Professor Yosef Yarden

Professor Yosef Yarden, Chairman of ICA's Research Committee, discovered the function of a molecular amplifier that strengthens the chemical signals that cause cells to become cancerous. This amplifier is an enzyme found in large quantities on cancerous cell membranes, especially in breast, ovarian and lung tumors.

This finding may serve as the basis for a new cancer treatment based on "silencing" the molecular amplifier. Additionally, Professor Yarden initiated studies which led to the development of two widely used drugs, Trastuzumab/Herceptin for the treatment of  breast cancer, and Cetuximab/Erbitux for the treatment of colorectal cancer. His presentation focused on EGFR/HER2 oncogenic alliance as well as antibodies to help overcome resistance to certain cancer treatments.

 Degree-Granting Education
 The Weizmann Institute of Science; Rehovot, Israel, 1985, Ph.D. (c/o J. Schlessinger).

 Postgraduate Training
 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Genetech Inc. (c/o A. Ullrich), South San-Francisco CA; 1985 - 1986.
 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Whitehead Institute (c/o R.A. Weinberg), Cambridge MA; 1986 - 1988.

 Academic Appointments
 Professor (tenured), Department of Molecular Cell Biology, The Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel, 1997 - present.
 Associate Professor (tenured), Department of Biological Regulation, The Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel, 1996 - 1997.
 Senior Scientist, Department of Immunology, The Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel, 1988 - 1992.

 Academic Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
 Dean, The Feinberg Graduate School, The Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel, 2001 - present.
 Dean, Faculty of Biology, The Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel, 1997 - 1999.
Vice President for Academic Research, The Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel, 1999 - 2001.
 Director, The M.D. Moross Institute for Cancer Research, The Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel, 1999 - 2001.
 Director, The Dolfi and Lola Center for Biological Research, The Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel, 1999 - 2001.

 National and International Committees
 The Israel National Committee on Biotechnology, Member 1995 - 2001, Chair 2003 - present.
 Israel Cancer association, Research Committee, Member 1995 - 2005, Chair 2006 - present.
 The Council of The European Association for Cancer Research, Member, 2002 - 2006.
 Workshops Committee, European Molecular Biology Organization,
Member 1995 - 1998.

 Boards of Academic Institutions
 Board of Governors of the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 2002 - present.
 Board of Governors of the The Weizmann Institute of Science, 2001 - present.

 Current Consultantships
 Bioline Rx, Jerusalem, Israel, Member of the Scientific Advisory Board.
 Targeted Molecular Diagnostics, Westmont, IL, Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board.
 GammaCan International Inc., Tel Aviv, Member of the Scientific Advisory Board.
 Molecular Targeted Therapy of Cancer (MTTC), Board Member.

 Previous Consultantships
 Novartis International A.G., Basel, Switzerland.
 Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA.
 Genetech Inc., South San Francisco, CA.
 Hoffman-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland.
 Imclone - Bristol Meyer Squibb, New York, NY.
 Pfizer Oncology.
 Ventana Medical Systems, Phoenix, AZ.
 Boehringer Ingelheim, Vienna, Austria.
 Zetiq Inc., Rehovot, Israel.
 Proteologics Ltd, Rehovot, Israel.

 Honors & Awards
 The Weizmann Institute of Science.
 The Sergio Lombroso Prize in Cancer Research (together with R. Prywes), 1994.
 The Somech Sachs Prize in Chemistry, 1992.
 The H. Dudley Wright Research Award, 1990.
 The John F. Kennedy Award for outstanding doctoral thesis, 1984.
 The Chaim Weizmann Fellowship for Postdoctoral Research, 1985.
 The EMET Prize in Biochemistry, 2007.
 Elected, Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 2007.
 The MERIT award of the U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2005.
 The TEVA Founders Prize (together with Z. Selinger), 2004.
 The Michael Bruno Prize of Yad Hanadiv (Rotchild) Fund, 2000.
 The Andre Lewoff Prize (Pasteur Institute), 1995.
 The L. Naftali Science Award for Biology and Medicine, 1993.
 The Shlomo Hestrin Prize of the Israel Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1991.
 Research Career Development Award of the Israel Cancer Research Fund, 1990.
 The Irvington House Institute for Biomedical Research, Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1987.
 The Alon Fellowship of the Israel Council for High Education, 1985.