December 21, 2011, Updated September 11, 2012

Hebrew University chemistry student Yftah Tal-Gan has been chosen as one of this year’s Kaye Innovation Award winners for his strategy for inhibiting a protein that is associated with the spread of cancer.

Tal-Gan’s innovation focuses on the inhibition of Protein Kinase B (PKB, also called Akt). Since the activation of PKB is associated with cancer, selective inhibition of this protein becomes a promising strategy for targeted cancer therapy.

The Ph.D. student’s method is based on mimicking the interaction of PKB with other proteins with which it comes into contact by use of peptides.

Through chemical engineering, Tal-Gan managed to convert an active peptide inhibitor of PKB, named PTR6154, into a stable peptide “mimic” (peptidomimetic) that combines biological activity with favorable pharmacological properties.

The peptide could be used as a potential anti-cancer treatment that would operate through inhibiting PKB from performing its role of inducing cancer cell survival and cell division. The outcome is that the cancer cells would become susceptible to death signals and therefore die (unlike untreated cancer cells that are not susceptible to death signals and therefore do not die). The peptidomimetic could also potentially be combined with specific anti-cancer drugs, thus further enhancing the efficacy of the treatment method.

The Kaye Awards were established in 1994 by Isaac Kaye of England, a prominent industrialist in the pharmaceutical industry, to encourage faculty, staff, and students of the Hebrew University to develop inventions which will benefit society.

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