Global Gathering London 2016

In five fascinating sessions, seven Institute scientists and Prof. Marcus du Sautoy, Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, presented their cutting-edge research.

Prof. Gabi Barbash, Director of the new Benchto- Bedside Program, and Prof. Amos Tanay of the Departments of Biological Regulation and Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, spoke about personalized medicine and their program's plans to integrate anonymized patient data into scientific research.

Prof. Michal Irani of the Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics and Prof. Lucio Frydman of the Department of Chemical Physics both spoke about "Seeing the Invisible". Prof. Irani spoke about computer algorithms that can complete visual scenes, and Prof. Frydman discussed the past, present, and future of magnetic resonance research.

Prof. Marcus du Sautoy, and Prof. Roee Ozeri of the Department of Physics of Complex Systems, spoke about the "things we can and cannot know": whether there is a limit to scientific knowledge. One thing we can know, claimed Prof. Ozeri, is there is vast potential of quantum mechanics for the future of computing.

Up next was a session featuring new scientists at the Institute. Dr. Ruth Scherz-Shouval of the Department of Biomolecular Sciences described the so-called “microenvironments” surrounding tumors and Dr. Ziv Shulman of the Department of Immunology described how the body selects the best antibodies to fight disease, including cancer.

The scientific session concluded with a “Crystal Ball” discussion in which the scientists speculated about future scientific developments and their impact on mankind.

Closing Gala

The Closing Gala began at the Victoria and Albert Museum for cocktails, and a duo of bagpipers escorted the guests to the Natural History Museum. The event highlighted the contribution of UK donors to the Weizmann Institute, focusing on funds raised for the the renovation and construction of the Weizmann UK Building for Biocomplexity Research. The nearly 500 guests in attendance were treated to an original song by entertainer Joe Stilgoe about the Weizmann Institute and an address by HE Mark Regev, Israel's ambassador to the UK.