The main research interests of Prof. Betty Schwartz include the role of nutrients in cancer and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) health and characterization and evaluation of immunological and biological role of natural immunomodulators, particularly glucans. Prof. Betty Schwartz is an expert in areas including nutritional immunomodulators and their effects on GIT and liver functioning, effects on cancer and on gastrointestinal immunity.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the Western world including Israel. The role of diet in modulating cancer risk is a well-accepted concept, and natural compounds which have been proven safe over time and easily accessible through the diet represent ideal candidates as chemopreventive agents for the effective reduction of cancer-related morbidity and mortality. Prof. Betty Schwartz laboratory has searched for numerous agents present in foods that can act as chemopreventive agents and exert their activity on multiple signal transduction, transcriptional regulation and activation of several apoptotic cascades in various tumor cells and animal models of colorectal cancer or associated colon cancer (induced by inflammation of the bowel). Natural agents such as lycopene, isoflavones, allicin, omega-3 fatty acids, glucans, specific proteins etc. have been shown by us to possess chemopreventive potential. We have utilized molecular and chemical biology approaches, including in vivo in animal models and even human studies to ask well as hypothesis-driven strategies, to interrogate cancer biology, identify and validate new cancer targets, discover and develop chemical, molecular tools to identify nutrients acting on these targets, identify predictive and proved mechanism of action. Read more
Academic Activities
CO-ACADEMIC CHAIR, THE INTERNATIONAL MSC PROGRAM IN NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES
CO-HEAD, DIABETES RESEARCH CENTER
FORMER HEAD OF THE SCHOOL OF NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES
Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition
School of Nutritional Sciences and the International School of Agricultural Sciences
Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Rehovot
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem