BGU and Fox Chase Cancer Center Continue Partnership
BGU and Fox Chase Cancer Center Continue Partnership
March 31, 2016
Leadership, Awards & Events, Medical Research
The Philadelphia Jewish Voice — Researchers from Ben-Gurion University and Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC) recently met in Philadelphia for a mini-symposium to report on some of the collaborative research the two institutions have been conducting.
The program, titled “Current Science, Future Goals and Shared Objectives,” was the most recent of many conferences and symposia the two research centers have conducted since formalizing an affiliation agreement in 2008 to join forces in the battle against cancer.
Several science research collaborations that have been conducted since forming the partnership were discussed at the symposium to an audience of interested supporters. For example, Dr. Glenn Rall of FCCC and Prof. Jacob Gopas of BGU’s Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics are working on defining what role human viruses may play in certain cancers.
In addition, Dr. Kerry Campbell, of FCCC, and Dr. Angel Porgador, also of BGU’s Department of Microbiology, are researching natural killer cells that can be used to detect and attack cancerous tumors.
The BGU-FCCC partnership has received five grants and has been responsible for the training of three BGU graduate students and one post-doctoral fellow. One of these students, Dr. Eugene Izumchenko, earned a Ph.D. as a result of his course of study at the two institutions and is now a member of the Johns Hopkins University faculty.
This important partnership was initiated by Americans for Ben-Gurion University Board Member and National Vice President Dr. Alton Sutnick, who founded the Health Sciences and Academic Affiliations Committee of the Americans for Ben-Gurion University Mid-Atlantic Region’s Philadelphia Chapter. This Americans for Ben-Gurion University chapter is chaired by Board Member Dr. Robert Zipkin and his wife Marla.