Hebrew U, Cleveland Clinic take big step toward progress in tiny medicine

Institutions to jointly develop the online research Center for Transformative Nanomedicine

View of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus seen from Jerusalem's Old City, on June 10, 2015. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
View of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus seen from Jerusalem's Old City, on June 10, 2015. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Nanomedicine – the application of nanotechnology to medical procedures, medical device design, sensors, and other medical uses – is seen by researchers as an area of great promise, and to further research in the field, Hebrew University is partnering with the Cleveland Clinic to develop a virtual global Center for Transformative Nanomedicine.

“Our two institutions will leverage resources and begin to combine our scientific knowledge,” said Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson, president of Hebrew University. “These powerful interactions will expedite better medical treatments, more rapid, cost-effective diagnostics, and improved healthcare delivery for people the world over.”

In this new “virtual global center,” much of the work by both institutions will be done online — a novelty in medical research, in which doctors and scientists usually interface in person in order to develop new technologies.

A potentially transformative new dimension of medical research, nanomedicine is a “remarkably precise technology [that] allows delivery of large doses of drugs to be released at a specific site and only to that site, causing fewer side effects than many traditional treatments,” Hebrew University said. “Nanotechnology enables doctors to deliver medications to select sites, preventing drugs from degrading in the body before reaching targeted sites because the minuscule particles are protected.”

In addition, the school said, nanotechnology can be used to create inexpensive devices that facilitate therapy and new ways of diagnosing disease. This technology also promises to save money and time. Often, doctors can run tests in their office rather than send samples to a laboratory.

Hebrew University is one of Israel’s biggest research institutions in the areas of biotechnology, nanotechnology, molecular modeling and drug development. The school is affiliated with five hospitals and commercializes many of its medical and pharmaceutical innovations.

The Cleveland Clinic has had a long history of innovation itself. Considered one of the top medical facilities in the US, the institution has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. More than 3,000 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 11,000 nurses represent 120 medical specialties and subspecialties, and US News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation’s best hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey.

“We are honored to join with Hebrew University to advance the emerging field of nanotechnology,” said Toby Cosgrove, MD, president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic. “The new Center for Transformative Nanomedicine will ensure development of novel therapeutics to improve longevity, enhance patient well-being, make medical care more cost-effective, and provide dynamic solutions to global health concerns.”

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