Metro

Technion Advances

Pioneering medical researcher to discuss stem cells.

Don Cohen
Special to the Jewish News

I

srael is widely recog-
nized for its leading
and pioneering role in
human stem-cell research, and
Technion–Israel Institute of
Technology's Dr. Karl Skorecki is
one of the reasons.
Skorecki has made headlines
around the world with his
groundbreaking stem cell and
genetic research. He led a team
that developed a novel experi-
mental model using stem cells
to advance cancer research by
testing anti-cancer therapies.
A leader in diabetes research,
he also discovered that stem
cells could be used to produce
insulin, which could eventually
lead to a treatment for Type 1
diabetes.
He is director of nephrology
and molecular medicine of the
Technion faculty of medicine in
Haifa.
. Skorecki will speak on "Our
Bodies-Our Lives — The Stem
Cell Approach:' 7 p.m., Tuesday,
May 2, at Temple Israel in West
Bloomfield.
"If you look at published peer-
reviewed research, which in my
opinion is the gold standard or
currency of important research
success, Israeli scientists appear
in a much higher percentage
than scientists from almost any
other country, if not every other
country:' Skorecki told Public
Radio International's The World
last year.
Stem cells have a unique abil-
ity to renew themselves and
develop into specialized cell
types in the body. They may
become effective treatments for
many debilitating diseases such
as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and
diabetes. While researchers cau-
tion that potential cures from
human embryonic stem cell
research are likely to be at least
20-30 years away, with the first
human trials likely more than a

Dr. Karl Skorecki in his research lab at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.

decade away, they hold tremen-
dous promise.
But when Skorecki refers to
the "stem-cell approach" he
points out "the imminent utility
of stem cells in aspects of basic
research:' which can provide
more immediate benefits in
"drug testing, drug development,
aging and cancer research!"
Skorecki's Orthodox Jewish
beliefs and the Israeli rabbinate
are no barrier to his stem-all
research. Unlike the Catholic
Church and numerous Christian
groups that oppose human
stem-cell research in the belief
that a fertilized human embryo
constitutes a human, Judaism
— and Islam for that matter
— does not see the use of a 5-
to 7-day-old human embryo as
destroying a human life. Further,
the potential for healing and
saving lives is a strong Jewish
imperative for such research.
"We need to do our best to use

the tools that God gives us to
help promote human health and
well-being — without violating
or compromising halachic and
ethical principles:' Skorecki says.
"In my view, it is the obligation
and responsibility of scientists to
explain clearly to the public what
they are doing — and for there
to be intelligent civil discourse!'
American and Israeli Jews,
along with their religious leader-
ship, overwhelmingly support
an active but well-regulated
program of human stem-cell
research. In 2001, when
President Bush approved the
use of limited human stem-cell
lines for research, American
Orthodox, Conservative and
Reform leadership all welcomed
the decision while making it
clear they would have preferred
a more expansive research plan.
Skorecki also has made some
fascinating discoveries in his
genetics work, finding that 40

percent of all Ashkenazi Jews are
desCended from four "founding
mothers" who lived in Europe
1,000 years ago, and that the
majority of modern-day Jewish
priests, kohanim, are descended
from a single common male
ancestor. In addition to being
of great historical significance,
such findings have important
implications for understand-
ing the mechanisms of genetic
health and disease in human •
populations.
The only child of Holocaust
survivors, Skorecki was born
and raised in Toronto. He stud-
ied medicine at the University
of Toronto, graduating in 1977.
He pursued post-graduate
clinical and research training in
Boston at Massachusetts General
Hospital and Brigham and
Women's Hospital before return-
ing to the University of Toronto
to become professor and direc-
tor of the division of nephrology

in the departments of medicine
and pediatrics, and director of
the nephrology division at the
Hospital for Sick Children in
Toronto.
• Skorecki and his wife decided
to make aliyah after spending
a sabbatical at the Weizmann
Institute in the first half of 1991
(overlapping the first Gulf War).
For the past 10 years, he has
conducted research in molecular
biology and human genetics
at the Technion, and served as
a clinical nephrologist at the
Rambam Medical Center as well
as the director of the nephrology
department and director of the
Rappaport Research Institute in
Haifa.
The community program May
2 is sponsored by the American
Technion Society, the Great
Lakes Region of B'nai B'rith and
Temple Israel. For more informa-
tion, call (248) 737-1990. ❑

April 20 • 2006

15

