WIM no. 17 Spring 2020

מכון ויצמן למדע Special section: Weizmannn coronavirus response A s we find ourselves—all of humanity—in themidst of a pandemic caused by the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, theWeizmann Institute of Science is advancingmajor research efforts and other initiatives to address this challenge: more than 50 projects are now underway. The new coronavirus is a global health threat that is unprecedented in any of our lifetimes. The Weizmann Institute, with its world-renown in immunology, structural biology, computational science and artificial intelligence, cellular sequencing, and drug discovery, is poised to make key breakthroughs at this critical time. In this section, you may read a sampling or our efforts, focusing in three main directions: ramping up testing capacity, tracking outbreaks in the making, and advancing promising research initiatives toward treatments and potential vaccines. Ramping up testing Ș The Nancy and Stephen Grand Center for Personalized Medicine (G-INCPM) on campus has been transformed into a center for the rapid production of diagnostic tests, in coordination with Israel’s Ministry of Health. This move has enabled a multi-fold rise in the number of tests produced and Prof. Robert Fluhr is heading this effort. The G-INCPM is home to the country’s most comprehensive and advanced infrastructure for genomic and proteomic analysis, making it a vital resource for Israel’s scientific and medical community as they seek to create new coronavirus testing approaches. V ideo: Coronavirus testing center at the Grand Center on campus Coronavirus Response Weizmann MAGAZINE