Boosting our Immunology Knowledge with Prof Idit Shachar

Professor Idit Shachar, a leading immunologist from the Weizmann Institute of Science, was the guest speaker in the latest of our series of Freshly Squeezed Science breakfasts.   The focus of her talk was on the regulation of immune cell maintenance in health and cancer.  She brought us all up to speed with her ground breaking research and the implications it has on autoimmune diseases and cancer research.

Professor Shachar was warmly welcomed by our host Michael Sandler at Hudson Sandler LLP.

Regarding the reactions in cell response which lead to inflammation causing various diseases, Professor Shachar said: “What our department is trying to do is to understand the mechanism and regulation of immune cell maintenance, the molecular pathways controlling immune cell survival, and the cross-talk of immune cells with their microenvironment in health and disease.”

Talking of exciting developments in her field, “The idea of the research is to block the interaction between certain cells, which can then induce the death of malignant cells therefore reducing the cancer cells. This has already been shown to be true in animal models and patients”.

She added: “The Weizmann Institute has an excellent track record in the field of Immunology. The inspiration of the ground breaking work of Professors such as Michael Sela, Ruth Arnon, Zelig Eshhar, still lives on in this department.  Scientists working here are aware of their significant achievements and are expected to do the unexpected!” She went on to say: “The Weizmann Institute has excellent facilities and gives its scientists the freedom to explore their curiosity.”

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See the Weizmann Institute’s Immunology video

Published: April 10, 2017