Etta Livneh, Emeritus

The research group is interested in the molecular mechanisms important for
cancer development, especially those involved in the resistance and survival of
cancer cells in response to DNA damage caused by stress and chemotherapy.
Among our achievements was the discovery and characterization of a gene
coding for a protein kinase, pivotal for the choice of cancer cells between life
and death and for their ability to escape death by changing their state to that
of senescence. In senescence, cells do not divide but remain metabolically
active, which may cause cancerous deterioration of cells in the tumor's
microenvironment. We recently characterized this state of senescence in
Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer, most common among young people. This
discovery opens up new possibilities in the treatment of the disease. Another
channel resulting from our research is the identification of small functional
peptides encoded by small reading frames on the messenger RNA (mRNA)
of many genes. This is a new paradigm, and our research group is among the
pioneers in the field. Knowledge gained from this research is currently being
applied for developing new treatments for invasive breast cancer and other
malignant tumors.

Laboratory location: Faculty of Health Sciences, M6 Building, Room 236.

Contact: etta@bgu.ac.il