Dr. Yaara Oren wins the ERC grant for young researchers for 2023

Dr. Oren, is a cancer researcher from the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, in the Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Oren's research investigates a rare population of cancer cells, known as persistent cells, which are able to evade the drugs without acquiring a genetic change. These cells are probably the basis of our inability to cure cancer even when it is possible to match the patient with a drug that matches the genetic code of his cancer.

Despite the great clinical importance of understanding the processes that enable the survival of persistent cells, their rarity and the difficulty of characterizing them has meant that we are unable to provide treatments that kill them today. Dr. Oren's research combines experimental and computational tools that enable characterization at the single cell level in order to shed light on the processes that allow persistent cells to survive. Dr. Oren hopes that the research being carried out in her laboratory will serve as a basis for the development of drugs that will kill this deadly cell population.

The prestigious grant is designed to enable young researchers to fulfill their research goals and promote fruitful collaborations and assist in the first stages of technology commercialization.