Prof. Ronit Sachi-Painero, the head of the Cancer Research Center at Tel Aviv University, researches the development of nano-medicines, personalized for the treatment of cancer patients through the creation of models of the cancerous tumors. 3D printing of the cancerous tumors and the cells in their environment makes it possible to test drugs, different substances, combinations of drugs which will predict which of them are effective in eradicating the tumors and which of them are not. The test is done specifically in relation to each tumor and thus locates the medicine that is suitable for each patient personally.
Prof. Sacchi-Painero was selected by Forbes magazine In July 2022 as one of the 25 most influential women in the Israeli economy. This is the second time that Prof. Sachi Fainero has been chosen by Yishai Hamazazine – 10 years ago she was chosen as the Woman of the Year in Medicine.
In 2015, she began leading research based on a model that includes 3D printing of the natural environment around the cancer tumor. “During surgery, we take a piece of the real tumor, and using biological ink, we print the entire microenvironment and blood vessels around the sample. We literally circulate the patient’s blood in the model, which also puts his real immune system into the model,” she explains. “From this model, you can learn a lot about the tumors that continue to grow, about the substances that can be used in the treatment, and which medicine has a specific effect on each patient.”
Prof. Sachi-Painero is also a board member at Teva and an enthusiastic supporter of Teva’s BIO MIX program and DigitalRosh. Doctoral students and post-doctoral students from the leading universities in Israel participate in the program and it is designed to open up the business-entrepreneurial world to them and connect them to industry. The program is taking place for the third year in a row and is led by Teva Dr. Dana Brown, Teva’s director of academic relations in the global R&D division.
Calcalist (2021) with Prof. Sachi Fainero: “3D printing can help develop vaccines for cancer and corona”
A lecture by Sachi Fainero (2016) at Tel Aviv University (YouTube).
