Israel, US-based cancer researchers awarded $500,000

Scientists based in the United States and Israel were awarded $500,000 to forward their research on pediatric cancer and metastasis, the Alan B. Slifka Foundation (ABSF), the Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF), and the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF) announced last Thursday.

The Max Ritvo, Alan Slifka and Desiree Dato Award for Fusion-Oncoprotein Cancers and Metastasis will go towards supporting “two pairs of cancer investigators,” each receiving an award of $250,000 over the course of two years.

“The grantees are world-class scientists. We are proud to help bring together a collaboration that will move science to the clinic more rapidly with groundbreaking therapies for cancers that are difficult to treat,” said Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation Samuel Waxman, MD.

Associate Director, Cancer Biology, and Co-Director, Cancer Basic and Translational Science at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute Elizabeth Lawlor, MD, PhD., in collaboration with Director, Dwek Institute for Cancer Therapy Research, Weizmann Institute of Science Yosef Yarden, PhD, will make up one of the teams.

The team intends to delve into options that will “overcome the abnormal proteins known to cause pediatric cancers,” such as the rare bone disease Ewing sarcoma.

The second team consists of Professor in Cancer Immunology and the Director of the Precision Immunology Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, and Professor in the Department of Immunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science Ido Amit, PhD.

The two will explore how to alter the immune system in order to prevent metastasis, the process by which cancer spreads to other portions of the body.

“This program requires collaboration, which is a powerful means to fuel innovation. By providing both an interface and support for interactions between leading scientists, we can be optimistic that these projects will accelerate discovery in several important areas of cancer research,” said National Executive Director at the Israel Cancer Research Fund Mark A. Israel, MD.

“We are thrilled that Ewing sarcoma and the nature of metastasis—separately often lethal processes— will be the subjects of investigation by these prominent researchers. We are excited by what such formal cross-collaborations between Israeli and North American scientists will bear,” said President and Chair of The Alan B. Slifka Foundation and Assistant Professor, Clinical Faculty at the Yale University School Of Medicine Ariella Riva Ritvo-Slifka, PhD.

This article was originally published on JPost.com.