WIM no. 17 Spring 2020

מכון ויצמן למדע Cancer in focus A sampling of groundbreaking Weizmann projects supported by Rising Tide Testing tumor sensitivity to drugs: Dr. Ravid Straussman and Dr. Nancy Gavert from his team in the Department of Molecular Cell Biology developed a method to grow in the lab freshly removed sections of human tumors and test their sensitivity to a large panel of drugs, called ex-vivo organ culture (EVOC). The EVOC method allows for a rapid determination of a tumor’s susceptibility to various drugs over a course of up to seven days. This method offers a major advantage over existing drug-testing methods because it tests the sensitivity of tumor cells to drugs within its so-called microenvironment—the non-cancerous cells that surround and support the cancer cells —which offers a more accurate model of how the tumor would respond to treatment in the patient’s body. Dr. Straussman and his lab established Curesponse, a start-up company based on the EVOC technology, which is now in multi-center clinical trials for various cancers. The urea cycle as a guidepost for cancer treatment: Dr. Ayelet Erez, of the Department of Biological Regulation, is a clinical and research geneticist who specializes in inherited metabolic pediatric syndromes for understanding metabolic irregularities in complex disorders such as cancer to find better ways to diagnose as well as improve response to therapy. She and her lab members found that the urea cycle—a metabolic pathway that converts physiological waste so it can be excreted as urine—is disrupted in various cancers to enable the American Society of Clinical Oncology, through an innovative program that funds mentoring partnerships between veteran and young scientists in the US and Europe. It also supports the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a US-based nonprofit; the Anticancer Fund, a Belgian nonprofit, which supports clinical trials for cancer therapies with a special focus on rare cancers and orphan drugs to treat them; and pediatric cancer research at Cambridge University and Stanford University. The multiplier effect The relationship with the Weizmann Institute began in 2014 with a visionary multi-million dollar gift to support cancer research. Wendelin Zellmayer, Rising Tide’s CEO, says the foundation’s board chose a series of research avenues at Weizmann that held major promise for eventually translating into therapies that would reach the bedside in a relatively short span of time. A half-decade later, these investigations—which have been supported by Rising Tide and other donors—have indeed broken new ground in areas of major promise. Accelerated and expanded with this funding, these investigations have also since attracted grants from the European Research Council and the Israel Science Foundation. “Weizmann’s great scientists are doing excellent basic research, which is leading to real application that will help patients,” says Zellmayer. “We see how our funds have created a multiplier effect, such that not only has the research been expedited, but also the projects we have supported have led to external grants frommajor funding agencies, and from other donors.” Inspired by success, Rising Tide determined earlier this year to enter a new stage of funding for Weizmann science. The focus of the next round will be support for studies in cancer prevention g Dr. Ravid Straussman Weizmann MAGAZINE Spotlight On