Dr. Liron Grossmann is a physician-researcher with a unique and rare training that combines medicine, computational biology and pediatric oncology (despite and thanks to the fact that he started studying electrical engineering). He is expected to join the Faculty of Life Sciences in 2016 as a senior lecturer in a position as a physician-researcher in collaboration with Sheba Medical Center, after an impressive international career that includes training as a postdoctoral fellow at the Children's Oncology Center of the Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and then establishing an independent laboratory at Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer.
Dr. Grossman's research focuses on the mechanisms that allow cancer cells to survive treatment and lead to disease recurrence - a critical and unresolved issue in pediatric oncology. His work deals with the identification of persister cells in neuroblastoma, the most common extracranial solid tumor in children. Using advanced technologies of spatial single-cell transcriptomics sequencing, and computational tools that he developed, he was able to show how these cells change their expression profile and cooperate with an immunosuppressive microenvironment, which contributes to their survival and treatment failure. His main article on the subject was published in Discovery Cancer in July 2024 and was selected for oral presentation at leading conferences, including AACR and ANR. At the same time, the research group he founded at Sheba Hospital is investigating the role of epigenetic and post-transcriptional changes, in particular RNA A6m methylation, in the design The plasticity of cancer cells and resistance to treatments. He has already been able to show that inhibition of the FTO enzyme demethylase causes significant suppression of the MYCN protein in neuroblastoma cells, and is currently conducting preclinical trials with an existing clinical preparation (Bisantrene (in PDX models) and human tumor testing in mice). In his role at Sheba Hospital, Dr. Grossman heads an active laboratory with a diverse team of researchers and works in close collaboration with the Sheba Cancer Research Center and the laboratory of Prof. John Maris in the USA. He has won four competitive research grants - from the ISF Foundation of the Israel Cancer Association, Alrov and the B+ Foundation. In addition, he has won awards throughout his academic career, including for clinical and research excellence during his time at CHOP and Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Dr. Grossman brings a unique contribution to the faculty: as A physician, he combines clinical insight with scientific depth, specializes in advanced sequencing and genetic engineering technologies, works in an innovative and relevant field of treatment resistance, and combines basic research with a clear translational purpose. Thanks to his background in oncology, bioinformatics, and genetics, he has opportunities for collaborations with groups in the Faculty of Life Sciences as well as within the framework of the Valley Tech Health project together with Sheba Medical Center.