Author: shelleys

The successful creation of edible muscle fibers by bioprinting a plant-based scaffold and living animal cells is the subject of a new article by Professor Shulamit Levenberg and Ph.D. student Iris Ianovici of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, in collaboration with cultured meat producers Aleph Farms. Other partners in the research described in the article are Dr. Yedidya Zagury, Dr. Idan Redensky, and Dr. Neta Lavon.

It is estimated that besides the scientific-engineering accomplishment, this technology is likely to enable the robust production of cultured meat at large scale in the near future.

The development of cultured meat, i.e., meat that does not involve the raising and slaughtering of animals, is a potential solution for the growing need for meat products following population growth, the environmental damage caused by breeding cattle, and the increasing awareness about animal welfare.

To fulfill the promise of cultured meat to meet various consumer expectations, there is a need for technologies that enable the production of whole muscle cuts that are as similar as possible – in terms of taste, smell, and texture – to those from animals.

Prof. Shulamit Levenberg, a world leader in tissue engineering, became involved in cultured meat several years ago after recognizing that her inventions in tissue engineering for medical needs are also relevant for growing cultured meat. Her research on the subject led to the founding of Aleph Farms, which sponsored the research study now being published. Last year, Aleph Farms presented the first cultured ribeye steak in history — created in the Levenberg lab — and has since pursued the development of new products. Aleph Farms’ CEO is Didier Toubia, Prof. Levenberg is Chief Scientific Advisor, and Dr. Neta Lavon is the company’s CTO.

Developing the technology to produce a wide variety of cultured meat products was the primary focus of the present research, which sought to create thicker cultured steaks using alternative materials as scaffolds for this purpose.

Enabling the perfusion of nutrients across the thicker tissue has been a significant challenge, with most of the scaffolding materials currently used for growing tissues being derived from animals. In the article, the Technion researchers present a solution to these challenges by using an alternative bio-ink to bioprint scaffolds from animal-free proteins, as well as living animal cells. The bio-ink contains the cells that will form the muscle tissue – satellite cells originating from a biopsy taken from livestock – and is formulated by combining alginate (a compound found within the cell walls of brown algae), and soy or pea proteins isolated from plants. The printing process enables the creation of protein-enriched scaffolds with different geometries. The printing process is based on a method in which the bio-ink is deposited into a suspension bath that supports the materials during printing.

The results: after the scaffolds were printed with the living animal cells, a high cell viability was observed. Furthermore, the cells successfully matured to create muscle fibers as the tissue grew. Since the geometry of the scaffold can be controlled, it is possible to control the introduction of nutrients and the removal of waste from the developing tissue.

“In the engineering process we developed in the lab, we tried to mimic the natural process of tissue formation inside the animal’s body as much as possible,” said Prof. Levenberg. “The cells successfully adhered to the plant-based scaffold, and the growth and differentiation of the cells proved successful as well. Our bio-ink led to a consistent distribution of the cells across the bioprinted scaffold, promoting growth of the cells on top of it. Since we used non-animal-derived materials, like pea protein, which is non-allergenic, our findings promise greater development of the cultured meat market moving forward.”

Click here for the paper in Biomaterials.

By Dr. Motti Haimi

Telehealth is the delivery of healthcare services by healthcare professionals through information and communication technologies, where distance separates the participants. In recent years, with the development of the internet and communication infrastructure, telehealth has become a convenient and safe method for patients to obtain reliable information and medical consultation.

There are many benefits in using telehealth, especially in routine care and in cases where a direct patient-healthcare provider interaction is not mandatory.

Since December 2019, the world has been facing an epidemic threat to global health, caused by the novel coronavirus, “SARS-CoV-2“.

Elderly people and those who have underlying medical conditions are at greater risk of developing an intensive and severe form of the disease. On the other hand, people who are not currently infected with COVID-19 but are at greater risk of “catching” the infection (e.g., elderly people and people with underlying diseases), should be able to receive routine healthcare without being at risk from exposure to others.

COVID-19 has catalyzed the rapid use of information communication technologies such as telehealth and virtual software platforms to deliver healthcare at a distance.

Telehealth has become an important tool for the general population, healthcare providers, and patients with COVID-19, enabling patients to maintain real-time contact with healthcare providers for advice on their health problems, especially useful when in quarantine. Remote medical treatment, using telemedicine services, can promote the patients’ access to professional medical advice without having to wait for long periods of time. It reduces unnecessary visits to clinics and hospitals, both in normal times and especially during the pandemic.

Among the most significant benefits of telehealth technologies will be the ways in which they will enable healthcare providers to effectively address and treat chronic diseases, which are one of the major health problems nowadays, and the largest cause of death. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults with complex medical diseases had  limited access to healthcare. The elderly population will particularly benefit from telehealth, which has the potential to increase equality in care, but which can also further exacerbate disparities.

The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated  access to care, especially among the elderly population, due to reduced clinic visits, transport restrictions, and other societal measures to mitigate the pandemic. Age-related barriers such as lack of exposure and familiarity to new technology were also contributing factors.

Nevertheless, there is a misconception that older people do not have internet or network connection, which they need for telehealth solutions. In fact, most of them do have such access, but have difficulties using the internet. Several studies also described a successful experience for older adults when special equipment was provided and installed, enabling them to experience home telehealth services.

In this systematic review, we explored the availability, application, and implementation of telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic designed for the aging population (age 65 and over), who needed them the most during this challenging period.

In our analysis, a total of 5319 articles were identified in the database, of which 3225 articles were left after deleting the duplicates. Following the removal of duplicate studies and screening titles and abstracts of the different study reports, we finally appraised 40 relevant studies in full. 11 studies were finally included after reviewing the full texts.

Our study shows that although older patients may benefit the most from using home telehealth visits, which improves their access to care, paradoxically there are still not enough telehealth solutions aimed at this specific population. It seems that not enough efforts were made.

Many older adults may have trouble accessing telemedical services. Policy makers should recognize and bridge this digital divide.

We suggest using simple, uncomplicated devices (such as tablets), supplied to the elderly  enabling them to easily communicate with their physicians or other healthcare providers. Lectures and demonstrations on telehealth opportunities given to the general population can help address this digital divide. Another option is to train and prepare special health-related or technology-related personnel who can visit the elderly patients several times a month and help them operate the telehealth devices, thus connecting them to their remote healthcare professionals.

We believe that appropriate and successful digital solutions should be tailored and developed specifically for the elderly sub-groups, and aim to address their needs, desires, and everyday activities, not only during pandemics. As demonstrated in this systematic review, despite the hesitations around operating telehealth solutions for older patients, it can be done and is effective.

This article is in memory of my mother, Rachel Haimi, who passed away one year ago, not from COVID-19, but due to the lack of appropriate medical attention caused by the COVID-19 restrictions.

Dr. Motti Haimi

Dr. Motti Haimi, M.D. Ph.D., MHA, is an experienced pediatrician and pediatric onco-hematologist, and medical director, working at Clalit Health Services since 2007.

He has a demonstrated history of working in the hospital and health care industry. Skilled in clinical research, medical education, epidemiology, pediatrics, hematology, telehealth, and anti-healthcare disparities activist.

He is a clinical lecturer at the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology; he is also a research associate and lecturer at the School of Public Health, University of Haifa, and at HIT (Holon Technological Institute).

He earned his M.D. from the medical school of The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He also got a Ph.D. degree, and master’s degree (cum laude) in Health Administration and Health Care Management from the School of Public Health at Haifa University.

His areas of research and interest include pediatric hematology, dysmorphology and familial genetic syndromes, hereditary predisposition for cancer, gastroenterology and nutrition in children, and decision making of the primary care doctor.

During recent years, he is especially interested in the field of telemedicine and health-informatics, pediatric telemedicine services, and especially finding telehealth solutions for the elderly population and other populations who may have difficulties in accessing digital solutions.

He is part of the Healthcare Disparities and Digital Health working group of the International Society for Telemedicine & e-health

Dr. Haimi recently received the Prof. Haim Doron Award for outstanding Ph.D. thesis at the 14th Conference on Health Policy of the National Institute for Health Services Research.

Prof Anat Gesser-Edelsburg

Anat Gesser-Edelsburg, Ph.D. is an associate professor, the head of Health Promotion Program, School of Public Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, and the founding director of the Health and Risk Communication Research Center at University of Haifa. During 2020, Anat was a visiting scholar at the School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago.

Dr. Gesser-Edelsburg is also a researcher at the Center for Evaluation of Health Promotion Interventions and at the Emili Sagol Creative Arts Therapies Research Center, University of Haifa.

She has won or collaborated in many research grants, and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Gesser-Edelsburg has a B.A. and Ph.D. from the Faculty of Arts, Tel Aviv University.

Her areas of research include health and risk communication, positive deviance, social marketing, persuasive communication, health-promotion programs, entertainment-education, and qualitative research. She investigates a variety of health-related issues, including emerging infectious disease communication, vaccination compliance, drugs and alcohol abuse, drunk-driving, sex education, nutrition, and prevention of hospital-acquired infections.

The full article published in Health Informatics Journal, can be found here.

On March 23, Nir Almog, a 22-year-old student in our Faculties of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, showcased his first solo art exhibition, entitled “What if Science Were to Burst Through the Door?” Bursting with colors and eye-catching shapes, his paintings are full of life, expressing the “sense of marvel” he draws from his studies. “In every exercise and lecture, the challenge and the thoughts evoke a wave of wonder in me, which I can only fully express through painting.,” said Almog.

Almog has been painting for as long as he can remember and has produced nearly 100 works of art. He sees no conflict between science and art. In fact, he observes that the opposite is true. People continually ask how come an artist is studying science at the Technion, he tells, and answers that his art is an expression of his love for science, while simultaneously providing a relief from its rigid confines. . The expression of joy is clear to see in his artwork – psychedelic, bold, with large brushstrokes, and bursting with life and color – his paintings lift the spirits.

Painting helps him unwind, he said, and gives him space to be less careful, to be unafraid of making mistakes. It helps him rely on his intuition and to think freely. “When we approach a complex experiment or exercise, we plan routes and destinations, armed with hypotheses and obeying the rules,” he said. “Art does not work the same way … it simply enters … says what it wants to say and moves on.”

This exhibition launches the Technion’s “Spotlight on a Creative Student” series and invites interested students to apply for an exhibition to be presented in the Corridor Gallery.

The exhibition is on display at the Ullmann Building.

Curator: Valeria Geselev

Design: Ofri Fortis and Hagar Messer

Printing: Studio Kaleidoscope, Line Cut

Framing: Aman Art

Dear Members of the Technion Family:

The spring semester recently opened, and we were thrilled to welcome students, faculty, and staff to campus. After more than two years of disruptive pandemic, we’re reminded, yet again, that meaningful learning, teaching, researching, and social interaction, are at the heart of the Technion. Now that we’re about to celebrate Passover – the Jewish spring festival – our classrooms and laboratories are bustling with academic activity, and our lawns are as lively as ever.

But Passover is not only about celebrating the spring. The Passover story is one of overcoming hardship, finding hope and liberty; it’s a story of gathering the resilience to emerge from dire straits. As we’re experiencing tensions in our region, and great conflict in other parts of the world, we must believe that even in such difficult times, there is reason for hope – just like in the story of Passover.

Our hope leads the Technion to take immediate actions, such as allocating funds toward hosting undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral students, and faculty from the Ukraine and Russia, while our peaceful campus continues to be a beacon of tolerance and coexistence.

Hope also leads us to explore new frontiers, including the groundbreaking Technion experiment successfully completed in space earlier this week; and to keep inspiring youngsters. Israeli astronaut Eytan Stibbe recently took the Nano Bible – developed and produced at the Technion – to the International Space Station – and this journey of the world’s smallest bible perhaps symbolizes the perseverance of our people, on their journey from slavery to a flourishing country. Taken into space, the Nano Bible connects distance and time, the past and the future, and ancient human culture with modern technology.

When we read the Passover Haggadah this holiday, I hope it will inspire us to strive for peace and freedom for all.

I wish you and your families a happy, healthy, and peaceful Passover.

Hag Same’ach,

Prof. Uri Sivan

President of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

On March 30, a large Austrian delegation visited the Technion, headed by Ms. Margarete Schrambock, Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs, and Mr. Alexander Schallenberg, Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, and accompanied by the Austrian Ambassador to Israel.

Arriving at the Technion by cable car, the delegation was welcomed at the David and Janet Polak Visitors Center by Technion President, Professor Uri Sivan, who talked about the Technion being the technical university of the Jewish people, and about its history and close ties with Austrian science and research. Indeed, Professor Anton Zeilinger, the renowned Austrian quantum physicist, is due to receive an honorary doctorate from the Technion later this year. The President went on to say that “what makes us different from other universities is our mission to develop Israel’s economy and security – this is embedded in our DNA.” He emphasized the Technion’s expertise in AI – the University is ranked #1 in Europe – as well as its strong ties with industry and its emphasis on commercialization.

The highlight of the visit was a meeting on Digital Health moderated by Mr. Markus Haas from Advantage Austria and led by Austrian’s Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Ms. Margarete Schrambock. Technion ‘stars’ on the panel included Professor Hossam Haick, Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Head of the Laboratory for Nanomaterial-based Devices, Faculty of Chemical Engineering; Assistant Professor Joachim Behar, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering; Dr. Shuli Schwartz, Managing Director of the Technion DRIVE Accelerator; and Mr. Sagiv Segal, Machine Learning Intelligent Systems (MLIS) Business Development Manager. The group conversed on ways to further strengthen digital collaborations and partnerships within health and life sciences.

Sagiv Segal presented MLIS and its activities, saying that “data is the fuel of the AI economy.” He also mentioned that there were considerable challenges surrounding data privacy and the prevention of biases in data analysis to deal with.

Prof. Joachim Behar talked about the new Technion Human Health Initiative (THHI), which brings together many disciplines, aiming to break barriers and allow access to the data. The initiative focuses on developing tools to help doctors choose, in real time, the most accurate and appropriate medical treatment for the patient. Prof. Behar emphasized the importance of multidisciplinary cooperation.

Prof. Hossam Haick talked about the importance of commercializing the technologies. He explained how many students dream of bringing the technology into the world through their start-up, and how the Technion supports them on this journey.

Dr. Shuli Schwartz explained that their role at DRIVE (Dream, Research, Invent, Venture, Excel) was to find problems that matched the solutions. “Our accelerator supports entrepreneurs at an early technological and business stage,” she said. She added that as a scientist turned entrepreneur, she recognized this was a transformation and not a transition.

Having heard about progress and innovations, Ms. Schambrock was impressed by the Technion’s advances in this area and said that Austria “can learn from Israel.” She stressed that R&D in health and life sciences was very important for Austria and talked about these areas being cornerstones for both countries. The Minister went on to talk about the challenges of data protection, asked how the Technion had succeeded in bringing about multi-disciplinary partnerships in digital health, and agreed that more problems need to be found and matched to the innovative solutions that scientists and engineers are discovering.

The discussion was a promising start for future joint Israeli and Austrian collaborations. The participants promised to continue the conversation.

The new Technion-Rambam Center for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (CAIH) – a joint initiative of Rambam Health Care Campus and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology – organized a Datathon – an information-based competition – as its inaugural event. Eight teams and 50 participants worked on four challenges proposed by Rambam physicians. The event took place in the Technion Faculty of Biomedical Engineering.

“The clinicians bring their side, which is formulating the problem and the clinical knowledge, while the students and researchers from the Technion bring their side, which is how to build algorithms and analyze big data. Together we’ll find solutions,” said Assistant Professor Danny Eytan.

The teams were asked to develop a model based on computational learning to solve clinical problems encountered by hospital physicians, using real anonymized data from the hospital. The groups included students and graduates from eight faculties at the Technion, medical personnel, and industry personnel.

The list of winners is as follows:

The winners were Team Stem Cells, who presented a model for early prediction of blood infection in bone marrow transplant patients. Team members: Omer Shubi, Tom Yuviler, Oren Ploznik, Yoav Danieli, Yotam Martin, Nitzan Dahan, and Shoval Zandberg. The team was mentored by Eytan Kats, Israel Henig, and Asaf Miller.

Second place went to Team Birth, who presented a model for the personalized prediction of birth weight (as an indicator of future defects) based on clinical parameters and previous births. The team was comprised of Anastasiya Kuznetsova, Alon Hacohen, Noam Keidar, Rotem Shapira, Galya Segal, and Shiri Fistel. The team was mentored by Marie-Laure Charpignon, Pierre Aublin, and Ron Beloosesky.

In third place was Team COVID-19, who presented a model for early prediction for Coronavirus patients regarding the chances of recovery, and the number of days artificial ventilation would be required. The team members were Yotam Granov, Michal Jacob, Hadar Guthmann, Alon Tsaizel, Ofek Avraham, Gal Binary, and Hagay Michaeli. The team was mentored by Einat Borohovich and Danny Eytan.

Technion and the Rambam IT and Epidemiology Department worked hand in hand to set up the computational cloud infrastructure and collate original datasets from several units across the hospital. The Datathon was a joint effort between the Technion, Rambam Health Care Campus, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It was organized by staff from all three institutions: Assistant Professor Joachim Behar (Technion), Assistant Professor Danny Eytan (Technion and Rambam), Dr. Ronit Almog (Rambam), Professor Leo Anthony Celi (MIT), and Dr. Jonathan Sobel (Technion). The event was also supported by several academic and industrial partners including Roche, GE Healthcare, and Technion Human Health Initiative (THHI).

Video from the datathon:

Maintaining the integrity of the genome is essential for the function and survival of all organisms. However, it is threatened by a broad spectrum of endogenous and environmental factors that create thousands of daily DNA damage events in every cell. The most severe of these events are the double-strand breaks (DSBs), which can cause deleterious mutations and cell death. In response to these events, cells have evolved sophisticated repair mechanisms. In bacteria, DSB repair is initiated by RecBCD, an enzyme that uses the energy supplied by ATP molecules to forcibly “unwind” the double-helical structure of DNA in the region of the damage, in preparation for subsequent steps required for complete repair of the DNA.

RecBCD unwinds DNA at an exceptionally rapid rate of ~1,600 steps per second, which requires thousands of ATP molecules every second. How RecBCD achieves this rate – and in particular how ATP molecules are able to reach their specific catalytic sites in RecBCD at such a rapid rate – has not been well understood. Now, however, a paper just published in Nature Communications by the research groups of Professors Arnon Henn and Ariel Kaplan, both from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology Faculty of Biology, sheds light on RecBCD’s exceptional catalysis mechanism. Using a wide range of biophysical tools combined with live cell experiments, Dr. Rani Zananiri, Dr. Sivasubramanya Mangapuram, and Dr. Vera Gaydar discovered the existence of additional ATP binding sites in RecBCD, to which ATP binds and from which it is transferred to the canonical catalytic sites. These new sites effectively create a “funnel” for ATP, which serves to increase the flux of ATP to the catalytic sites, despite the low levels of ATP present in cells during DNA damage.

DNA damage repair plays a central role in the physiology of cells and exhibits profound similarities across evolution. Hence, the newly discovered mechanism may have implications not only for enzyme catalysis per se, but also for DNA repair in our own cells, and its disruption in various pathophysiological states.

Click here for the paper in Nature Communications

The Technion recently held a conference titled “AI: From Hype to Productivity,” at the Elma Hotel in Zichron Yaacov. The 350 attendees included leading figures from the Technion, local AI industry, and the governmental sector.

Technion President Professor Uri Sivan said at the opening of the event: “We have recently finished formulating the Technion’s strategic plan for the coming decade. One of the main pillars of the program is the Technion’s academic-industrial relations coupled with the need to adapt to the changes this axis implies. Nowadays, the traditional line between academia conducting basic research and industry focused on development no longer exists; the current ecosystem is brand new, so academia as a whole, and technological universities in particular, must adapt to this new reality. In the coming years, relations between academia and industry will become even stronger, and whilst this isn’t something new, it is expected to intensify. This changing relationship will include Artificial Intelligence – one of the “hottest” topics today positioned at the forefront of research. This forms the backdrop to this conference, which brings together research personnel from the Technion and industry to create a cooperation essential for both sides. For me, this is an opportunity to take pride in the many achievements of the AI community at the Technion.”

The conference was led by Professors Assaf Schuster and Shie Mannor, who co-lead the MLIS – Machine Learning and Intelligent Systems Center at the Technion. Prof. Mannor’s lecture dealt with Reinforcement Learning (RL) and its limitations. As he explained: “In this area, there have been impressive successes mainly in the field of games, with computers gaining victory over expert humans in backgammon (as early as 1992), as well as in checkers, chess, and Go. While this is a significant success, and the victory of Alpha-Go is one of the great achievements of AI, one must understand that there is a big leap between successes in this field and successes in other fields such as autonomous driving. Unfortunately, many researchers and companies are sugar-coating reality, making promises without real scientific basis.  And at the end of the day, it’s a game. So why haven’t we yet solved the challenge of self-driving vehicles or even managing traffic jams at big roundabouts? The answer is that some things are very difficult to identify by computerized means. By way of example, a human driver, with all his limitations, knows how to recognize a pedestrian, and understands that if a plastic bag flies in front of the car there is no reason to swerve into the nearby lane to avoid it; computers still don’t know how to make these distinctions. I’m not saying these missions aren’t possible. I’m just saying we’re still a long way off. In fact, we’re just scratching the surface.”

Prof. Assaf Schuster’s lecture dealt with Stream Mining – monitoring huge data flows in real time. Tens of thousands of events are sometimes created during these processes and the technological challenge is to analyze them quickly, reliably, and automatically.

The conference lectures dealt with a wide range of topics, including the Interface Between Computational Learning and the Human User (Dr. Nir Rosenfeld, Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science), the Importance of the Deep Learning Revolution in Image Denoising (Prof. Michael Elad, Taub Faculty of Computer Science), the Robotics Revolution that is Still Waiting to Happen (Dr. Aviv Tamar, the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering), Learning/Creating Images from a Single Example (Prof. Tomer Michaeli, Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering), the Gap Between the Human Brain and AI Models when Dealing with Challenges Such as Vision and Speech Recognition (Prof. Daniel Soudry, Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering), How to Explain Computer Systems in the Human-Behavioral Context (Prof. Ofra Amir, Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management), Selective Focus within Artificial Intelligence Systems (Prof. Tamir Hazan,  Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management), and The Role of Urban Analytics in Planning and Policy (Prof. Pnina Plaut, Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning). Prof. Orit Hazzan of the Faculty of Science and Technology Education spoke about the Use of Data for Regulation and Planning in the K-12 Educational System.

The conference was created by three Technion bodies: MLIS, the Center for Machine Learning and Intelligent Systems, TCE – the Technion Center for Computer Engineering, and TDSI – the Technion Data Science Institute. The conference was moderated by Professor Lihi Manor-Zelnik of the Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

For a video from the conference click here

To read our latest AI Brochure, click here.

What enables cancer to metastasize – to spread to different parts of the body, with their different environments – and grow there? How do tumors become resistant to drugs? In an opinion piece recently published in iScience, Technion researchers Aseel Shomar, Professor Omri Barak, and Professor Naama Brenner propose a novel explanation, in the hope that better understanding should lead to better treatment. The three propose that cancer cells are able to learn and adapt to changing environments, through actively searching for solutions that would enable them to survive. They suggest that studying cancer with the approach and tools of this learning theory will advance our understanding of these phenomena.

It is commonly thought that both drug resistance and the ability to metastasize appear in cancer cells as random mutations. Since such a mutation is advantageous to cancer cells, enabling them to survive in an environment that attempts to fight them, these mutations become dominant. However, mounting evidence from research groups around the world does not seem to match this hypothesis, and treatment plans based on it did not significantly increase patients’ life expectancy. Now, Aseel Shomar, Prof. Barak, and Prof. Brenner propose a new hypothesis that matches the evidence at hand: cancer cells learn and adapt to their environment, enabling them to develop drug resistances and conform to the new environments of metastasis locations.

A cell has no brain, so how does it learn? Sensing stress, Prof. Brenner explains, the cell seeks to reduce that stress. It embarks on a trial-and-error process within the gene regulatory network, changing the way existing genes are expressed. An interaction that reduces the stress gets strengthened. Even so, considering the number of possible configurations the cell can try, it can seem unlikely that the process would work. However, using computer simulations based on learning theory, the group showed that cells could in fact learn and adapt in this fashion. One element of what makes this feasible is that more than one solution may be found to solve the same problem the cell faces. Another element is the way the gene regulatory network is structured, with regulatory “hubs” that control parts of it.

Cancer cells are not unique in their learning ability. Previous studies by Prof. Brenner, Prof. Erez Braun, and others have shown that yeast cells can adapt to new environments and develop abilities they did not initially possess. The Technion lab is among the few labs around the world that has succeeded in demonstrating this effect in simple organisms. Learning theory provides the framework and the mathematical tools to study these phenomena. The Technion’s Network Biology Research Lab aims to explore the way various biological systems adapt – a process that is not fully understood. The Lab’s researchers, coming from varied faculties including Physics, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Medicine, work on connecting the evolving theoretical models to complex and dynamic biological systems.

While tumors that learn and adapt might sound like a nightmare, Aseel Shomar, Prof. Barak, and Prof. Brenner also found reason for hope. There is perhaps a key to the problems cancer continues to pose. While the capacity for learning is there in the cells, normally something holds it back. In fact, the same mutations found to promote cancer in our body, can be carried by cells that still remain healthy. Even cells from active tumors, transported into healthy tissue, were in some experiments “cured,” reverting to their non-cancerous state.

“There is an interaction between the individual cell and the tissue,” Prof. Brenner explains. “The cell has the capacity to explore, but the tissue imposes order and stability. We propose that using the approach and methods of learning theory will help investigate this interaction in greater depth. Cancer could perhaps be treated through strengthening the tissue’s ability to calm and control the pre-cancerous cell.” A better understanding of the system, such as the three provide, is a crucial step towards developing more effective treatments.

Most scientific studies add a titbit of data to an existing framework. This is one of a rare category of studies that re-examine existing data and propose a novel framework, offering answers to questions that had hitherto remained unanswered, and opening up new avenues of exploration.

The study was led by Ph.D. student Aseel Shomar, under the joint supervision of Profs. Omri Barak and Naama Brenner. It was supported by the Israeli Science Foundation (ISF) and the Adams Fellowship Program of the Israel Academy of Science and Humanities.

For the full article in iScience,  click here.

Four young researchers from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology recently won European Commission for Research (ERC) Consolidator Grants. This is a record number of winners in one year for the Technion in this track. The prestigious Consolidator Grants encourage excellence in science under the Horizon European Research and Development Framework Program, and are designed to support researchers who come up with pioneering, groundbreaking research ideas in the formative stages of the research team and workplan. Each grant is approximately €2 million per researcher.

The grant winners from the Technion are:

Professor Anat Levin from the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering received the grant for SpeckleCorr – a new technology for characterizing materials, and for fluorescent imaging in biological tissue. This technology is expected to influence medicine and the analysis and creation of materials.

Professor Moran Bercovici from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering received the grant for Fluidic Shaping – a new concept that leverages the fundamental physics of interfacial phenomena to rapidly fabricate complex optical components of any size (from millimeters to meters) with sub-nanometer surface roughness, without the need for any mechanical processing such as grinding or polishing.

This innovative approach has the potential to revolutionize the fabrication of optical components both on earth and in space.

Professor Gal Shmuel from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering received the grant for EXCEPTIONAL – a theory for developing novel metamaterials: engineered materials exhibiting properties not found in natural materials. Prof. Shmuel focuses on dynamic metamaterials, aimed at controlling elastic and acoustic waves. These metamaterials have far-reaching potential applications such as noise reduction, energy harvesting, ultrasonography, camouflage, and more.

Professor Eitan Yaakobi from the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science received the grant for DNA Storage, an innovative approach that is expected to revolutionize information storage while dramatically reducing storage volume, maintaining long-term information, and significantly reducing the energy and economic cost. Prof. Yaakobi’s developments are expected to accelerate the achievement of this important technological goal.

ERC Consolidator Grants are given to prominent researchers of all ages and nationalities, who have accumulated between 7 and 12 years of experience after receiving their doctorate and who show achievements that testify to their promising future. The research must be conducted through a public or private research body operating in one of the EU countries or one of the countries associated with the program. Funding is up to €2 million per grant, and sometimes an additional €1 million – to support the purchase of unique equipment or the use of dedicated infrastructure – is provided over five years, mainly to cover the cost of hiring the winning researchers and other staff to form research teams.

“This is a new Technion record for a single year, and an impressive academic achievement, especially in light of a 25% increase in submissions in 2021,” said Technion Vice President of Research, Professor Koby Rubinstein. ERC grants are competitive grants designed to support pioneering research and development. The winners demonstrate excellence in a wide range of fields – biological and medical imaging, innovative optics, material engineering, and information storage in biological molecules.  The current news comes hot on the heels of a further nine ERC wins by Technion researchers this year, bringing great pride to the Technion. These achievements will promote both the winning researchers and the Technion’s international prestige.”

The Technion and Rambam Health Care Campus are setting up a new joint Technion-Rambam Center for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (CAIH) that will signal a revolution in medical decision-making. The CAIH, the first joint academic-hospital AI center in Israel and one of the first in the world, will develop advanced artificial intelligence systems to analyze a patient’s condition. The center will focus on developing tools that will help physicians select, in real time, the most appropriate and accurate medical treatment for a patient. These tools will be based on a complex and rapid analysis of all the relevant medical information that has accumulated in big medical databases over the years. In the words of Assistant Professor Joachim Behar, co-director of the center, the aim of the CAIH is to “create the leading Israeli academic center for medical AI committed to advanced medical and clinical research, resulting in significant and actionable benefit to patient care.”

The Center’s opening conference, “Technion-Rambam Hack: Machine Learning in Healthcare,” which was held at Rambam Health Care Campus on March 9, was attended by about 250 people, and featured leading researchers from the Technion, Rambam, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Ministry of Health, Clalit Health Services, GE Healthcare, and Roche. Scientists, healthcare practitioners and policy makers from all around the world shared their knowledge on the fascinating topic, while student teams attempted to tackle salient issues in healthcare by technological means. The opening remarks were delivered by Technion President, Professor Uri Sivan and the CEO of Rambam, Professor Miki Halberthal. A roundtable on the topic of data stakeholders was moderated by Professor Rafi Beyar, former director of Rambam Health Care Campus, and one of the visionaries behind the new center.

“It is very exciting to be here,” said Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan. “When I took office as President of the Technion more than two years ago, we built a strategic plan. The first initiative that came out of the program was the ‘Human Health Initiative,’ of which the new Center for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare is a part. The connection between the Technion and Rambam is a key element in this vision of cooperation and connection between science, engineering, and medicine, and it combines two strong and important forces. 170 faculty members at the Technion are currently working on issues related to the life sciences, and I have no doubt that there is enormous potential here.”

“It is a great privilege to open this event that connects Rambam, the Technion, and MIT,” said Rambam CEO Prof. Miki Halberthal. “I would like to thank all the organizers as well as all the guests who have come from abroad. We have many big challenges that we have not yet solved medically – infections, deterioration of corona patients, improved treatment of heart failure, and more – and I believe that cooperation with the Technion will lead to significant breakthroughs.”

The first part of the conference dealt with current trends in machine learning in healthcare, the second part on access to medical databases in Israel, and the third part on the prospective evaluation of machine learning models in the clinical environment. The conference was organized by Dr. Joachim Behar from AIMLab, Dr. Danny Eytan, Dr. Ronit Almog, and Prof. Leo Anthony Celi, who delivered the keynote address.

Prof. Leo Anthony Celi, is a senior researcher and director of the MIT Laboratory of Computational Physiology (LCP), the organization behind SANA, which supports technological innovation for the benefit of all mankind, including developing countries. Prof. Celi is a founder of MIMIC – a database serving more than 2,000 researchers in around 30 countries, creating a global community of medical researchers in the field of medical data science.

Prof. Ran Balicer is Chief Innovation Officer at Clalit Health Services, founding director of the Clalit Research Institute, a member of the Management Team for Epidemics in the Ministry of Health, and Head of the National Covid-19 Experts Advisory Team. He spoke at the conference on ways to harness data science to improve medical care. “Data science is expected to revolutionize the medical world,” said Prof. Balicer, “and there is no doubt that big data is a huge opportunity; however, as information accumulates, we understand that the key question is not how much information you have but how much knowledge it gives you, what significant insights you can gain from it and how you can incorporate it into improving medical care. In a nutshell, this revolution has taken responsive medicine for a single patient to predictive, proactive, and preventive medicine for everyone. This is no longer science fiction and we started working on it more than a decade ago. Today we are already making such predictions, and the COVID pandemic has accelerated this, of course.”

Prof. Shie Mannor is from the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering and considered one of the world’s leading experts in artificial intelligence. He is also co-director of MLIS – the Center for Machine Learning and Intelligent Systems at the Technion – and a senior scientist at NVIDIA. Prof. Mannor said, “in general I am a pessimist and skeptical of the promises made in the context of artificial intelligence, but in the medical world I believe that there is, and will be, significant progress based on AI. Of course, I also have warnings: it takes time to apply artificial intelligence, and the big challenge is not writing articles but bringing real applications to the field. In this sense, doctors have a significant role to play, and only they know what is really needed, and we researchers need to help develop systems that will work in the real world.”

The Technion-Rambam Center for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare is the brainchild of the two institutions and jointly funded by both. It will operate initially in the Meyer Building in Rambam and will later be transferred to the newly built Discovery Tower on the western campus of the hospital. “The Center will start running five flagship projects, and its directors are Assistant Prof. Joachim Behar (head of the group), Assistant Prof.  Uri Shalit, Prof. Shie Mannor, Prof. Lior Gepstein, Prof. Shai Shenn-Orr, Assistant Prof. Danny Eytan, Dr. Ronit Almog, and Dr. Oren Caspi.”

The Center is expected to bring about a dramatic change in the way patients are diagnosed and treated in real time. According to Assistant Prof. Uri Shalit of the Technion, “The Center will serve as a significant collaborative platform that will connect doctors and researchers from Rambam with scientists and engineers from the Technion, with the aim of promoting diagnosis and medical treatment through artificial intelligence.  We, as data scientists, need large amounts of curated data – Big Data – and the clinical world needs experts who will analyze this data and derive useful insights from it. For us as scientists, this is an important connection to the field and a significant means of influencing human well-being.”

“This is the great innovation,” said Dr. Oren Caspi, Director of the Heart Failure Unit at Rambam, a researcher at the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, and one of the leaders in establishing the Center. “We all know the usual procedure – the patient is hospitalized, undergoes diagnostic tests, and receives treatment to the best abilities of the medical staff. The new vision presented by the Center is one of diagnosis and treatment based on extensive information from a huge number of patients. As a result, the doctor will be able to ‘tailor’ the patient’s treatment to be optimal, accurate, and customized. The Center’s uniqueness will help us convert academic achievements in artificial intelligence and big data into therapeutic tools that are immediately available at the patient’s bedside in the spirit of personalized medicine.”

The conference summarized the results of a “Datathon,” an information-based competition held last week at the Technion Faculty of Biomedical Engineering. The conference was attended by around 50 students and alumni from various Technion faculties who developed different technologies related to the analysis of medical data in solving important challenges in cardiology, fetal monitoring, intensive care, and stem cells. The students were accompanied by 20 mentors from the Technion, Rambam, and industry.

Click here to read the Technion’s AI Brochure

New technology that allows for very high-resolution medical imaging (close to 10 µm) is expected to lead to the development of tiny and effective ultrasound systems and other medical applications. The innovative technology, SPADE, is based on research led by Professor Amir Rosenthal and Ph.D. student Yoav Hazan of the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Their findings were published in Nature Communications.

Medical ultrasound is an accepted and common tool for monitoring various physiological conditions in internal tissues. Its great advantage is that unlike CT scans and x-rays, it is not based on ionizing radiation, which is considered dangerous in high doses. The main component of ultrasound systems is the transducer – an electro-mechanical device that transmits and receives ultrasound waves.

One of the technological challenges in the world of ultrasound is the development of endoscopic transducers – miniature transducers inserted through a tiny hole in the skin, or from one of the body’s natural orifices in a minimally invasive procedure. Such transducers are essential because the scan of deep tissue regions often requires a small transducer that comes close to the target tissue.

The challenge in developing these transducers stems in part from the fact that miniaturization impairs their sensitivity, making it difficult to create high-quality images. The SPADE (Silicon-Photonics Acoustic Detector) technology developed by the Technion researchers is based on optical components instead of electrical components that literally alter the image. It provides the possibility to perform ultrasound tests in resolutions not previously achieved. The researchers stress that the new technology could dramatically improve the resolution of additional diagnostic methods such as vascular imaging using optoacoustics. In this regard, the article in Nature Communications presents mapping of blood vessels in a mouse’s ear at an unprecedented resolution (about 10 microns).

The study was supported by the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI), the National Science Foundation, the Polak Foundation, the Israel Innovation Authority, and the Ollendorf Minerva Center.

Click here for the paper in Nature Communications.