Israel Cancer Research Fund and Cancer Research Institute Announce Co-Funding of a Project Grant

The Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) and the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) have awarded a collaborative grant to Michael Berger, PhD, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. This is the fifth time the two organizations have worked together to sponsor innovative research in immunotherapy. The project grant will provide funding of $180,000 over three years.

Professor Berger’s project, “Improving Solid Tumor Immunotherapy Through Rewiring of T-cell’s Mitochondrial Metabolism,” will use a biosynthesis process and block production of a specific protein to reenergize T-cells, a type of immune cell, that have become impaired by the tumor microenvironment, to make them more effective in fighting cancers.

While immunotherapy first emerged as a form of FDA-approved cancer treatment in the late 1980s, it is only within the past few years that this class of therapy has begun to deliver significant survival benefit to patients, bringing it to the forefront of public attention. New immunotherapeutic approaches have been shown in clinical trials to effectively treat patients with bladder, head and neck, kidney, and lung cancers as well as leukemia, lymphoma, and melanoma, with clinical trials under way for more than 25 other types of cancer.

“Building on our history of collaboration, CRI’s partnership with the Israel Cancer Research Fund punctuates our commitment to supporting cutting-edge science and life-saving discoveries in the field of cancer immunotherapy across the globe. CRI has pioneered the field of cancer immunotherapy for 70 years. It is only through relationships such as this that we can one day create a world immune to cancer,” said CRI’s CEO and Director of Scientific Affairs, Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, PhD.

Commenting on the partnership, Beryl P. Chernov, National Executive Director of ICRF said, “Immunotherapy stands as one of the beacons of hope in the landscape of cancer treatment, offering new avenues for patients to battle this terrible disease. ICRF’s partnership with CRI represents a profound commitment from both organizations to advancing science and medicine in our collective fight against cancer.”