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July 11, 2003/Tamuz 11 5763, Vol. 55, No.46
Endowment makes discovery possible
BARRY COHEN
Editor
More than two years ago, a local couple established a life sciences chair at an Israeli university in order to better humanity. Recently a team co-led by this chair made a discovery that could lead to new treatments to stop the spread of cancer.
Seymour and Claire Schonwetter of Scottsdale established the Seymour and Claire Schonwetter Academic Chair in Life Sciences at Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in March 2001.
"We endowed the chair to improve humanity" and wanted to ensure that research to cure various diseases would continue far in the future, said Seymour Schonwetter.
A team co-led by Gera Neufeld, incumbent of the chair established by the Schonwetters, has discovered a protein that causes breast tumors to spread and to form collagen fibers related to deadly breast cancers, according to a statement from the American Society for Technion.
The team believes that chemicals that block or inhibit this protein may be developed as possible treatments for breast cancer, preventing metastasis; when tumors metastasize, they can no longer be cured by surgery alone, according to the statement.
"This solves a big puzzle in breast cancer studies," said Neufeld.
"Breast cancer is like a plague," said Seymour Schonwetter. Hopefully, this discovery will help lead to a cure, he added.
"The Schonwetters are quality people" and very active in the local community," said Harold Morgan, local consultant to the American Technion Society, which supports and promotes Technion's research achievements. They have been major donors to the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix and have made substantial contributions to the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus.
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