Ido Amit, PhD, Technology Impact Award Recipient Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) Area of Research: All Cancers Checkpoint immunotherapies have revolutionized cancer treatment by rewiring the status of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, yet they’re only effective against certain types of cancers, and even then don’t work in the majority of patients. Dr. Amit aims to develop and establish a novel profiling technology for systematic and data-driven identification of important targets involved in cell-cell communication. For this purpose, he will apply a novel single-cell genomics technology and analytics that allows profiling of two physically interacting cells within tumors. This technology enables mapping of the molecular crosstalk of specific cell-cell interactions and will enable his laboratory to characterize the dynamics of these interactions and signaling events during different stages of tumor progression as well as following immunotherapy treatment. Overall, the technology Dr. Amit is developing has the potential to greatly expand our understanding of cellular crosstalk within the tumor microenvironment—its dynamics, signaling pathways and genes—and bring forward potential new target molecules and diagnostic tools for cancer immunotherapy. Projects and Grants Application of a Novel Single Cell Technology for Characterizing Intercellular Interactions and Their Dynamics Within the Tumor Microenvironment – A Discovery Tool for Novel Immunotherapy Targets Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) | All Cancers | 2020
