Laboratory of
Primary Immunodeficiency
From "Bedside" to "Bench" and back to "Bedside"
Pediatric Immunology Laboratory
Sheba Medical Center
Tel-Aviv University
Raz Somech Laboratory at a Glance
Here at Somech's Laboratory, we are driven by a single goal - to do our part in improving the life of the patients with Primary Immunodeficiencies. Patients with Primary Immunodeficiecy are born with defects in the immune system due to genetic mutation. It is a rare disease, and most of the patients do not survive their first year if left untreated. Thus we focus on; developing and improving strategies to diagnose the patients as early as possible; understanding the mechanism behind the different diseases and developing strategies for novel therapeutics.
Research
Diagnosing PID
National newborn screening (NBS) program already exist for the most severe type of T cell deficiency. However, there are no national programs to detect B cell deficiency and less severe forms of T and B cell deficiencies as of toray. Since early diagnosis of PIDs are critical for treatment of the disease, we are working to expand upon the current NBS, to increase the number of immunological diseases to be diagnosed early in life.
"Successful clinical and translational research requires that science goes where the patients and diseases are"
News
In commemoration of Rare Disease Day on February 28th, we are excited to share that our international research team is the recipient of the prestigious global Jeffrey Modell Foundation Translational Research Program Award (Cycle 10). The study entitled, “From clinical and molecular characterization to CRISPR genome-editing therapy of RAG1 combined immunodeficiency”, is a close collaboration between the teams of Dr. Ayal Hendel at Bar-Ilan University and Dr. Raz Somech at Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital in Israel, and Dr. Jolan Walter University of South Florida at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and Dr. Kevin Strauss at Clinic for Special Children in the United States. This study could not be possible without many clinicians and scientists working together around the globe. We thank the families, our research and clinical team members, and the Jeffrey Modell Foundation.
Febuary 28, 2023
Prof. Raz Somech is
2021 Laureate of the
Kadar Prize for Excellence in Research
October 14, 2021
Publications
Selected publications
Inadequate Activation of γδT- and B-cells in Patient with Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS) Portrayed by TRG and IGH Repertoire Analyses
Palevski D, Simon A, Lev A, Somech S and Lee YN
J Clin Immunol. 2023 Jan.
“The past is in the present,
but the future is still in our hands”
Elie Wiesel - Writer, Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Team
Who We Are
Prof. Raz Somech
MD, PhD
Head of Lab
Contact
Address:
Laboratory Building, 2nd Floor, Rooms 266-268,
Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Email:
Phone:
03-530-3477