Dr. Tomer Cooks

Shraga Segal Dept. of Microbiology, Immunology & Genetics
Faculty of Health Sciences

My life before BGU: 

I was born in Givatayim and grew up in Gedera. I studied for my undergraduate degree in the Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University. I then studied in a track leading directly to a doctorate in the Faculty of Medicine, also at Tel Aviv University. After a short post-doc at the Weizmann Institute of Science, I continued to a further post-doc at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

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My research:

During my undergraduate degree, I was already drawn to cancer research. During my doctoral studies, I developed, along with my advisors and other students, a unique treatment method for solid masses based on ionized alpha-type radiation. Advanced clinical trials of this treatment are currently being carried out in a number of countries around the world, including the US, Japan, Italy and Israel. Over the years, I delved deeper into the vast field of tumor microenvironment and examined the connections between cancerous cells and the supportive non-cancerous cells that allow them to flourish. Over the last few years, I was drawn into a sub-niche of this field: exosomes. These are vesicles whose size is under 100 nanometers and which allow the passing of information and molecules between cells. This is a new and exciting field, where much remains to be discovered and which has great potential for precision medicine.

Why BGU?

Over the years, I have met many researchers and been in many labs in my field, situated in the Negev. The University has a great reputation for the collegial atmosphere between researchers and for being a great scientific oasis in the south of the country.

An insight from my research:

Good science is done with good people. No idea, no matter how good, will develop without the right people to work with.

Something that doesn't appear on my resume:

I think the most important things are family, health, books and coffee. Not necessarily in that order.

A source of inspiration:

People who went against the flow, who paid a personal price, but eventually changed the world. Susan B. Anthony and the suffragists are a good example.

When I grow up:

When I was a child, I pronounced I would be a criminal lawyer; today I'm satisfied with having no need for one.

If I was not a researcher, I would be involved with:

writing.

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