From Tragedy to Triumph - The Path to Curing Cancer
Born and raised in a lower-class neighborhood in Jaffa, Dr. Lior Nissim’s story is one of triumph over adversity. Tragically, when he was just three, his mother died of cancer – a pivotal moment in what became Dr. Nissim’s life’s mission, to cure cancer.
During his doctoral studies at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Dr. Nissim pioneered the very first genetic circuit designed to precisely target tumor cells. Continuing with postdoctoral studies at MIT, he further advanced this line of research by developing synthetic gene circuits, encoded on a virus, which provoke an effective anti-tumoral immune response when detecting signs of cancer.
In his new synthetic biology lab at the Hebrew University Dr. Nissim plans to further advance this approach towards clinical implementation and adapt it to treat additional tumor types. “Within five to ten years,” he predicts, “I hope to start clinical trials… and at that point we will start to see the real fruits of my labor.”
"I came here to cure cancer and the Hebrew University is the best place for me to take my research to the clinic."