UK – Technion alliances to counter Parkinson’s and heart disease
British Minister of State for Digital and Culture Policy visits the Technion: “The cooperation with your researchers is already bearing practical fruit”
“I was deeply impressed by the labs that I visited today at the Technion, labs that are cooperating with British scientists as part of BIRAX (the Britain Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership).” So said Matt Hancock, the British Minister of State for Digital and Culture Policy, on a visit to the Technion. Hancock visited the campus as head of a senior delegation from Britain, along with the British Ambassador to Israel, Mr. David Quarrey.
The British delegation met with Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie; Dr. Yoav Broza from the laboratory of Prof. Hossam Haick; and Prof. Lior Gepstein.
“Globalization is one of our main goals today,” Prof. Lavie told the delegation. “That’s why we have international programs in engineering and medicine, and that’s why we have established extensions branches in New York and Shantou, China. Cooperation with Britain is very important to us because Israel and Britain are two countries that excel in scientific research, and the connection between our researchers and yours has vast potential.”
Minister Hancock with Technion President Prof. ,Peretz Lavie, British Ambassador to Israel, Mr. David Quarrey and Prof. Lior Gepstein.
BIRAX promotes joint studies by researchers from Israel and Britain in order to cope with serious and challenging diseases, including Parkinson’s, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Last year, the British Embassy and the British Council chose eight such joint studies, which will receive support totaling over £7 million. Researchers at the Technion are involved in three of the selected studies:
The first is a focus to establish the most suitable cells for rebuilding heart tissue, with Prof. Joseph Itzkowitz-Eldor of the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Prof. Bruno Pollet of the University of Edinburgh. The aim of the study is to develop an effective treatment for coronary heart disease (CAD), which is the main cause of heart attacks.
The second is the accelerated development of biological pacemakers, through a collaboration between Prof. Lior Gepstein of the Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Prof. Chris Denning of the University of Nottingham. The researchers are developing biological pacemakers based on heart cells grown in the lab, leveraging the effect of light on the pulse rate. The goal: rehabilitation of patients with arrhythmia.
The third area is the development of a breath test for the early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Prof. Hossam Haick of the Technion’s Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Prof. Roger Barker of the University of Cambridge are collaborating on the project. In this study, the unique technology developed by Prof. Haick for the rapid diagnosis of various diseases is being adapted to diagnose Parkinson’s. This is a non-invasive test, based on an analysis of the patient’s breath, and its effectiveness in diagnosing Parkinson’s disease has already been demonstrated in a preliminary study.
Hancock noted that he is: “Very excited to see how the Israeli-British cooperation is bearing practical fruit. The connection with the Technion researchers is very important to us, and its importance is only increasing in the wake of Brexit. The British Government intends to increase its investment in scientific research, including its investment in joint research with scientists from other countries.”
You Are What You Exhale: Different Diseases Have Distinct Chemical Signatures
HAIFA, ISRAEL (December 22, 2016) – An international team of 56 researchers in five countries has confirmed a hypothesis first proposed by the ancient Greeks – that different diseases are characterized by different “chemical signatures” identifiable in breath samples. The findings by the team led by Professor Hossam Haick of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute at the Technion were published today in ACS Nano.
Professor Hossam Haick of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Department of Chemical Engineering
Diagnostic techniques based on breath samples have been demonstrated in the past, but until now, there has not been scientific proof of the hypothesis that different and unrelated diseases are characterized by distinct chemical breath signatures. And technologies developed to date for this type of diagnosis have been limited to detecting a small number of clinical disorders, without differentiation between unrelated diseases.
The study of more than 1,400 patients included 17 different and unrelated diseases: lung cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, ovarian cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, kidney cancer, stomach cancer, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, Parkinson’s disease (two types), multiple sclerosis, pulmonary hypertension, preeclampsia and chronic kidney disease. Samples were collected between January 2011 and June 2014 from in 14 departments at 9 medical centers in 5 countries: Israel, France, the USA, Latvia and China.
The researchers tested the chemical composition of the breath samples using an accepted analytical method (mass spectrometry), which enabled accurate quantitative detection of the chemical compounds they contained. 13 chemical components were identified, in different compositions, in all 17 of the diseases.
Diagram: A schematic view of the study. Two breath samples were taken from each subject, one was sent for chemical mapping using mass spectrometry, and the other was analyzed in the new system, which produced a clinical diagnosis based on the chemical fingerprint of the breath sample.
According to Prof. Haick, “each of these diseases is characterized by a unique fingerprint, meaning a different composition of these 13 chemical components. Just as each of us has a unique fingerprint that distinguishes us from others, each disease has a chemical signature that distinguishes it from other diseases and from a normal state of health. These odor signatures are what enables us to identify the diseases using the technology that we developed.”
With a new technology called “artificially intelligent nanoarray,” developed by Prof. Haick, the researchers were able to corroborate the clinical efficacy of the diagnostic technology. The array enables fast and inexpensive diagnosis and classification of diseases, based on “smelling” the patient’s breath, and using artificial intelligence to analyze the data obtained from the sensors. Some of the sensors are based on layers of gold nanoscale particles and others contain a random network of carbon nanotubes coated with an organic layer for sensing and identification purposes.
The study also assessed the efficiency of the artificially intelligent nanoarray in detecting and classifying various diseases using breath signatures. To verify the reliability of the system, the team also examined the effect of various factors (such as gender, age, smoking habits and geographic location) on the sample composition, and found their effect to be negligible, and without impairment on the array’s sensitivity.
“Each of the sensors responds to a wide range of exhalation components,” explain Prof. Haick and his previous Ph.D student, Dr. Morad Nakhleh, “and integration of the information provides detailed data about the unique breath signatures characteristic of the various diseases. Our system has detected and classified various diseases with an average accuracy of 86%.
This is a new and promising direction for diagnosis and classification of diseases, which is characterized not only by considerable accuracy but also by low cost, low electricity consumption, miniaturization, comfort and the possibility of repeating the test easily.”
“Breath is an excellent raw material for diagnosis,” said Prof. Haick. “It is available without the need for invasive and unpleasant procedures, it’s not dangerous, and you can sample it again and again if necessary.”
Prof. Haick, full professor at Technion and head of three major European consortia, has received numerous prestigious awards and grants, including the Marie Curie Excellence Award, the European Research Council grant, grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Hershel Rich Technion Innovation Award and the Humboldt Senior Research Award (Germany). He has been included in several important lists, including the list of the world’s 35 leading young scientists published by MIT’s Technology Review, the Nominet Trust 100 list (London), which includes the world’s 100 most influential inventors and digital developments, and the Los Angeles-based GOOD Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Prof. Haick also received the highest teaching award granted by the Technion – the Yanai Prize for Academic Excellence.
Two researchers from the Technion will attend the first conference of the European Network of Bioadhesion Expertise. The goal is to explore methods of adhesion in natural systems and develop innovative adhesive materials suitable for medical use inspired by these methods
Despite the obvious differences between algae, geckos and glowworms, these creatures have a common denominator that has a major effect on their ability to survive: the use of strong and particularly effective adhesion methods that have evolved during millions of years of evolution.
Algae are capable of holding onto rocks with strength that overcomes the enormous pressure exerted on it by the waves, and this in a particularly challenging environment of water, wind, sun and salt; geckos walk on smooth surfaces with their backs facing the floor; and glowworms from New Zealand produce sticky filaments in order to trap their prey.
A new network of international researchers was recently established to promote scientific knowledge pertaining to the function of such biological systems and translate it to the creation of new adhesives for various applications such as wound healing, tissue engineering, food, cosmetics and drug delivery. This is the European Network of Bioadhesion Expertise (ENBA)*, which is part of the COST program and that supports cooperation in the European Union. These unique network brings together scientists, engineers and business entrepreneurs who will spend the next four years exploring methods of adhesion in various natural systems and will develop new methods for producing strong and safe adhesive materials inspired by these methods.
The first public meeting of the network will be held at the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria, on March 6-7, 2017. At the conference, work in the field will be presented and discussions will be held that will enable a direct encounter between researchers in different disciplines.
Three Israeli researchers plan to attend the opening conference: Prof. Havazelet Bianco-Peled from the Technion Department of Chemical Engineering, Prof. Alejandro Sosnik from the Technion Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Technion alumnus Meir Haber, entrepreneur and CEO of Biota Ltd – a company established in 1999 at the Technion incubator. Prof. Havazelet Bianco-Peled specializes in the development of polymeric biomaterials for medical applications. Her scientific activity in the field of bioadhesion focuses on tissue adhesives and mucoadhesive drug delivery. Previous studies by Prof. Bianco-Peled revealed mechanisms involved in the production of adhesives by brown seaweed. In follow-on studies, her group developed man-made biomimetic adhesives that mimic the adhesion mechanism of algae. The knowledge accumulated in her lab since 2007 led to the establishment of a project that began at the Amit Institute at the Technion (www.amitechnion.com) and later evolved into the startup Sealantis.
Today, the company is engaged in applying its adhesive technology in a variety of clinical applications. The company has developing a protein-free biomimetic tissue adhesive that is absorbed by the body and absorbs fluids. This is a friendly adhesive designed for a wide range of medical interventions such preventing bowel leaks and stopping bleeding from blood vessels. Prof. Bianco-Peled’s latest studies deal with muco-adhesive drug carriers. These carriers cling tightly to the mucosa coating various organs in the body such as the nasal and mouth cavity, enabling efficient non-invasive drug delivery.
Prof. Alejandro Sosnik investigates innovative amphiphilic polymers for the development of muco-adhesive nano-carriers through self-assembly. These devices are characterized by high physical stability, making them an effective platform for transporting drugs non-invasively.
At the conference, Meir Haber will present Biota’s technology for drug delivery through the oral mucosa using adhesive films (about the size of a postage stamp). The technology, protected by a US patent, was developed by Meir Haber and two Icelandic researchers after collaboration in a European research consortium studying adhesion in algae. It is based on a polymer from algae that is processed into films containing drugs, using a unique method, and used to transport drugs through the oral mucosa into the bloodstream.
* ENBA – European Network of Bioadhesion Expertise (Action CA15216)
Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of Chinaapproves the formal establishment of the Guangdong Technion Israel Institute of Technology
Israel’s Ambassador to China Matan Vilnai: “This is the most important project in Israel-China relations during my term in office”
An important milestone in the establishment of GTIIT – Guangdong Technion Israel Institute of Technology – was recorded with the official approval by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. The Ministry confirmed that cooperation with Technion is consistent with the strategic goal of the Chinese Government: the establishment of world-class research universities; as well as with the regional strategy of innovation-based development.
The Chinese National Program for Medium- and Long-Term Educational Reform and Development is intended, inter alia, to promote the establishment of superior foreign educational resources and to establish several model Chinese-foreign universities in China, based on cooperation with other countries.
Approval for GTIIT was given exactly one year after the cornerstone laying ceremony for the new campus: a ceremony which was attended by about 5,000 guests, including the late ninth President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres z”l. At that event, Peres said that “the establishment of a Technion campus in China is one more proof that Israeli innovation is breaking down geographic borders.”
The establishment of Guangdong Technion – the first Israeli university in China – is a dramatic and unprecedented event in Israel-China relations.
According to Governor of Guangdong Zhu Xiaodan, the establishment of GTIIT is a milestone in the history of friendly relations between China and Israel, and this university represents the future of China-Israel cooperation. He said the Guangdong government will work closely with Technion to promote GTIIT’s development and strive to make it a world-leading university.
Israel’s Ambassador to China Matan Vilnai said: “The opening of the Technion branch in China is the most important project in Israel-China relations during my term in office. This project, which focuses on education, is an important asset to China and Israel and hence its great importance. We have worked hard to obtain approval and I am pleased that it has been granted.”
“This is a courageous and important partnership which represents a historic step in Israel-China relations,” said Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie. “This partnership, which combines the spirit of Israeli innovation with the power of China, will benefit all parties – the Technion and the University of Shantou, Israel and China – and will give a significant boost to the Chinese education system. The outcomes of this historic project will affect the whole of humanity.”
“I’m glad we did it,” said the Mayor of Shantou, Liu Xiaotao. “I would like to thank Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie and professors from the Technion for their efforts and dedication. On behalf of the 5.5 million residents of Shantou, I would like to thank you for this important project.”
Guangdong Technion, situated near the Shantou University campus, will be a high quality, innovative and research-oriented university. In the future, an innovation center will be built near it, and will serve as a foothold for Israeli companies to crack key markets in the U.S. and China. This project is made possible thanks to the cooperation between China’s Shantou University, Guangdong Provincial Government, Shantou Municipal Government and the Technion. The project leader on behalf of the Technion is Prof. Paul Feigin, Assistant to the President for Strategic Projects.
According to the letter of approval from the Government of China, “GTIIT is a beneficial attempt to build a high standard and exemplary Sino-foreign co-running university. Guangdong Government shall offer guidance and take advantages of subjects and research provided by both sides, integrate educational resources, innovate methods of cultivating talents, classifying subjects and courses, and managing schools. It will promote Sino-Israeli educational cooperation and exchange, and contribute to our educational reform. GTIIT shall progressively carry out the master and doctoral programs by learning from Technion’s advanced experience in the way of independent admission according to the Sino-Foreign Cooperative Education Provision and its concrete measures. Masters and PhD degree certificates will be issued by Technion. “GTIIT shall strive for economic growth and social development based on the areas where Technion excels and in accordance with the environmental challenges faced by China.
The new university is headed by GTIIT Chancellor Mr. Li Jiange and Vice Chancellor Research Professor Aaron Ciechanover from the Technion. “The Government’s approval of the establishment of GTIIT has brought us much joy and confidence,” said Chancellor Mr. Li Jiange. “As an ancient Chinese saying goes, ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ Now we have achieved the first step of success, we still have a long way to go. To build GTIIT into a world-class university, we need to recruit the elite faculties, and we are willing to pay them with the most attractive salaries.”
“The granting of approval by the Government of China is a moment of great hope for all of us,” said Prof. Ciechanover, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2004. “This is an initiative that will combine the diligence and determination typical of China with the extensive experience of the Technion in training scientists and engineers, and in turning scientific discoveries into developments that are beneficial to mankind.”
According to the letter of approval from the Government of China, GTIIT will have 2,960 students in the initial stage (from 2017 to 2026), including 300 postgraduates, and 5,000 in the long term, including 1,000 postgraduates. Guangdong Technion’s first undergraduate programs are Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology and Food Engineering, and Materials Engineering. Its graduate programs are Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Food Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Its doctoral programs will also be in these disciplines .
The cooperation between the Technion and Guangdong Province has already led to several other agreements, including a memorandum of understanding for scientific cooperation between the State of Israel and Guangdong Province, economic cooperation agreements and a twin city agreement between the cities of Haifa and Shantou. The first academic school year at Guangdong Technion is scheduled to begin in October 2017, with 300 students will first complete a preparatory period starting in August.
Canadian-Israeli Development: A New Biological Pacemaker
HAIFA, ISRAEL (December 19, 2016) – Using a type of cardiac cells known as sinotrial (SA) node pacemaker cells, a team of scientists from Israel and Canada have developed a biological pacemaker that overcomes many of the limitations of electrical pacemakers. The breakthrough findings could pave the way for an “assembly line” for an unlimited reservoir of pacemaker cells to treat patients with heart rhythm problems.
Prof. Lior Gepstein
The findings by the research group that included Professor Lior Gepstein of the Technion Faculty of Medicine and Rambam Heath Care Campus, were published last week in Nature Biotechnology.
The sinotrial (SA) node is the natural pacemaker of the heart, and is comprised of a group of dedicated heart cells – SA node pacemaker cells – responsible for initiation of the electrical signal leading to the contraction of the heart. A dysfunction in their activity results in slow beating rate that could disrupt cardiac function and lead to weakness, dizziness, fainting, heart failure, and even death. Such dysfunction required the implantation of an artificial electronic pacemaker to correct the dysfunction of the natural pacemaker mechanism using electrodes inserted into various areas of the heart.
But such electrical pacemakers have a myriad of limitations, including an invasive surgical procedure, danger of infection, a lack of hormonal sensitivity and a limited duration of activity (due to limited battery life). And when it comes to treating children, whose hearts are still growing, an electrical pacemaker does not adapt itself to the gradual increase in cardiac volume.
One of the most promising future alternatives to electrical pacemakers is the biological pacemaker strategy, based on the use of cells that are functionally similar to natural pacemaker cells. The team from the Technion, Rambam, and the University Health Network’s McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine used knowledge learned in the field of developmental biology to develop a differentiation protocol for the creation of pacemaker cells from human embryonic stem cells.
“The pacemaker generated from embryonic stem cells exhibits the molecular, electrical and functional properties characteristic of human pacemaker cells,” said Prof. Gepstein. “It is an effective and promising alternative to natural pacemaker cells in the event of their dysfunction. This development is significant both in terms of research – because it will enable scientists to study the heart in new ways, and in practical terms – since we are presenting an ‘assembly line’ here for an unlimited reservoir of pacemaker cells to treat patients with heart rhythm problems.”
To demonstrate the potential future clinical use of the cells as biological pacemakers, experiments were conducted in the Gepstein laboratory on rats. Pacemaker cell transplants restored normal heart rhythm in 6 of the 7 rats that were tested.
“We have previously demonstrated the concept of biological pacemakers, but until now the cells we used contained a mixture of pacemaker cells with other heart cells,” said Prof. Gepstein. “Together with our Canadian partners, we present a method for producing a population of pure pacemaker cells and, and give proof that they work well as a substitute for natural pacemaker cells that have been damaged.”
The study was led by Prof. Gordon M. Keller from the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine and also included collaboration with Dr. Peter Backx, senior scientist at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, both from the University Health Network in Toronto.
Prof. Gepstein, faculty member at the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, is the Director of the Cardiology Department at Rambam Heath Care Campus. He is an internationally renowned expert in the field of stem cells, particularly the use of stem cells to repair heart defects. One of his latest studies, which presented a new approach to the treatment of abnormal heart rhythm by means of light, was published earlier this year in the same journal (Nature Biotechnology).
The study was conducted within the framework of cooperation between the Technion and the Canadian University Health Network (UHN), which is headquartered in Toronto. Some three years ago, the two bodies established an international center for innovation in cardiovascular research aimed at developing new ways to treat heart disease. Prof. Lior Gepstein led the initiative for the Israeli side.
Research cooperation between the Technion and Shantou University opens a wide and significant channel for Technion researchers and a great hope for China, which faces severe ecological challenges. A recent workshop at Technion presented the thriving cooperation in the field of recycling of materials and environmental protection which today unites the two universities
For decades, sewage has been polluting the Lijiang River, which crosses Guangdong Province. Contamination from millions of residents and thousands of businesses includes domestic sewage, residual electronic waste and solid waste from small textile factories. Prof. Jie Zhang, Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Shantou University, is worried, and is seeking solutions through the Technion-Shantou cooperation. “In the next few years, our government will invest about USD 4.5 billion in environmental protection, and the relationship with the Technion will help us make the most out of this great investment,” he said.
Relations between Technion and Shantou University, supported by the Leona and Harry Helmsley Foundation, have intensified since the founding of the Guangdong Technion Israel Institute of Technology (TGIT) in 2015. TGIT is currently under construction adjacent to Shantou University. The Technion’s role in the project is overseen by Prof. Paul Feigin, Assistant to the President for Strategic Projects. At the joint workshop held at the Technion Grand Water Research Institute, participants presented research proposals, advanced technology and cooperation in various environmental fields which included soil with air and water treatment and recycling of materials.
“This workshop is part of a strategic collaboration in which all parties benefit,” said Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, who welcomed the participants. “China and Israel must take environmental protection seriously, he continued, highlighting the opportunity to bring about significant change in the area. This meeting between Israeli and Chinese researchers is the first step in a long and joint journey,” he said.
Use of Industrial Byproducts
Prof. Konstantin Kovler from the Technion Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, who led the meeting, explained that one development presented at the workshop is a new method for the production of quality material for the construction industry, by recycling byproducts such as fly ash and phosphogypsum. “The method, which has been patented by the Technion, will enable the use of 95% of the phosphogypsum – a byproduct of fertilizer plants – for construction purposes, after the removal of radioactive and chemical pollutants,” he said.
Another development is the production of an absorbent material to absorb and remove fuel and oil from sites, such as the oil spill incident at the Evrona Nature Reserve in the Arava Desert, using recycled fly ash, (a byproduct from power plants.). Israel produces hundreds of thousands of tons of fly ash and China much more: 480 million tons per year. Israeli and Chinese researchers will work together to develop materials capable of absorbing organic pollution, heavy metals and radioactive metals.”
Prof. Ori Lahav, Head of the Technion Grand Water Research Institute (GWRI), also welcomes the opportunity to learn from the Chinese. “While Israel is a world leader in many areas, the partnership will enable us to jointly analyze data from a developing country. China is the biggest laboratory in the world, and there is no doubt that we have something to contribute to this huge country. To begin with, we will deal with river pollution, which comes from many sources, and we will offer effective solutions.” At the workshop, Prof. Lahav introduced a method for extracting magnesium from seawater – another Technion patent.
Group photo of conference participants from the Technion and Shantou University
“The World’s Best Water Technologies”
Prof. Eran Friedler from the Technion Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering foresees deep cooperation in water science and technology. “The Chinese government has begun the establishment of a water-smart city, which receives water from various sources,” he noted, “And we have the relevant knowledge and experience in the areas of water treatment, sewage recycling and river restoration.” In this context, a method for removing textile dyes from industrial effluents was presented. The method was developed by Dr. Yuri Gendel in cooperation with Shantou University.
Prof. Friedler and Dr. Haihong Sung, former postdoc and now faculty member at Shantou University, are researching options for the treatment and utilization of urban runoff. Dr. Haihong Sung said, “Our goal is to prepare properly for 2050, when China will have a population of 1.4 billion people, 80% of whom will live in cities. We are seeing an increase in the demand for recycled water for household use, and the contribution of the Technion researchers in this field is tremendous. I knew that the world’s best water technology comes from Israel. In fact, I was the first bridge in the cooperation between the Technion and Shantou University. It was a great honor for me to study here under the supervision of Prof. Friedler and Prof. Yael Dubowski, both of whom had a significant influence on the way I will pass on the knowledge and teach my students in China.”
Smoking in the Oncology Department
Prof. Yael Dubowski relates that one of the projects in the program focuses on the problem of smoking in China. The study focuses primarily on the tertiary level of “smoking” – health damage caused by exposure to pollutants from smoking adsorbed by objects such as clothing, sheets, mattresses and walls. The study will combine lab experiments carried out at the Technion and measurements taken in a hospital in China. Prof. Dubowski said, “In China, smoking is acceptable everywhere, even in hospitals. There’s no awareness and no enforcement of non-smoking areas, but a demand for enforcement is being made by people, such as hospital nurses. They support the patients and are searching for ways to persuade their families not to smoke. It will not be easy for them to cope with this.”
Prof. Dubowski notes the great potential of the joint study. “I and Prof. David Broday, Head of the Technion Center of Excellence in Exposure Science and Environmental Health (TCEEH) have been working on building a scientific cooperation program regarding air pollution research in China. This is done with the support of the Leona and Harry Helmsley Foundation,” she says.
Certificates of Excellence
At the end of the workshop, three certificates of merit for outstanding studies were awarded. The three certificates were awarded, the first to Micol Campagnano, a graduate student at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, who is studying the fate of micropollutants in the process of converting solid organic waste into coal, under the supervision of Prof. Eran Friedler. The second went to Oz Kira, for his doctoral study under the supervision of Professors Yael Dubowski and Rafi Linker. This study monitors pesticide drift during spraying, in order to examine the effect of the substances on nearby residents. The third was awarded to Prof. Hong Du from the Department of Biology at Shantou University, for her work on environmental protection and ecological restoration of coastal waters and the reaction of algae to environmental stress.
Technion Researchers Discover Enzyme Crucial to Tumor Development
Inhibition of enzyme or associated genes could serve as future treatment for certain tumors
HAIFA, ISRAEL (December 7, 2016) – An international team led by researchers from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and the Technion Integrated Cancer Center (TICC) has discovered a biological pathway that plays an important role in tumor development. Published in Cell Reports, the findings could lead to cancer-fighting drugs that work by shortening the shelf-life of select cancer-promoting proteins known as oncoproteins.
As a rule, oncoproteins are short-lived, and play regulatory roles in “normal” (non-transformed) cells. But in cancer cells, they display enhanced stability, which gives cancer cells a longer life span. They also increase the aggressiveness of the cancer cells, which leads to tumor progression.
Led by Technion Associate Professor Amir Orian, the researchers found that RNF4 (a ubiquitin enzyme first detected in fruit flies, and later in human cancer cells) binds to these oncogenic proteins and provides them with a stabilizing structure. RNF4 itself is not an oncogenic protein, but oncogenic proteins and cancer cells are highly dependent on it.
“We have demonstrated that removing RNF4 leads to the death of the cancer cell, and hence the potential application of the discovery: the development of drugs that will inhibit the activity of RNF4 and significantly shorten the half-life of oncogenic proteins even in scenarios that they are abnormally stabilized, thus indirectly eliminating the cancer cell,” said Prof. Orian.
The researchers found an increased level of RNF4 in 30% of patients with colon cancer, and a link between that increase and reduced life expectancy in a group of breast cancer patients. Preliminary results from their lab also support the notion that RNF4 has essential roles in other types of cancer.
A twist in the ubiquitin system: from degradation and stabilization
One surprising twist to the team’s findings is the role played by the ubiquitin system, which is best known as being responsible for the degradation of regulatory and damaged proteins. In this case, said Orian, it does the exact opposite – it stabilizes the cancer proteins and prevents their degradation.
Prof. Orian, a graduate of the Technion Faculty of Medicine’s MD/PhD program, studied the ubiquitin system as part of his doctoral work under Distinguished Professor Aaron Ciechanover. Prof. Ciechanover won the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, together with his Technion colleague Prof. Avram Hershko, and Prof. Irwin Rose from the University of California, for the discovery of the ubiquitin system. This system, one of the most important and vital control systems in the body, attaches a “death tag” (ubiquitin) to regulatory proteins or damaged proteins. In many cases ubiquitin tagging targets these proteins for degradation with proteasome, a multi-protein complex that operates as a protein crusher. But in this case, RNF4 and the ubiquitin system generate a unique “stabilizing” tag.
Prof. Orian is head of the Ruth and Stan Flinkman Genetic Networks Laboratory (which he established in 2005) in the Technion Faculty of Medicine, and a member of the Technion Integrated Cancer Center (TICC).
The current study was conducted by doctoral students Jane Thomas and Mona Abed (currently completing her postdoc at Genentech), as part of SignGene, a program held jointly by the Technion, Hebrew University and three research institutions in Germany, supported by the ICRF and the Flinkman-Marandy Family Cancer Genetics Research Program. Additional study participants included Dr. Rostislav Novak and Dr. Yaniv Zohar, members of the Orian lab, and the joint Atidim program of the Technion Faculty of Medicine and Rambam Healthcare Campus. The study was carried out in collaboration with Dr. Julian Heuberger and Prof. Walter Birchmeier from the Max Delbruk Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin, Prof. Alan Schwartz from the School of Medicine at Washington University of St. Louis, and Prof. Raphael Kopan from the Department of Developmental Biology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
The Technion Integrated Cancer Center (TICC) is a multidisciplinary center that expedites the discovery of new diagnostic tools and treatments in the fight against cancer via a collaborative “bench-to-bedside” approach. The interaction of researchers in all areas of science, with engineers and clinicians, including oncologists, helps translate basic discoveries into medical applications. The process culminates in clinical trials at TICC’s five affiliated hospitals. The TICC will be inaugurated on November 20, 2016.
Academic Accessibility Support Center Inaugurated at Technion
The Accessibility center was established with the support of Israel’s National Insurance Institute and will meet the needs of hundreds of students with physical and sensory disabilities, including sensitivities in attention and concentration.
Left to right: Campus Accessibility Coordinator Yonit Kaplan, Shmuel Weinglass, Director of the National Insurance Institute of Israel’s Fund for Development of Services for People with Disabilities, Dean of Students Office Department Head Yael Anderman, Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, COO Zehava Laniado, Dean of Students Professor Moris Eisen, Student Union Chairman Omer Amit, and Sarah Katzir, Head of the Unit for the Advancement of Students
The Technion Academic Accessibility Support Center was inaugurated on Wednesday, November 30, 2016, at a festive ceremony in the Ullman building at the heart of campus. The ceremony was attended by Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie; Dean of Students Prof. Moris Eisen; Shmuel Weinglass, Director of the Fund For Service Development For People with Disabilities; and Sarah Katzir, Head of the Unit for the Advancement of Students at the Technion.
“By opening the new center, the Technion has come full circle, after having championed the principle of equal opportunities ever since its establishment,” said Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie. “Its doors have always been open to students, regardless of religion, race or gender, and today the Technion is also open to people with disabilities, helping them succeed here without compromising academic standards. Students attending the Technion represent Israeli society in all its diversity, and I wish that the relations between them at Technion were characteristic of the State of Israel as a whole.”
Mr. Shmuel Weinglass said that: “The establishment of a support center at Technion – the oldest university in Israel – will allow an increase in the number of students with disabilities who will be able to acquire a college education in the fields of science and technology, thereby enabling their integration into normative employment in jobs appropriate to their ability and their potential. Over the past six years, the National Insurance Institute of Israel’s Funds have spearheaded the project of making higher education in Israel accessible to students coping with disabilities, through the establishment of support centers in 35 academic institutions throughout Israel, paving the way for genuine social equality.”
Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie (left) and Shmuel Weinglas, Director of the National Insurance Institute of Israel’s Fund for Development of Services for People with Disabilities, at the inauguration ceremony 7583 – The Unveiling – Left to right: Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, Shmuel Weinglass, Director of the National Insurance Institute of Israel’s Fund for Development of Services for People with Disabilities, Adva Lerner and Hava Baumart (far right), senior rehabilitation supervisors at the National Insurance Institute
According to Dean of Students Prof. Moris Eisen: “The number of students with disabilities at the Technion is increasing, mainly due to their desire to integrate into the labor market. The inauguration of the Center is an important step in the absorption of these students; and in the support that we provide for them.”
“The purpose of the new center is to concentrate services provided to students with disabilities under one roof, and to raise awareness of these disabilities among faculty members,” explained Sarah Katzir, Head of the Unit for the Advancement of Students at the Technion, “The center, which will operate in the Ullman building under the responsibility of the Office of the Dean of Students, includes: accessible computer workstations; a workshop room; rooms for computerized tests; and a room for the academic accessibility coordinator. The center was built by the Construction and Maintenance Division, with the assistance of the Division of Computing and Information Systems, and with ongoing input from the Head of the Office of the Dean of Students and members of the National Insurance Institute of Israel’s Funds Committee. Financial support was provided by the National Insurance Institute of Israel via the National Insurance Institute of Israel Funds, and by the Technion.”
Academic Accessibility Support Coordinator Sigal Blum coordinates all matters pertaining to students with disabilities at the Technion, providing individual counselling and personal support, for every student that contacts her. This is accomplished by adapting the academic workload to the student’s disability; developing learning skills; recommending accommodation according to the student’s limitations; coordination between the faculties in order to meet the student’s needs; contacting relevant entities outside the Technion; and counselling applicants with disabilities interested in obtaining information about accommodations and about the nature of studies at Technion.
To date, Ms. Blum has handled about 200 students with physical and sensory disabilities. About 500 students with attention and concentration issues are handled by specialists Rosie Engel and Gil Berkowitz at the Unit for the Advancement of Students, .
The event included lectures by Dr. Shiri Pearlman Avnion from Tel Hai College and by Assistant Professor Avi Avital from the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, as well as a panel discussion by Technion alumni on the challenges faced by alumni with special needs in the labor market.
The Story of Eli Cohen
Eli Cohen, a native of Kfar Sava, was an outstanding student until the middle of eleventh grade. Then, in unclear circumstances, he lost hearing in both ears. “This was at a time when there was no awareness of the need for accessibility in the education system. I very quickly stopped understanding what the teachers were saying and my grades plummeted rapidly.”
Needless to say, this was accompanied by new social difficulties and a tremendous feeling of helplessness. “After all the years of getting grades of 90 and above, all of a sudden I was failing tests. I left the physics-biology program and switched to economics and business administration, but I still failed to complete the matriculation exams.”
After high school, Cohen volunteered to do National Service in Magen David Adom, a decision that proved wise. “It began with a month-long medics course that included room and board, and suddenly I felt smart and useful again. I worked on mobile first aid units and then I took an intensive care course and started working on mobile intensive care units.”
At the end of his service, he retook his matriculation exams to improve his grades, completed the psychometric exam with an outstanding grade and began studying at a college in central Israel. “It was very hard, with virtually no help and without accessibility,” so he decided to transfer to the Technion and began studying at the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management.
“Here, everything was different – from the moment I contacted Malka Rosenfeld from the Student Union and the learning disabilities coordinator. Subsequently, when the Accessibility Center headed by Sigal Blum began to operate, it was an even bigger step up. Today, I have an improved hearing aid purchased with the help of the Student Union; I work on a computer that has been adapted for me personally at the Accessibility Center (which is open round the clock); I have a mentor; advice about courses; and more. Even my apartment in the dorm is accessible for me and all this, to the best of my knowledge, exists only at the Technion.”
