Sample projects | Weizmann Institute of Science

Testing

A sniff test for coronavirus?

SmellTracker could support early COVID-19 diagnosis

Among more than 50 Weizmann Institute labs seeking answers about the coronavirus pandemic, one team is focusing on an early warning sign that might lead to the early diagnosis of COVID-19: the loss of a sense of smell.

Drugs and vaccines

Finding decoys and the ultimate antibodies

Dr. Ron Diskin applies insights from Ebola and arenaviruses

This two-pronged project involves devising a “decoy” molecule that will allow healthy cells to evade the SARS-CoV-2 virus; and finding an antibody that accurately binds to SARS CoV-2. An expert on lethal viruses including Ebola and HIV, Dr. Ron Diskin is expediting two parallel investigations to counter SARS CoV-2 based on his previous research on similar animal-borne diseases, called arenaviruses, and on the vaccine for Ebola, a virus that is also believed to have originated in bats.

Drugs and vaccines

Slipping through the coronavirus's defense

Prof. Sarel Fleishman uses computer tools to design the perfect antibody

Prof. Sarel Fleishman is leading an effort to design of miniscule antibodies—called nanobodies—that are tiny enough to slip through the defenses of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and arrest it. Synthesizing tools in computerized design of small molecules and biological lab experiments, he is applying a unique platform he developed in his lab—which has already led to a candidate for a potential malaria vaccine—to the coronavirus. This involves the design of millions of “nanobodies”—small synthetic antibodies that could possibly slip through the coronavirus’s formidable defenses.

Tracking and data management

Mapping corona in stealth mode

Predict Corona fuses data on symptoms, geography

Weizmann Institute scientists have developed a method for monitoring, identifying, and predicting geographical clusters in which the coronavirus is prevalent and will likely spread, by tracking symptoms throughout the Israeli public—both healthy and sick individuals. The method is at the core of the Predict Corona project, spearheaded by Institute's Prof. Eran Segal and Prof. Benjamin Geiger, together with the Hebrew University's Prof. Yuval Dror.

Testing

Vastly expanding coronavirus testing

The G-INCPM at the forefront

Through its Nancy and Steven Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine, or G-INCPM, the Weizmann Institute is partnering with the Ministry of Health and the National Security Council to vastly increase the number of coronavirus tests conducted in Israel, and make these tests more efficient and less risky for the medical professionals who administer them.

Weizmann scientists are currently developing a new methodology that involves fewer stages than existing tests, something that would greatly reduce exposure to the dangerous virus, thereby preventing infection and preserving the health of clinical teams.

Drugs and vaccines

Accelerating a drug against COVID-19

Dr. Nir London leads an international consortium to halt coronavirus

A cross-border initiative led by the Weizmann Institute’s Dr. Nir London has brought together all the actors in the drug development process—from academia in four countries, to biotech and contract research organizations, to specialized software companies—to accelerate the development of a drug for COVID-19.

Dr. London is collaborating with researchers at Oxford University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, University of British Columbia, a California biotech company PostEra, and Enamine, one of the largest chemical vendors in the world, to develop small molecules to target a key SARS-CoV2 protein that can halt and counteract the virus.