תוצאות

גרטל סמדר

תחומי התמחות: #אימונולוגיה #מחלות אוטואימוניות

תיאור:

The Arthritis Research Laboratory:

Arthritis is highly prevalent worldwide and it includes over 100 disease types, the most common of which are rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, osteoarthritis as well as inflammatory metabolic arthritis (e.g., gout and pseudogout). All of these types share common features that cause joint pain and synovitis that lead to articular and cartilage destruction.

Our lab concentrates on two main areas of study:

  • Personalized medicine for arthritis patients. Treatment options include various types of medications: conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, biological therapies and targeted synthetic small molecules. However, no single therapeutic mode is affective for all patients, and there are no predictive biomarkers for most drugs. The identification of such biomarkers would greatly assist in differentiating between individuals who are likely to benefit from a specific therapy from those who are not, thereby establishing an urgent need for their delineation. Our ongoing project is designed to apply ex-vivo testing methods for response to a variety of anti-rheumatic drugs.

 

  • New approaches for drug administration. The current clinical treatment of synovial inflammation relies upon intra-articular administration of anti-inflammatory and pain relief drugs comprised mainly of glucocorticoid (GCs) injections directly to the joints. While GCs provide immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory effects, long-term GCs injections are associated with significant side effects, such as osteoporosis and cartilage loss. Novel alternative approaches to manage inflammatory arthritis remain an unmet need of our We investigate the feasibility of alternative approaches that might be effective in limiting inflammation, reducesymptoms, slow disease progression and further joint damage.

 

See our website for details on current on-going projects in our lab.

וולוביץ אילן

תחומי התמחות: #אימונולוגיה #אימונותרפיה של סרטן #מחלות סרטניות

תיאור:

Our lab studies the unique immunology of human brain tumors. The lab aims to translate its scientific finding into clinical investigations in the field of cancer immunotherapy.

Our lab has developed a unique approach we call "Split Immunity", to immunologically treat brain tumors. This approach has already been utilized to treat two patients in a First in human (FIH) trial. Based on the results attained, additional twelve patients will be treated as part of an approved phase I/II trial that will soon commence.

For this project and other projects in the lab, we have developed an elaborate immunological toolbox consisting of advanced multicolor flow cytometry (up to 16 colors) coupled with transcriptomic tools. The developed toolbox has recently been licensed to a company named "Pyxis Diagnostics" aimed at identifying predictive biomarkers for cancer immunotherapy.

Using the labs' approach and methodologies, we study key immune cells within brain tumors. Cells such as dendritic cells, T cells, macrophages and microglia, serve different roles within the tumor-immune network and determine the fate of natural responses to the tumor as well as those responses induced by immunotherapyץ

See our website for details on current projects run in our lab.

בריס פלדמן חגית

תחומי התמחות: #גנטיקה

תיאור:

The Translational Genetics and Genomics Research laboratory combines genetic, computational and molecular biology methods to study rare Mendelian diseases from various medical disciplines. We investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these syndromes. Over the years, we uncovered numerous novel human disease-causing genes using next generation sequencing, which serve as a first step to better understanding human physiology in health and disease, followed by potential application of this knowledge to implement precision medicine and tailored treatments. Our discoveries provided personalized genetic counseling for families with rare genetic disorders and paved the way to tailored medical treatment for some of the patients, which became the treatment of choice for similar patients worldwide. Our research is patient-driven with the aim of continued implementation of personalized medicine and disease prevention.

טאומן ריבה

תחומי התמחות: #מחלות מטבוליות #נוירולוגיה וחקר המוח

תיאור:

At the Sagol-Sieratzki Sleep Center we investigate sleep across the lifespan.

My special interest is women's health.

In particular:

(1) Maternal sleep and fetal growth and development

(2) Maternal sleep and offspring metabolic health

(3) Maternal sleep and offspring's neurocognition and behavior

(3) Chrono-nutrition as an intervention tool for sleep problems in women

במכון סגול שירצקי לרפואת שינה מתקיימים מחקרים שכולם עוסקים בשינה החל מגיל הילדות המוקדמת ועד הזקנה המאוחרת. ההתמקדות שלי היא בשינה ובריאות האישה. 

במיוחד: ההשפעה של שינה במהלך ההריון על צמיחה והתפתחות העובר, ההשפעה ארוכת הטווח של שינת האם בחיים העובריים על הבריאות המטבולית, הנוירוקוגניציה וההתנהגות של הצאצא וכן ההשפעה של התערבות כרונו-תזונתית (תזמון האכילה) על הפרעות שינה בנשים.

 

הוסדורף ג'ף

תחומי התמחות: #הְזדַקְנוּת #נוירולוגיה וחקר המוח

תיאור:

As the baby boomers age, the number of adults who suffer from frequent falls, gait disorders, cognitive impairment, dementia, and other neurological diseases continues to increase dramatically. New understandings and therapeutic approaches are needed. Our research aims to improve the personalized treatment of age-related movement, cognition, and mobility disorders and to alleviate the burden associated with them.

We leverage a combination of clinical, engineering, and neuroscience expertise:

  • To gain new understandings into the physiologic and pathophysiologic mechanisms that contribute to cognitive and motor function, the factors that influence these functions, and their changes with aging and disease (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, Huntington's).
  • To develop new methods and tools for the early detection and tracking of cognitive and motor decline.
  • To develop and evaluate novel methods for the prevention and treatment of gait, falls, and cognitive function.

We seek students who can contribute to the above aims. This involves, for example, studies based on:

  • Signal processing, machine and deep learning to extract meaningful information from wearable sensors
  • Non-invasive brain stimulation (e.g., tDCS, tACS) to evaluate its impact on gait, balance and cognitive function
  • Virtual-reality to improve dual-tasking, gait and cognitive function
  • Identifying early signs of gait disturbances like freezing of gait and falls

זיגמונד אהוד

תחומי התמחות: #אימונולוגיה #מחלות אוטואימוניות #מחלות במערכת העיכול

תיאור:

Unravelling the role of Tarm1 in the pathogenesis of inflammatory gut and liver disorders

TARM-1 (T Cell-Interacting, Activating Receptor on Myeloid Cells 1) is a recently discovered receptor that belongs to the Leukocyte Receptor Complex(LRC) family. It is expressed predominantly by myeloid cells, specifically by macrophages and neutrophils. The role and function of this receptor in the regulation of the immune system in inflammatory conditions is largely unknown.

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) are chronic immune-related disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Previous studies have shown that neutrophils and mononuclear phagocytes play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of IBD. We have found increased intestinal expression levels of TARM-1 in murine acute and chronic colitis models, as well as in intestinal samples of IBD patients.

We have developed conditional transgenic TARM-1 deficient mice to study its cell specific biology in intestinal inflammation and other inflammatory disorders.

זוננבליק אמיר

תחומי התמחות: #מחלות סרטניות

תיאור:

Research Objectives: The Breast Cancer Translational Research lab is aimed at contributing to the development of personalized medicine that tailors medical treatments to individual patients. Moreover, we aim to identify molecular regulators and biomarkers involved in breast cancer development, survival and invasion and to elucidate mechanisms of resistance to therapies in breast cancer patients. To this end we embrace an integrated approach. Our lab benefits from a direct access to clinical databases and to biological samples, including a tissue-bank, facilitating relevant and significant translational research. The laboratory also benefits from both, the strong clinical platform of the Breast Cancer Division and the cutting edge technological and scientific facilities available at the medical center. The Laboratory operates to establish close collaborations between basic research scientists, bioinformaticians, oncologists, radiologists and pathologists from Israel and from worldwide leading academic and medical institutes.

Main Research topics:

  • STAT3 as a predictor of benefit from therapy in breast cancer
  • The breast tumor microenvironment role in cancer development, progression and response to therapy
  • The SWI/SNF complex in breast cancer: prognostic and predictive implications
  • Dissecting the Akt/mTOR pathway in estrogen receptor positive breast cancers
  • The effect of breast cancer intratumor heterogeneity on disease progression and response to therapy
  • Design of patient-specific treatments using bioinformation
  • Develop efficient personalized selection of neoadjuvant agents or combinations
  • Development novel strategies for success in breast cancer therapies

ורול חן

תחומי התמחות: #אימונולוגיה #מחלות במערכת העיכול

תיאור:

Microbiome alterations drive the development and propagation of Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE)

Dr. Chen Varol is the director of the Research Center for Digestive Tract & Liver Diseases in Sourasky Medical Center and Tel Aviv University. We are recruiting talented, creative and ambitious students (MSc, PhD and postdoc) for a new project studying microbiome-immune interaction in EoE. This is a rare atopic disease, whose prevalence is dramatically increasing in the Western world, and is associated with chronic food allergies. In our research we utilize novel mouse model deveoped in collaboration with Tel Aviv University (Prof. Ariel Munitz) and human patient bio-bank. We integrate state of the art microbiome and immunological experimental approaches. This project is well funded. The research is performed with Dr. Niv Zmora M.D/PhD, who has recently finished his PhD (cum laude) at the Weizmann Institute of Science at the lab of Prof. Eran Elinav.

ד״ר חן ורול מנהל את המרכז לחקר מחלות דרכי העיכול והכבד בביה״ח איכילוב/אוניברסיטת תל אביב. דרושים סטודנטים למחקר מוכשרים ויצירתיים לפרויקט חדשני החוקר את האינטראקציה בין המיקרוביום למערכת החיסון במחלת דלקת אאוזינופילית של הוושט (Eosinophilic esophagitis). זוהי מחלה מתחום האלרגיות הכרוניות למזון, אשר שכיחותה עולה בעולם המערבי. במחקר אנו משתמשים במודל עכברי שפותח בשת״פ עם אוניברסיטת ת״א, ובביובנק של רקמות אנושיות. המחקר זכה למימון גדול ומערב שילוב גישות אימונולוגית, אקספרימנטלית וחישובית לניתוח הרכב ותפקוד המיקרוביום. המחקר מבוצע בשיתוף עם ד"ר ניב זמורה (MD/PhD), בוגר מכון וייצמן ומומחה במחקר המיקרוביום, אשר פתח לאחרונה מעבדה במרכז המחקר.

רובינק תמי

תחומי התמחות: #הְזדַקְנוּת #מחלות במערכת העיכול #מחלות סרטניות

תיאור:

Metastases are the direct cause of death of many patients with cancer, but we don't know enough about their biology and don’t know how to stop them from  spreading. These are the key questions that our lab focuses on. In order to answer these questions we combine the unique resources and databases of the Oncology Department together with the most up to date basic research tools 

What are the adaptations cancer cells acquire to metastasize to specific organs?

  1. In order to answer this question we embraced a tumor agnostic approach. We analyzed thousands of pancreatic cancer samples from different metastatic sites and revealed mutations characteristic specifically to liver metastases. In breast cancer, we found that a mutation in the estrogen receptor caused breast cancer cells to change direction and instead of metastasizing to the bone, they metastasize preferentially to the liver. These mutations are implemented in sophisticated in vitro and in vivo models, to explore mechanisms employed by the mutated cells to gain growth advantage in the liver. To this purpose we perform multi OMICS analysis and mine patients' data available in our lab.  Preliminary results show that the mutations shift ammonia metabolism to allow the cancer cells utilize liver metabolism to their advantage. The study opens the door to find inhibitors to pathways activated by mutated cells for to prevent the development of liver metastases. Link to breast cancer study Link to articles pancreatic cancer study.
  2. We are using a similar approach in order to gain insight into the development of brain metastasis Link to brain metastasis study.

The link between old age and cancer: the hormone Klotho

Age is a main risk factor for cancer, but the mechanisms responsible for this are unclear. Klotho is a longevity hormone and found in the bloodstream naturally. We found that it is a tumor suppressor, and that its injection to mice inhibits pancreatic, breast, ovarian and colon cancer. Importantly, klotho has a beneficial effect on a variety of physiological activities such as glucose and phosphorus homeostasis, suggesting that Klotho could be used as an effective treatment against cancer while normal cells would be protected. In the laboratory we focus on developing Klotho-based therapies and employ a number of approaches:

  1. Locating the anti-cancer activity in klotho protein
  2. Identification of its receptor in cancer cells
  3. Combining klotho activity with CAR-T cells as a treatment for various cancers
  4. Generate nano-particles containing klotho protein or mRNA

Our publication in this area

שפרכר אלי

תחומי התמחות: #גנטיקה #מחלות אוטואימוניות #מחלות עור

תיאור:

Investigating the Molecular Genetics of Skin Diseases

Our laboratory has been investigating for the past 20 years the genetic basis of skin disorders. Monogenic skin disorders are known to be prevalent among Middle Eastern populations, and at this regard, our laboratory is ideally situated to carry research in that field. These efforts have led to the deciphering of the molecular basis of more than 25 genetic diseases by members of our group. The deciphering of the molecular basis of a monogenic disorder invariably reveals a novel pathway whose importance is exemplified by the disease resulting from its malfunction. Accordingly, over the years we have uncovered a number of novel biochemical pathways of importance for the physiology of the skin and other organs including kidney, eye and central nervous system. We systematically explore the mechanistic aspects of these new pathways using almost exclusively humanized models such as three-dimensional skin equivalents, hair organ cultures and chimeric mouse models. We have for example identified the role of filaggrin 2 in the pathogenesis of a large series of seemingly unrelated diseases featuring peeling of the skin. Once the function of a novel gene product is established, this new knowledge can be translated in the form of new treatments for rare and more common diseases alike. For example, we have found that aminoglycosides promote read-through across a nonsense mutation responsible for a rare form of congenital hair loss. We have subsequently showed that topical gentamycin can foster hair growth in patients affected with this condition. Based on a similar paradigm we are also investigating the genetic basis of complex skin traits including psoriasis and pemphigus, a dreadful autoimmune disorder associated with 90% mortality if left untreated. We have revealed a new pathway associated with an increased risk for pemphigus and are now attempting at exploiting this discovery to develop novel approaches to the management of this condition.

Oscillating between bedside and the bench, our research program is substantiating a major goal of our division, the integration of research and clinical care to the benefit of our patients. Our research program's main objectives are:

  1. Delineation of the genetic basis of inherited skin disorders using a palette of analytical tools.
  2. Systematic investigation of the function of novel genes found to be associated with inherited skin diseases using humanized models such as three-dimensional artificial skin equivalents, hair organ cultures and chimeric mice.
  3. Translation of this new knowledge into treatments for rare and more common diseases using engineered reporter cell lines and robotic small molecule library screening followed by in vitro and in vivo validation of relevant hits.