With scientists from 28 countries comprising 50 multidisciplinary research centres, the institute provides a vibrant atmosphere for ground-breaking medical and technological discoveries. Professor Daniel Zajfman, President, expands on these contributions and the importance of making science accessible to the wider community
What do you see as the Weizmann Institute of Science’s main aims and objectives?
The Weizmann Institute of Science has two aims. The first is to educate the next generation of scientists in Israel at the highest possible level. We want them to be able to contribute to all parts of Israeli society: industry as well as academia and education. This is a particularly important objective for us, as Israel’s economy is heavily dependent on scientific and technological innovation. Our second aim is to produce the best possible body of knowledge in all areas of science, for the benefit of humanity. We believe the best way to achieve this aim is to recruit top scientists and allow them the freedom to think. Our job is to provide them with the best possible scientific environment and infrastructure. These two objectives are clearly linked; it is impossible to achieve one without the other.
Where does your personal area of expertise lie?
My own area of expertise is in the field of molecular physics – more specifically the physics of small molecular ions, their dynamics and their relevance to the interstellar medium. I am still involved in research, but at a much lower level of activity than before.
As one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary research institutions, ground-breaking medical and technological applications have emerged from basic research conducted by Weizmann Institute scientists. Could you offer some specific examples?
While medical and technological applications are not the primary goal of the scientific research performed at the Institute, Weizmann scientists have been behind several important developments. These include two of the top five drugs for treating multiple sclerosis – Copaxone and Rebif. We have also developed Erbitux for the treatment of cancer, a method of diagnosing cancer without a biopsy and a computer encryption algorithm used all over the world. Recent examples include a method for summarising computerised visual information, a method of producing clearer microscope images by manipulating the focus of a laser beam in time and a treatment that is currently undergoing phase III clinical trials for juvenile diabetes.
Israel is one of the leading funders of research in the world. Why do you think this is and how is this benefiting the country?
Historically, even before the founding of the State, Israel’s leaders saw the need for investing in research. For one thing, the country was poor in both natural resources and size. For another, there was a growing pool of well-educated immigrants, and investment in research was the best way to make use of their skills to build the country.
Yet, the reasons for Israel’s leading position in global research are multiple. First – and in my opinion most important – is the understanding that the best research is carried out by people who have the freedom to ask questions. This feature has been deeply embedded in Jewish culture for thousands of years, and it remains a strong part of Israel’s culture. Outstanding research shies away from accepted dogma and continually challenges ‘common wisdom’. Second, Israel is a highly multicultural society, and this provides multiple approaches to solving problems and unique ways of integrating those approaches. It is also important to note that funding is of course an important factor that enables us to provide the research infrastructure which allows maximum flexibility.
The Institute has five faculties, which in turn are divided into 17 scientific departments. In addition, the Feinberg Graduate School serves as a meeting place for scientists from different disciplines. How has this set the stage for multidisciplinary collaborations and the emergence of new research fields at the Institute?
Multidisciplinary collaborations cannot be ‘programmed’. We are always aware that the best way to drive excellent scientific research is from the bottom up. It is useless to set up ‘multidisciplinary’ programmes if these are not initiated by the scientists themselves. The Weizmann Institute of Science tries to provide the platform – infrastructure and budget – without erecting barriers between the different faculties and departments. For example, when PhD students finish their degrees at Weizmann, their diplomas are in ‘Science’, not Physics, Chemistry or any other field. This enables our students, from the very beginning, to conduct their PhD research with any thesis advisor in any department, regardless of the department or faculty in which they are enrolled.
The Weizmann Institute of Science follows two interconnected avenues of activity. The first, the basic scientific research avenue, helps to shape the future. The second is aimed at enabling people to understand the scientific discoveries which impact our lives. What strategy are you using to help people to understand scientific discoveries and their impact?
It is indeed one thing to push the frontier of knowledge, but this knowledge is useless if most people are unable to understand it or use it to benefit themselves or their communities. Thus, we see ourselves not as the keepers of this knowledge, but as the ones responsible for its dissemination to the wider community. We have several ways of doing this, mostly through our educational arm – the Davidson Institute of Science Education. Here, one can find lectures, activities and events of every sort, for people of every age. We also reach out directly to the public with popular lectures in public places, including bars. For the last several years, these evening events have been a major success – demonstrating that science can be a lot of fun!
The Weizmann Institute of Science believes that a beautiful environment inspires and stimulates creativity, and so you have exerted great efforts in nurturing the working environment of the Institute scientists. How do you think this has benefited the research you conduct and the productivity of your employees?
Beautiful, clean and aesthetic environment is critical if one wants people to be innovative. While it is hard to assign numbers to this influence, one can gain a sense of its impact by talking to the employees of the Institute or just wandering around the campus and observing the calm but purposeful atmosphere that pervades the Institute grounds. This atmosphere influences everything – from the meetings between scientists from different disciplines to the ways that people talk to each other.
Where do you receive your funding, and how in turn do you delegate it between your various objectives, departments and centres?
The Institute is financially supported by the State of Israel, by competitive grants earned by the scientists themselves, our own endowment fund and by philanthropy. At the Weizmann Institute, the various objectives are weighed according to the quality of the people behind them. There are, at any given time, a large number of projects running. While it is always difficult to evaluate the importance of an individual project, it is relatively easy to judge the quality of the people driving it. This is the most important factor for budgeting.
What do the next five years hold for Weizmann – do you see the role of the Institute developing into different areas, and if so, what are they?
There are many areas of science in which we are very active. It would be foolish to try to predict the outcome of specific projects, or even to the guess at the new directions that science will be taking in that period. Taking the broad view, I foresee major opportunities in almost all areas of science, including mathematics and computer science, physics, chemistry and the life sciences in general. In the latter, we are moving forward in establishing a National Centre for Personalised Medicine, which will provide a much needed platform for genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and small molecule screening. The Centre will allow scientists working in a variety of biomedical research fields to have access to the high-level technology and analytical tools critical for making progress in this area – which are quickly developing. We are continuing to advance education, as we become more and more involved in raising the teaching level of sciences at the high school level.
