In the time it takes to read this article, several people in the United States will likely experience a heart attack — according to the CDC, someone in the US suffers from one every 40 seconds.
That morbid statistic highlights the importance of coronary artery disease detection methods, and companies developing them.
One such company is Israeli startup AccuLine, which recently secured $4.2 million in seed funding for the development and commercialisation of its CORA (Coronary Artery Risk Assessment) system, designed to improve the early detection of coronary artery disease (CAD), a leading cause of heart attacks.
CORA detects two bio-signals in the heart’s electrical activity, providing insights into coronary artery health. The system uses artificial intelligence and machine-learning algorithms to analyse this data, identifying patterns that may indicate CAD.
The CORA assessment improves upon current CAD diagnostic tools by means of a noninvasive, radiation-free test that evaluates three vital signs — the heart’s electrical activity, oxygen saturation levels and respiratory phase — in four minutes.
The system is designed to be operated by medical staff in various healthcare settings, with immediate results. By potentially replacing some existing stress test examinations, CORA could reduce medical expenses while maintaining diagnostic accuracy.
AccuLine, based in Petah Tikva, estimates the market potential for the technology at $7 billion annually in the United States.
The company has conducted two clinical studies in Israel to validate CORA’s diagnostic capabilities. The first involved 100 participants, while the second, larger study included 300 participants across seven medical centers. A third study is planned for next year in the US to seek US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.
“Diagnosing patients at very early stages of risk for CAD without invasive testing will add value to patients, healthcare systems, doctors and insurance organisations,” said AccuLine cofounder and CEO Moshe Barel.
“This test has the potential to save millions of lives a year and save hundreds of millions of dollars for healthcare systems on unnecessary tests or expensive treatments for patients after a heart attack, including rehabilitation and medication.”
“Stay positive,” we’re told when suffering from an illness. It’s easy to dismiss such comments as platitudes from well-meaning friends. But Technion scientists have demonstrated that activation of the brain’s reward system can boost recovery from a heart attack. Establishing the connection between the two can potentially lead to therapeutic avenues for intervention.
“It’s time that both researchers and clinicians take the link between psychology and physiology seriously,” said Technion Associate Professor Asya Rolls, a psychoneuroimmunologist and pioneer in mind-body interactions.
Scientists have previously shown that the emotional state can influence the course of disease following a heart attack. But until now, the underlying physiological mechanisms were not well understood.
Prof. Rolls worked with renowned cardiac researcher Professor Lior Gepstein and Hedva Haykin, Ph.D. ’23, in the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine to manipulate the area of the brain responsible for inducing positive emotion and motivation in heart-diseased mice. The stimulation resulted in a favorable immune response that helped heal cardiac scarring, increased blood vessel formation, and improved cardiac performance. Their work, published in Nature Cardiovascular Research, found that these beneficial effects on the heart are mediated in part by the secretion of C3, a protein of the body’s “complement system,” which is the front line of defense for the immune system.
Since there are many non-invasive methods for stimulating the reward system in humans, such as drugs, biofeedback, and focused ultrasound, the team’s discovery could have meaningful future implications for the treatment of heart attacks.
“You can call something psychosomatic, but in the end, it’s somatic,” said Prof. Rolls. “How long can we ignore what is there?”
Prof. Asya Rolls is part of a growing group of scientists who are mapping out the brain’s control over the body’s immune system responses. Her earlier research has made inroads into understanding and treating autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s disease, and has even shown that triggering the brain’s reward system can stop tumor growth in mice.
Prof. Lior Gepstein is the director of the Cardiology Department at Rambam Health Care Campus and an academic staff member in the Technion’s Faculty of Medicine. His diverse research has explored the generation of heart tissue from human embryonic stem cells, treatment for cardiac arrythmias, and the development of a biological pacemaker.
Dr. Hevda Haykin recently completed her doctoral studies under the supervision of Profs. Rolls and Gepstein, and was awarded the Israel Heart Society’s J.J. Kellerman Young Investigator Award for 2024.
Maayan Kinsbursky, a graduate of the advanced degree program in industrial design at the Technion, has won the international Red Dot Design Award for her master’s project. The award ceremony will take place in Singapore on October 10, and the project will subsequently be exhibited at the Red Dot Design Museum, also in Singapore. The project was supervised by Assistant Professor Yoav Sterman, former innovation manager at Nike, and a faculty member in the industrial design program headed by Prof. Ezri Tarazi, in the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning.
Proteins are important biological compounds that can form amyloid structures, which have been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, where the accumulation of abnormal amyloid aggregates (plaques) disrupts brain function. Our current research examined whether we should be concerned over the formation of amyloids in processed food, and it reveals positive aspects to this question in the context of their digestive fate.
From L to R: Prof. Meytal Landau, Alon Romano, Gil Rafael
Amyloid structures, it turns out, lead to a slow breakdown of the protein progenitors in the digestive system and promote positive changes in the colon. In fact, these changes resemble those of “regular” dietary fibers found in fruits and whole grains. Moreover, the bacteria in our gut prefer amyloids over “naked” undigested proteins, which may lead to negative effects such as adverse fermentation in the intestines.
Graphical abstract: Left – Amyloid consumption in food, and their journey through the digestive system. Right – Creation of amyloids from eggs and whey protein
Proteins are essential components in body structure and function, and it is now clear that proper protein consumption is important for human health and can even affect various behaviors such as appetite, hunger, and fatigue. Against this background, extensive efforts are being made to develop diverse protein-rich nutritional solutions for those who seek to tone down consumption of animal products. This is the backdrop for the positive findings emerging from the research published in Food Hydrocolloids.
The researchers focused on proteins from eggs and dairy to show case that protein-amyloids formed in processed foods may:
Gradually break down in the upper digestive system, potentially promoting slower and more controlled absorption of proteins into the body.
Assist in preserving the microbial diversity in the intestines; in particular, it was found that they maintain a low ratio between two important bacterial communities (Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes). This ratio indicates the health of the gur microbiota, whereas an unbalanced diet encourages an increase in this ratio which has been correlated with increased risk of disease (obesity, diabetes, and cancer).
From a wider viewpoint, the research demonstrates the inherent potential in food processing to enhance potential to promote health. According to Prof. Lesmes: “Today, we know how to precisely control and formulate foods and to estimate through models developed in my lab, how different food components will be digested in the body of different consumers. Together with innovative research tools, this scientific approach will help us understand the fate of proteins and innovative food components in the bodies of different consumers and may even facilitate development of personalized dietary choices. I believe that this research opens up new avenues for understanding the potential of “smartly” processed food to expand human nutrition sources and improve health.”
The research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute at the Technion. The authors also thank the Smoler Proteomics Center at the Technion and Dana Benjamin from the Koren Lab at Bar Ilan University.
Even before the establishment of the State of Israel, faculty, students, and alumni of the Technion helped develop and manage water resources in a desert land. They contributed to the national water carrier that brought water from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) in the north to the drylands in the south. They improved technologies for water treatment, desalination, and drip irrigation. These efforts have turned Israel from a water-deficient to a water-abundant country.
Today, Israel leads the world in water reclamation, recycling more than 90% of its wastewater for use in agriculture and industry. No longer reliant on the Kinneret, Israel’s five desalination plants provide the bulk of the country’s drinking water. Complex systems carry diverse water types from diverse water sources for diverse water needs.
But far from resting on its laurels, improving the sustainability and quality of water and water management facilities remains a major priority for Israel and for the Technion. The University established the Stephen and Nancy Grand Water Research Institute (GWRI) in 1993 to address these challenges through science, technology, engineering, and policy development.
The GWRI comprises more than 40 researchers from various faculties, including civil, environmental, mechanical, and chemical engineering, as well as chemistry, biotechnology, and more. They publish about 200 papers a year on topics from water resource management to aquaculture systems to feed a burgeoning world population. While its focus is on the needs of Israel, it is also very much involved internationally.
“One-third of the world’s population lives under water scarcity conditions,” said Professor Eran Friedler, director of the GWRI and the Henry Goldberg Academic Chair in the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is also a Technion alumnus, having received a Ph.D. in environmental engineering in 1994.
FROM LEFT: PROF. DAVID BRODAY; PROF. ERAN FRIEDLER; ILAN KATZ, CEO AND CTO OF H2OLL; AND LIRON HOUBER, STUDENT.
“The number will only increase due to population growth, urbanization, and climate change. And this can lead to political instability and refugees,” Prof. Friedler added.
And that’s the reason he co-invented a system that produces clean water from the air with a colleague, Professor David Broday. Their atmospheric water generator harvests air moisture by an innovative continuous liquid desiccant system. Energy is only invested when condensing the vapor into liquid water. It even works in desert regions and can run on solar energy. They founded a startup, H2OLL, to commercialize the product.
Prof. Friedler’s area of expertise in developing alternative water resources and improving delivery systems extends to research on wastewater reuse and methodologies to harvest rainwater. He is looking into ways to store rainwater in tanks that can be released when the water flow in drainage pipes is low. This rainwater can be used in toilets, washing machines, and dishwashers. And with some treatment, it could be used for drinking water.
“With climate change, rain events are going to be more severe. If we can store the water through harvesting, we can reduce the amount of drainage water in cities while supplying water to various uses.”
Other GWRI researchers are working on ways to reduce the environmental impact in water treatment and desalination. Some are working on organic methods to remove pollutants.
“Even at the end of the traditional treatment process, there are still pollutants in very small concentrations that are not removed,” said Professor Yael Dubowski. “Residues of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, personal care products — we don’t know enough about the problems they could cause when water containing them is used for agriculture.”
PROF. YAEL DUBOWSKI USES VACUUM-ULTRAVIOLET VERY SHORT WAVELENGTH RADIATION TO REMOVE POLLUTANTS IN WATER WITHOUT CHEMICALS.
Prof. Dubowski has investigated a chemical-free advanced oxidation process that is based solely on ultraviolet light. Such radiation breaks the water molecules and generates the radicals needed for pollutants’ oxidation. It holds promise for an additional step in the water treatment process.
Associate Professor Adi Radian is studying the natural, positive processes that occur in the environment to breakdown pollutants. She wants to mimic them to improve remediation in engineered systems.
“Clay minerals are plentiful, cheap, natural, nontoxic, and have huge surface areas,” she explained. “Clay is often used to soak up spills and bad smells — think cat litter.” Prof. Radian is working on changing the chemistry of clay to make it adsorb (bring to the surface) rather than absorb pollutants. Depending on the properties of the pollutant, she can change the properties of the clay.
ASSOC. PROF. ADI RADIAN HAS DEVELOPED A WAY TO REMOVE TOXIC PFAS (PERFLUOROALKYL AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES) LIKE TEFLON AND OTHER NONSTICK MATERIALS FROM WATER.
She has already had great success with removing “forever chemicals” from water systems. These are toxic substances like Teflon and other nonstick materials that repel water. Using iron oxide coated-clay together with cyclodextrin polymers, she was able to remove 90% of them from contaminated water in just minutes.
Since Israel has been using desalinated water for drinking and reclaimed wastewater for agriculture in greater quantities and longer than any other country, Profs. Friedler, Dubowski, and Radian, and other Technion researchers are sure to play a major role in solving the world’s water scarcity problems. They acknowledge that the key is finding environmentally sustainable and affordable means to do it.
Most of us recognize the tell-tale signs of ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) — the fidgety child who blurts out an answer before the question is completed; the adult who starts new tasks before finishing the old. Still, there is no clear-cut diagnosis, and students have faked symptoms to receive medication that helps them focus and pull all-nighters.
Now technology based on 12 years of research conducted at the Technion appears to accurately detect, measure, and quantify impaired attention by observing eye-blinking patterns to particular sounds. Israeli company MindTension, which narrowly escaped tragedy on October 7, developed a medical device that tests the brainstem’s Moro reflex, or response to startle sounds. Children who retain this involuntary startle response past infancy are hypersensitive to outside stimuli and often demonstrate symptoms commonly linked with ADHD.
Currently, an ADHD diagnosis is based on questionnaires and other exams that can be vulnerable to bias, backed up only 10% of the time by computerized tests that have proved to be inadequate. MindTension’s device employs a proprietary algorithm that quantifies the patient’s attention levels and deficits objectively and precisely, allowing for more accurate diagnosis and treatment.
“We provide a precise diagnosis in 5 minutes with an EMG-based (electromyography) response to brief auditory stimuli,” said MindTension chief scientist Avi Avital, a Haifa University faculty member who previously headed the Behavioral Neuroscience Lab at the Technion. Avital co-founded the company with CEO and Technion alum Zev Brand, M.E. ’08.
Beyond diagnosing ADHD, MindTension scientists say their device could save lives by detecting attention deficits in pilots, surgeons, and truck drivers due to lack of sleep or long shifts.
Approximately 9.5% of children and 2.6% of adults in the U.S. are diagnosed with ADHD. MindTension’s device is undergoing the process of FDA approval in the U.S. and plans to launch a large clinical trial in Israel and at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York to test and prove the accuracy of its algorithms.
Despite its location in Kibbutz Nir Am near the Gaza border, MindTension offices remained unscathed on October 7. The kibbutz security officer was alerted early that morning, took up armed positions at the gate, and ensured its members sheltered in safe rooms.
A study by GrayMatters Health, which develops digital training therapies to help the brain regulate mental health care, has shown that its FDA-approved Prism device is effective in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The device, now available in selected clinics in the US, shows a patient’s brain activity in the amygdala, the small region of the brain associated with emotions and memory, while interacting with different scenarios.
This can help patients with PTSD control their symptoms by better understanding what triggers that heightened activity in that part of the brain.
The study included 79 male and female patients, including combat veterans with chronic PTSD. It checked each patient’s Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5), a diagnostic interview that gives a patient a medical diagnosis and a symptom severity rating.
According to the study, which was published in the Journal of Psychiatry Research, 32 percent of patients achieved remission after three months of using the device.
“Millions of Americans struggling with PTSD must navigate medication side effects, revisit traumatic experiences with psychotherapy or choose not to seek treatment due to societal stigma,” said Oded Kraft, CEO and co-founder of Haifa-based GrayMatters Health.
“These clinical results build on prior research and demonstrate that Prism offers patients living with PTSD an effective and safe pathway toward improved mental health,” he said.
Professor Daniella Raveh became dean of the Technion’s Faculty of Aerospace Engineering on January 1, 2024. She is the first woman to have obtained this position at the University. An alumna of the Faculty, she graduated with honors and went on to earn both a master’s and Ph.D. degree at the Technion. She became a prominent researcher and a popular lecturer in the Faculty.
“I’m honored to become the dean of the Faculty where I once studied, and where I have spent many years conducting research and teaching,” said Prof. Raveh.
“Aerospace engineering is a field suitable for both men and women, and every skilled engineer who graduates from the Faculty is assured of engaging work in the field. As an aerospace engineer, I have been fortunate to work with captivating subjects daily,” she added.
Prof. Raveh’s field of expertise is aeroelasticity, which concerns the interaction of aerodynamic forces and flexible structures. Today, as lighter and more flexible aircraft are being designed globally, a thorough study of aeroelastic phenomena is essential to understanding their flight performance. Prof. Raveh’s team researches high-fidelity models for aeroelastic analysis and conducts wind tunnel and flight tests to explore all aspects of this field.
For decades, the Technion has made a concerted effort to recruit women into STEM fields. This year’s freshman class is nearly 50% female, and more women are pursuing graduate and postgraduate degrees. Additionally, Prof. Raveh’s appointment is a testament to the Technion’s commitment to nurturing and developing talent within its ranks. Her journey in the Faculty reflects the University’s continuous efforts to train outstanding alumni to contribute significantly to aerospace science.
“I’m very proud that this Faculty is now headed by a female dean who will inspire and serve as a role model for young women,” said Professor Uri Sivan, president of the Technion.
As dean, Prof. Raveh is responsible for implementing the Faculty’s academic program, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and research, upholding high standards of research and teaching, and advancing the Faculty’s world-renown reputation and accomplishments. Her perspective as an alumna is advantageous for the Faculty’s continuous endeavor to offer students and researchers an optimal environment for their studies and research.
Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan says his university could play a critical role in helping Israel rebuild after the war because of the unique talent it offers. He spoke with Israel Hayom.
In December, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology will celebrate 100 years. Looking at the list of achievements over the years makes you realize how significant its contribution to the state’s development has been – and still is.
“For many years we were essentially the only engineering school in the country, and to this day we are the only technological university,” the Technion president, Prof. Uri Sivan, tells Israel Hayom in a special interview. “To a large extent, we shouldered the burden of founding the state on our shoulders, and over the years we have all reaped the rewards for this. Most of the civilian infrastructure in Israel today – roads, railways, water, desalination, agriculture – is the work of Technion faculty and alumni over the generations.”
The Israeli aerospace industry, still highly relevant today, has also developed over the years on the Technion’s shoulders, as have the various security systems. The four Nobel Prize laureates in chemistry and the 41 Israel Prize winners among Technion graduates attest to the quality of its education. “Engineers who graduated from the Technion were responsible for the development and production of the armored vehicles used by the IDF today, as well as all missile defense systems. To this day, 80% of the engineers working on the Iron Dome are our graduates. The microelectronics industry also started here, and this is just a partial list,” he says.
But beyond the technological feats, the Technion president makes sure to emphasize other no less important aspects promoted by the university under his leadership.
“After I was appointed president in 2019 I went on visits to different countries, and everywhere I went I was asked, ‘Tell me, what’s special about you?’ There are many very good technological universities – MIT, Stanford – but people feel that we have something different here and it took me some time to fully understand what they were talking about. Of course, we try to do the best science and give our students the best training – and a Technion degree is considered top tier in the world.
“But over time I realized another thing that makes this place unique, and that’s the fact that the security of the State of Israel, the economy of the State of Israel, and Israeli society are part of our mission, just like our mission is to do the best science and provide the best education. When I sit down in my office in the morning, those three things – security, economy, and society – comprise a major part of my considerations.”
Professor Uri Sivan, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology president (Credit: Michel Dot Com)
President Sivan is keen to shed light on the Technion’s role in supporting Israeli society, which has been part and parcel of the place since its early days, as has been evident during the war.
“The Technion has a long tradition as an inclusive university, and this started with the founding fathers. In that sense, this is a place that welcomes everyone, and believes in equal rights, and ‘diversity’, it’s part of the principles, it appears in our constitution, which goes back many years. Another aspect of Technion pluralism is the increase in the percentage of female students over the years. That has been hard to do – in the first Technion classroom there were 16 men and one woman – but today the situation is one of parity.”
The fact that the Technion was established in Haifa, a city that is a symbol of tolerance and coexistence, is no coincidence and reflects the spirit of the academic institution since its founding. “Back when they were talking about establishing the Technion, in 1906, representatives of ‘Ezra’, a German organization that set up many schools in the country, came to Israel to look for a place for a technological university. There were two possible locations – Jerusalem, which was the largest Jewish settlement in the country, and Haifa, which had 20,000 residents, 2,000 of them Jewish. The organization’s people explained something that still holds true today – Jerusalem has too much ‘baggage’ because of its history, too much internal infighting among Jewish power brokers; so they chose Haifa, which has always been a very communal place, as it still is today. During the British Mandate, Jewish and Arab mayors of Haifa would alternate, and it was also very close to various industries, it is a very innovative city.”
Academia and industry – together
When Prof. Sivan talks about security and the economy as central components in the Technion’s mission (alongside the social issue), he also means the national challenge of rebuilding after the war.
“We need to think about how to move on from here, how to boost the economy and industry again,” he says. “It’s important to remember that the Technion is the main source of engineers, scientists, doctors, and architects, and we’re already looking ahead, thinking about how to really get this whole big system going after everything we’ve been through.
First class of architects at the Technion (Yehoshua Nessyahu’s archive)
“The Technion has a very large role to play in emerging out of the crisis, beyond the security aspects. The engineers graduating from here are the ones pushing the industry forward, so we have a role in workforce training. Second – each year about 15 new companies are created at the Technion; one out of every 30 new companies founded in Israel is by Technion people, and it’s all ‘deep-tech’. The companies are founded by faculty members or students based on knowledge developed in labs here, and they raise funding from outside investors. We also have a tech transfer office – which is an entire system that allows the establishment of companies, including a licensing agreement whereby the technology is granted to the company for certain applications, and from there it continues on its own.
“The extensive system we have built here to enable all this starts with the entrepreneurship training we provide to our students with their studies. We have a center here called T-HUB (The TEchnion Hub for Entrepreneurship and Innovation), which is responsible for all entrepreneurship education and mentoring, including a lot of mentoring by our graduates.
“Afterwards, anyone who has an idea they want to develop can get help through several channels where they also receive guidance from successful mentors who have gone down this path. For example, we have a branch called T3 – Technion Technological Transfer – which assists researchers from the idea stage, with patents, support, investor search, and even strategy writing, and from there, it goes out into the world.
“In addition to the Technion’s role in driving the system forward in terms of human resources, ideas, training, and entrepreneurship, there is a very extensive system here of infrastructure worth hundreds of millions of dollars. It’s not just the machines that we have and industries can use; for example, we have a very advanced microelectronics center. Companies send people here and we give them the resources, and together we work and enable them to develop. This is very important for start-up companies that sometimes lack the relevant infrastructure needed to move forward.
“In light of everything I have mentioned, I have a very important message: The government must support this matter. I know the country has many needs, but looking forward, we have to figure out how we get out of here, how we go back to who we were, how we revive the start-up scene, and so on. The answer: Only through investing in universities. We still don’t know how the new budget will impact things, but the message is that it’s vital – ideas are born here, human capital comes from here, start-ups rely on us, as do the companies that spawned from us and other companies, it’s an insane powerhouse. Look at what’s happening around the Technion – very few universities have created an ecosystem around them like there is here, with MATAM high-tech park in Haifa, industrial zones in Yokneam and Migdal HaEmek, and collaborations with schools in the region. All this must continue in order to help us all rebuild.”
As an institution that is one of the important pillars of the Israeli industries in all its diversity, the Technion also ensures cooperation with various sectors through knowledge transfer and research agreements. Prof. Sivan noted that when he took office as president, he built a 10-year strategic plan whose central component is strengthening ties with manufacturers.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Technion (Photo: The Central Zionist Archives)
“If you look at where academia is going today, you can identify two main focal points – one in everything related to digital communication that is completely changing the way students receive knowledge and learn, and the second is the connection with industries. Once there was a separation – basic research in academia and applied research in the industries. That belongs to the past, and we are formulating new models for interaction between the two.
“So, for example, we created an entirely new academic position here of an industry research fellow. These are people who have been very successful and come here a few days a week, meet with students, engage in research, and teach; this is really a fusion of industry and academia. In fact, we expose students to the field, to what is happening outside, already during their studies.” Just as the Technion has set Israeli society throughout the years as an integral part of its activities, so it has been since its very first moments of the war. “On October 7, at around 10 am, we opened a situation room,” says Prof. Sivan about the contribution to civilians who found themselves refugees in their own country.
“We established the ‘Mutual Guarantee’ center for the Technion community and their families as well as to assist residents of the south and north and IDF soldiers. As part of this, dozens of initiatives are still active today, in addition to the extensive activity of hundreds of student volunteers. Since the beginning of the campaign, dozens of families and individuals who have evacuated from their homes in the north and south have been staying on campus – the dormitories, which were empty at the beginning of the war, were converted into housing for the evacuees who received everything they needed – from clothes to laptops.”
Among other things, the Mo’ed B – second-hand equipment store at the Technion – stepped up to the plate to help the students and evacuees and equipped them with everything they needed, free of charge. Students in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering cleared and arranged shelters in nearby Nesher, as part of the “Shelter City” project, and graduate students in the Faculty of Chemical Engineering also went out with the faculty dean to clear shelters in Haifa. This is just a partial list of the assistance provided by Technion people due to the security situation.
But the aid did not stop at the country’s borders, and in light of the rise in antisemitic manifestations and anti-Israeli rhetoric on campuses worldwide, students, alumni, and academic faculty studying abroad were invited to come and conduct research, teach, and study at Technion campuses in Haifa.
“We saw in many countries a wave of anti-Israeli and antisemitic protests, and unfortunately faculty members at many leading universities in the West, student organizations, and trade unions joined this wave,” says Prof. Sivan. “In light of the weak responses from a considerable number of presidents of leading universities in North America, Europe, and Australia, we realized that many Jewish and Israeli students and researchers were subjected to physical and verbal threats that interfered with their academic activities at those institutions. Against this background, and recognizing the Technion’s historic role in the history of the Jewish people, we announced a program for the rapid onboarding of students and faculty from around the world looking for academic refuge.”
A warm embrace for fighters
A significant contribution from the Technion is in IDF reserves, with about 2,500 of the 15,000 students enlisted as early as October 7, along with about 500 faculty and teaching staff. “I assume we still have over 1,000 who are still called up, and it’s important to understand how we cope with this fact and how we assist them when they return. There are a lot of officers here, a lot of combat unit veterans, it has always been like that. Many female students were also drafted, and a very high percentage of the women staffing the Iron Dome crews are reserve soldiers from the Technion, including those serving in key positions.
“It is important for us that each of our reservists know that the entire Technion has joined the cause and committed to supporting them. Thus, for example, together with friends of the Technion in Israel and around the world, we set up a special relief fund that allowed us to transfer an immediate grant of 6,000 shekels to each of them. Along with a series of support measures we have already taken, they receive an economic support package and some peace of mind. We have also prepared academically to make their return to on-campus studies as easy as possible. The Technion also published an updated payment schedule for dormitory fees, which will ease the burden on students, especially those serving in the reserves.”
About 80 faculty members and students at the Technion lost family members who were murdered on October 7 or killed during the war, some still have family members among the captives. Two Technion students fell in the Gaza battles – Staff Sergeant (Res.) Master Sgt. (res.) Dov Moshe Kogan and Captain (res.) Denis Krokhmalov Veksler. Kogan, a Shaldag fighter, was 32 when he fell. He completed his degree at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and was a graduate student at the faculty, as well as a third generation at the Technion – his late father, Meir, was a graduate of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and was involved in developing the Iron Dome, and his late grandfather, Avraham, was one of the founders of the faculty. Kogan left behind his wife Shaked and three children. Krokhmalov Veksler, who was 32 when he fell, was about to start his first year of studies at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. He was killed while serving as an officer in the Yahalom combat engineering unit.
“Many reservists from the Technion were injured, and we make sure to accompany and support them,” says Prof. Sivan. “For example, there is a student who is recuperating, and we send a taxi every day to bring him to campus and take him back so he doesn’t miss classes. Since the beginning of the war until now we have been in touch with many military units, assisting however we can. One of the interesting units is the Carmeli Brigade. This is a brigade established in 1948 during the War of Independence whose core was Technion students and faculty. We have remained in contact with them over the years, we mark Memorial Day together every year and adopted them in the early days of the war.
“Many units needed food at the first stages of the war, and the Technion became a logistics hub for that. The student union also rallied wonderfully, as did the academic and administrative staff. Copious amounts of food, military equipment, and medical supplies were shipped from here. The volunteering spirit of everyone has been amazing and inspiring, people simply came to help. As soon as others saw our extensive activity, more and more requests for assistance began to arrive and we addressed their needs, each and every one of them.”
An Israeli startup that uses artificial intelligence to diagnose cancer has unveiled a new solution that will help pathologists detect the specific treatments that will benefit breast cancer patients most.
Ibex Medical Analytics’ Galen Breast HER2 platform can accurately determine the expression in cancer slides of the protein HER2, which is responsible for the proliferation of breast cancer cells.
The platform uses AI to analyze the slides, identify the tumor cells and rapidly calculate the HER2 score of the tissue. The results are highlighted for the pathologist, who can review them and make a final decision as to what cancer treatment is best for each patient.
Traditionally, pathologists evaluate HER2 in tumor samples visually, which may result in varied interpretations. The Galen Breast HER2 scoring system quantifies the sample’s expression of the protein into four standard categories to help the pathologist make a more accurate decision.
The technology was developed and validated by Ibex in collaboration with AstraZeneca, the British-Swedish multinational biotechnology company, and Daiichi Sankyo, a Japanese pharma company.
“We are committed to providing pathologists with the most comprehensive AI platform as they implement digital pathology,” said Issar Yazbin, VP Product Management at Ibex Medical Analytics.
“In addition to HER2, we are now able to support full review of breast biopsies and excisions, distinguish between multiple types of invasive and non-invasive cancer, detect more than 50 malignant and non-malignant morphological features, and provide the underlying technology for automated quantification of additional prognostic and predictive breast biomarkers such as Ki-67, ER and PR.”
Advanced technology identifies pairs of drugs that can fight disease together, in microscopic doses.
Researchers have developed a pioneering AI “matchmaker” that pairs together existing cancer drugs for use in nanomedicine.
Prescribing a combination of two or more medications is already an established practice – known as combination therapy — that can prove highly effective.
But a team at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa, has gone beyond simply identifying separate medications that will work well together.
These scientists have developed technology that singles out drug pairs whose molecular structure allows them to join together chemically as nanoparticles, measuring just a millionth of a millimeter. Their findings are published in the Journal of Controlled Release.
Administering medicines as nanoparticles – or nanomedicines – has many advantages, allowing doctors to use lower doses, target specific cells and minimize side effects.
The artificial intelligence tool developed at the Technion trawls published articles on existing cancer treatments, gathering information that allows it to predict pairs of drugs that will work well together and, crucially, that are able to chemically assemble into combined nanoparticles.
PhD student Dana Meron Azagury and Prof. Yosi Shamay. Photo courtesy of Technion Spokesperson’s Office
Prof. Yosi Shamay describes the new approach as a “synergy of synergies” or a “meta-synergy.”
The first synergy is the combination of two drugs so that their combined effect is greater than using each of them in isolation.
The second synergy is identifying which of these drugs pairs can be used in nanomedicine, bringing a whole array of new benefits.
The AI tool has so far proposed 1,985 possible nanomedicine drug combinations to treat 70 types of cancer.
One example is combining Bortezomib (a blood cancer drug) and Cabozantinib (a liver, kidney and thyroid cancer drug) as treatment for head and neck cancer. This combination has proven effective and caused fewer side effects than using either of the drugs individually.
Drug synergy prediction produced by the model. Photo courtesy of Technion Spokesperson’s Office
Standard drug combinations combat a tumour more effectively than they would do individually and may prevent the tumour from developing resistance to treatment.
Above and beyond
Master’s student Ben Friedmann. Photo courtesy of Technion Spokesperson’s Office
Nanomedicine combinations go above and beyond. They target cancer cells more precisely, are more successful at fighting tumors, require smaller doses, are less toxic, and minimize side effects.
“The development of meta-synergy on the nanometric level is a very complex challenge,” said Shamay.
“It necessitates the introduction of [at least] two drugs simultaneously into the same delivery system that would lead them to the desired destination in the body,” he said.
“Our research has shown, both in a computational demonstration and in live experiments, that the combination we proposed indeed leads the drugs to the tumor and releases them there — and that this therapy is very effective in treating the disease.”
The study, conducted at the Shamay Lab for Cancer Nanomedicine and Nanoinformatics, was led by PhD student Dana Meron Azagury, whose focus was on the biology and chemistry side of the research, and master’s student Ben Friedmann, who developed the AI model.
