Israeli on 50 leading scientists list
Technion’s Dr. Shulamit Levenberg, Prof. Robert Langer of MIT published research that constituted a breakthrough in the creation of human tissue
Dr. Shulamit Levenberg of the Technion’s Faculty of Biomedical Engineering is one of those named as a “science leader” on the list of the 50 leading scientists for 2006 of the magazine Scientific American.
On this list are the 50 leading scientists who, in the opinion of the Scientific American editors, led the way in science and technology during the past year.
Dr. Levenberg is a researcher in the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute and a member of the Stem Cell Center at the Technion. The full list will appear in the journal’s December issue.
“Our publication chose the organizations or individuals who advanced science and technology, laying the foundations for a better future,” said Scientific American editor John Rennie.
“Their selection for our list of 50 not only gives them the honor they deserve but also highlights the important fields that benefit from their achievements.”
The journal’s editorial board members were assisted in selecting the leading 50 by a battery of important scientific advisors. The categories on the list are “science leaders,” “business leaders” and “policymaking leaders.” This year, those appearing on the list are scientists who have made their mark in robotics, genetics, Alzheimer’s research and nanotechnology.
Dr. Levenberg was chosen as a “science leader” in tissue engineering. In 2005, she published research together with Prof. Robert Langer of MIT, a Technion Harvey Prize recipient, which constituted a breakthrough in the creation of human tissue.
Important ramifications for tissue engineering
The researchers succeeded in artificially creating tissue using a method that advanced the research closer to its final goal – tissue for various medical uses, among them replacement of damaged organs. The new method could also provide answers for cell and developmental biology.
A year later, for the first time in the laboratory, the researchers succeeded in creating muscle tissue with a blood vessel network that attracted additional blood vessels. At that time, this was reported in the prestigious journal Nature Biotechnology.
This discovery has important ramifications for tissue engineering. Dr. Levenberg, together with a research group from MIT in Boston, headed by Prof. Robert Langer, transplanted the engineered muscle in a rat and discovered that the blood vessels in the muscle tissue attracted additional blood vessels, thus aiding in its survival.
“The creation of the blood vessels in the tissue helped to preserve the life of the tissue during growth, to bring about orderly development, and to enable, in reality, rapid attraction of additional blood vessels to the tissue after its transplantation,” she explained.
“In our paper, we describe the penetration of the blood vessel network into the engineered muscle tissue using a three-dimensional system that includes embryonic stem cells placed on biodegradable polymer scaffolds with multiple pores.”
Until now, the creation of blood vessel networks in tissue engineered in the laboratory was an obstacle in creating thick, complex tissue, such as muscle tissue. In the future, according to Technion researchers, it may be possible to use this method to create engineered tissue and to improve tissue acceptance by the human body to the point where muscle replacement will be possible.
Also appearing on this year’s prestigious “List of 50” are former US Vice President and environmentalist Al Gore and tycoon Warren Buffet, who recently acquired the Israeli company Iscar. In the past, the list has included Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, embryonic stem cell researcher Douglas Melton, Nobel Prize laureate Roderick MacKinnon, General Electric chairman Jeffrey Immelt and Apple chairman Steve Jobs.
The journal Scientific American was founded in 1845 and since then has published articles by more than 100 Nobel Prize laureates.
