasum-Rainer – German Ambassador to Israel; His Excellency, Ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff – Israeli Ambassador to Germany

Born in 1954, Chancellor Merkel started her political career in 1989, following the fall of the Berlin Wall. She chaired the Christian Democratic Union Party from 2000-2018; and has served as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany since 2005. Throughout her career, Merkel emphasized international cooperation. She has been described as the de facto leader of the European Union. The New York Times has dubbed her “The Liberal West’s Last Defender.” Merkel has voiced support for Israel on many occasions, and spoken out against antisemitism. Congratulating the new Israeli government in June 2021, Merkel said that Germany and Israel are “connected by a unique friendship that we want to further strengthen.”

Researchers at the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine have developed an innovative algorithm that detects an uninterrupted common denominator in multidimensional data gathered from tumors of different patients. The study, which was published in Cell Systems, was led by Professor Shai Shen-Orr, Dr. Yishai Ofran, and Dr. Ayelet Alpert, and conducted in collaboration between researchers at the Technion, the Rambam Health Care Campus, the Shaare Zedek Medical Center and the University of Texas.

Professor Shai Shen-Orr (right) and Dr. Ayelet Alpert

In recent years, cancer research has undergone a series of significant revolutions, including the introduction of single-cell high-resolution characterization capabilities, or, more specifically, simultaneous high-throughput profiling of cancer samples using single-cell RNA sequencing and proteomics analysis. This has led to the generation of vast quantities of multidimensional data on a huge number of cells, allowing for the characterization of both the healthy tissue and malignant tissues. This high amount of data has revealed the great variability between tumors of different patients, where cellular characterization that is derived from the patient’s genetic background is unique to each patient.

Despite the substantial advantage that is derived from such an accurate characterization of the specific patient, this development hinders comparison of different patients: in the absence of a common denominator, the comparison, which is essential for identifying prognostic markers (e.g. mortality or severity of illness), becomes impossible.

The tuMap algorithm developed by the Technion researchers provides a solution to this complex challenge by means of a “variance-based comparison.” The innovative algorithm delivers the possibility to place numerous different tumors on a uniform scale that provides a benchmark for comparison. In this way, the tumors of different patients can be meaningfully compared, as well as tumors of the same patient over the disease course (for example, on diagnosis and after treatment). The resolution provided by the algorithm can be leveraged for clinical applications such as prediction of various clinical indices with a very high accuracy, outperforming traditional tools. Although the researchers tested the algorithm on leukemia tumors, they believe that it will also be relevant for other cancer types.

The research was sponsored by the Israel Science Foundation, the Rappaport Family Institute for Research in the Medical Sciences, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

For the article in Cell Systems click here