Ze’ev Ronai () is an

Israeli-American Israeli Americans () are Americans who are of full or partial Israeli descent. The Israeli-American community, while predominantly Jewish, also includes various ethnic and religious minorities reflective of Israel's diverse demographics. This c ...

cancer research scientist and Director of the Institute for Translational Research at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, USA.

Education

Ze’ev Ronai was born in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

in 1956. He attended Hugim High School in Haifa, and received his B.S. (Biology) and Ph.D. (

Immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...

) from the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

Research

Ronai's studies provide new fundamental understanding for the role and function of epigenetic components (transcription factor and

ubiquitin ligase A ubiquitin ligase (also called an E3 ubiquitin ligase) is a protein that recruits an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme that has been loaded with ubiquitin, recognizes a protein substrate, and assists or directly catalyzes the transfer of ubiquitin ...

s) in cancer. Early in his career he developed a sensitive PCR approach to detect mutant

Ras oncogene Ras, from "Rat sarcoma virus", is a family of related proteins that are expressed in all animal cell lineages and organs. All Ras protein family members belong to a class of protein called small GTPase, and are involved in transmitting signals ...

in normal appearing tissues. Later on, his studies provided the foundation for the rewired signaling in cancer, by demonstrating the important role of protein subcellular localization in its oncogenic function and by establishing the function of

s in key cellular processes (i.e. hypoxia, unfolded protein response, mitochondrial dynamics, anti-tumor immunity) and their critical contribution to development, progression, and therapy resistance of

prostate The prostate is an male accessory gland, accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found in all male mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemica ...

and

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

s and

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

. He developed SBI-756, a small molecule inhibitor, which targets the translation initiation complex, inhibiting melanoma and

lymphoid The lymphatic system, or lymphoid system, is an organ system in vertebrates that is part of the immune system and complementary to the circulatory system. It consists of a large network of lymphatic vessels, lymph nodes, lymphoid organs, lympha ...

tumors. Ze’ev Ronai published close to 300 peer-reviewed publications, reflected in over 20,000 citations. Following post doctoral training with I.B. Weinstein at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, Ronai began his independent career on the campus of the

New York Medical College New York Medical College (NYMC or New York Med) is a Private university, private medical school in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1860, it is a member of the Touro University System. NYMC offers advanced degrees through its three schools: the ...

, followed by tenure at

Mount Sinai School of Medicine The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City, New York, United States. The school is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sina ...

in NY. He joined Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in 2004 where he served as Program Director, Scientific Director, Deputy and later the Director of the NCI designated basic cancer center. In 2024 he relocated to Cedars Sinai in LA, where he establishes the Institute for Translational Research. In Israel, he has established the Technion Integrated Cancer Center, (with the Nobel Laureate

Aaron Ciechanover Aaron Ciechanover ( ; ; born October 1, 1947) is an Israeli biologist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for characterizing the method that cells use to degrade and recycle proteins using ubiquitin. Biography Early life Ciechanover was born ...

), first in class where engineers biologists and oncologists collaborate to defeat cancer.

Awards and honors

Ronai received the

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

from the Society for Melanoma Research (2016). Earlier, he obtained the Golda Meir Fellowship from the Hebrew University. He also served as editor in chief of Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research.

Patents

Ronai obtained a number patents for his inventions; those include a "Quantitative method for early detection of mutant alleles and diagnostic kits for carrying out the method" (1996), "Inhibition of ATF2 activity to treat cancer" (2011), and "Compositions and methods for inhibiting growth and metastasis of melanoma" (2011).

Publications (>300, with >33,000 citations)

* Kahn, S.M., Jiang, W., Culbertson, T.A., Weinstein, I.B. Williams, G.M., Ronai, Z. Rapid and sensitive nonradioactive detection of mutant K-ras genes via ‘enriched’ PCR amplification. ''Oncogene''. 6(6):1079-83, 1991. * Tobi, M., Luo, F.C., Ronai, Z. Detection of K-ras mutation in colonic effluent samples from patients without evidence for colorectal carcinoma. ''J Natl Cancer Inst''. 86(13):1007-10, 1994. * Fuchs, S.Y., Dolan, L.R., Davis, R., Ronai, Z. Phosphorylation dependent targeting of c-Jun ubiquitination by Jun N-kinase. ''Oncogene''. 13(7):1531-5, 1996. * Adler, V., Yin, Z., Fuchs, S.Y., Benezra, M., Rosario, L., Tew, K.D., Pincus, M.R., Sardana, M., Henderson, C.J., Wolf, C.R., Davis, R. Ronai, Z. Regulation of JNK signaling by GSTp. ''EMBO J''. 18:1321-34, 1999. * Habelhah, H., Shah, K., Hunag, L., Ostareck-Lederer. A., Burlingame, A.L., Shokat, K.M., Hentze, M.W., Ronai, Z. ERK phosphorylation drives cytoplasmic accumulation of hnRNP-K and inhibition of mRNA translation. ''Nat Cell Biol''. 3(3):325-30, 2001. * Bhoumik, A., Jones, N., Ronai, Z. Transcriptional switch by activating transcription factor 2-derived peptide sensitizes melanoma cells to apoptosis and inhibits their tumorigenicity. ''Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A''. 101(12):4222-7, 2004. * Nakayama, K., Frew, I.J., Hagensen, M., Skals, M., Habelhah, H., Bhoumik, A., Kadoya, T., Erdjument-Bromage, H., Tempst, P., Frappell, P.B., Bowtell, D.D., Ronai, Z. Siah2 regulates stability of prolyl-hydroxylases, controls HIF1alpha abundance, and modulates physiological responses to hypoxia. ''Cell''. 117(7):941-52, 2004.

Personal life

Ze’ev Ronai is married to Iris Ronai (1980); they have three children.

References

External links

Ze’ev Ronai lab page i
www.ronailab.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronai, Ze'ev Israeli medical researchers Cancer researchers 1956 births Living people Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni