Professor Sima Lev

For over 20 years, molecular cell biologist Professor Sima Lev has focused her work on cell signaling and membrane trafficking. She has a number of research interests including phosphatidylinositol (PI)-transfer proteins, signaling by tyrosine kinase PYK2 in cancer cells, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) progression, and finding therapeutic targets and therapies for different subtypes of TNBC.

Her novel research has uncovered new knowledge about membrane trafficking and cell signaling in the specific area of human neurodegenerative diseases and human cancer.

Cancer biology has been her primary research interest for many years. During her postdoctoral training Prof. Sima Lev isolated an enzyme which plays a key role in cell signaling and enhances the growth and progression of several human cancers. Most recently she has been focusing on TNBC which primarily affects young women and has no known cure.

She and her team are working to identify the major signaling pathways that determine the course of the disease. She believes that this research will help to find new therapeutic targets and even prevent the progression of TNBC. 

Academic Background

Prof. Sima Lev earned her BSc and MSc from Tel Aviv University and her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the Weizmann Institute of Science. She completed postdoctoral research at New York University Medical Center and SUGEN, Inc.

She currently holds the Joyce and Ben B. Eisenberg Professorial Chair of Molecular Endocrinology and Cancer Research at the Weizmann Institute. She has been awarded many fellowships and awards, including Alon Fellowship by the Israel Council for Higher Education, the Bergmann Memorial Award from the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation and a Research Career Development Award from the Israel Cancer Research Fund.

Sima Lev and Nandini Verma