A Whiff of Assurance

August 21, 2008 at 11:02 am | In Sciences |

Photo: Getty Images

By: Dudi Goldman
Translated from Yedioth Aharonoth, 20 August 2008, p.12
Dr. Hossam Haick has been named by MIT’s Technology Review to an exclusive list of scientists for his electronic cancer-detecting “nose.”
Each year since 1999, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, considered one of the world’s foremost universities, publishes a list of the 35 most promising young (under 35) scientists. This year’s list, published two days ago, includes an Israeli researcher–Dr. Hossam Haick from Haifa’s Technion.
Dr. Haick (33) from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and the Russel Berrie Nanotechnology Institute at the Technion was listed as one of the promising scientists thanks to research that produced an electronic nose that can “sniff out” cancer. Last June, Dr. Haick’s research was featured in Yedioth Aharonoth as one of the 50 people who “made a difference” during the previous year.
“The goal is that someone could exhale into the “nose,” which would use tiny sensors to detect the type of cancer and the stage of its progression in the body,” explained Dr. Haick. “Detection can occur at the disease’s ealy stages. In the event of a tumor–we’re talking about the stages before metastasis, when you can treat the disease immediately and get rid of it in its earliest stages. Our research has already shown that the sensors can tell the difference between a healthy person and one who has cancer. The challenge now is to distinguish between the different stages of the disease.
According to Haick, “We’ve developed sensors that can identify the three most widespread types of cancer: cancer of the lung, breast, and colon. In the future, we’ll work on other types of cancer. We are in the research stages, but the results are promising, and, in the future, this will lead to a commercial venture in which the Technion will be a partner.” Dr. Haick, born in Nazareth and now of Haifa, belongs to a family of scientists and researchers.
His father is a lecturer in mechanical engineering. His wife, who completed studies in chemistry and went on to study food engineering and biotechnology at the Technion, now works for the Ministry of Health in the Haifa area. Haick is the proud father of an 8-month-old son.
Haick’s laboratory at the Technion now employs about 20 researchers and scientists from Israel, Germany, Singapore, China, India, and Russia. Since joining the Technion, after returning from post-doctoral studies in the United States, Haick has won 15 prizes and garnered national and international praise.
The 35 young scientists appearing on the MIT list were selected from among 300 finalists by a panel of professional judges and the editorial staff of the MIT’s journal. “We look forward to their continued advancement of technology in their respective fields and know that their work will have a profound impact on all our lives, said Jason Pontin, editor-in-chief and publisher of Technology Review.