30 Years of Joint Cancer Research: a German-Israeli Symposium
To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Cancer Research Cooperation Program, a German-Israeli Symposium on Cancer Research was organized by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) Heidelberg and the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). The meeting was held at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot and at Tel Aviv University (March 19-20, 2006).
The German delegation of 30 scientists was headed by Prof. Dr. Otmar Wiestler, chairman of the German Cancer Research Center. Prof. Dr. Wolfhard Semmler, the DKFZ Program Coordinator for the Israel Cooperation was also present, and more than 70 scientists from Israel participated. Leading scientists described their endeavors at the forefront of cancer research in the following sessions:
- Cancer and Stem Cells
- Tumor Biology and Signal Transduction
- Cancer and the Genome
- Tumor Immunology
- Molecular Imaging of Cancer
- Translational Cancer Research
On March 21-22, 2006, the Symposium was followed by the 29th Meeting of the Scientific Program Committee in Tel Aviv (Sheraton Hotel). An important aspect of this event were the decisions concerning seven new projects for the period Jan. 1, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2009. Furthermore, the 10th Workshop of the Cooperation Program was held at the Sheraton Hotel where the German and Israeli Investigators of the 14 current projects presented their scientific results.
All of these events concluded with an excursion to Jerusalem, in which some of the German participants of the Symposium and Workshop took part. On March 23, 2006, nine investigators and PhD students made a tour to the Old City of Jerusalem, the Wailing Wall, the Basilica of the Nativity, the Mount of Olives, and the Garden of Gethsemane. A city tour including Mount Scopus, the German Quarter, and a visit to the Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem provided intense impressions for all participants.
Source: parts of this text were taken from a Newsletter from the Israel Embassy in Berlin, language editing of the English text by Dr. W. E. Hull.