A scientist at the Technion won the largest grant from the European Union for the development of an electronic nose that will smell cancer

Dr. Hussam Hayek will receive 1.73 million euros; He will establish a sophisticated laboratory and recruit researchers from Israel and abroad

Dr. Hussam Hayek, from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and the Russell Berry Institute for Nanotechnology at the Technion, won an excellence grant of 1.73 million euros from the European Union, for the development of an electronic nose that will smell cancer diseases. According to ISERD, the Israeli administration that helps Israeli industries, research institutes and researchers submit research proposals to the European Union, this is the largest grant an Israeli scientist has received from the European Union.

The nose is designed, in the first stage, to smell and diagnose lung cancer. "Achieving the research goals will enable the achievement of a nanometer-sized sensor-based device that can diagnose different types of cancer and even determine what stage the disease is in, using breath samples (for example, by blowing into the device)," explains Dr. Haik. "The diagnosis can be made at a very early stage of the disease, even before the tumor begins to spread. Then the treatment will be immediate and will eliminate the disease while it is still in progress."

The grant, named after Marie Curie, was given to Dr. Hayek as part of the European Union's efforts to strengthen and encourage promising young scientists. Dr. Haik, 31 years old, completed his doctorate at the Technion and recently returned to it as a faculty member with the rank of associate professor, from Caltech (California Institute of Technology) where he completed his Ph.D.

"In our research, we have already shown that it is possible to differentiate, with the help of tiny sensors, between a healthy person and a cancer patient," says Dr. Haik. "The challenge facing us now is to distinguish between the different types of cancer, and the stages in which the disease is present."

Dr. Hayek researched and developed in the field of electrical devices based on nanomaterials and electronic noses at Caltech, where scientists are involved, among other things, in developing electronic noses for NASA's spacecraft. With the grant he received, and in addition to funds he received from the Technion through the Russell Berry Institute for Nanotechnology, he is establishing a laboratory that will include equipment costing more than a million dollars and will recruit about ten researchers from Israel and abroad. Since the announcement of his winning the large grant was published, he has already received many inquiries from researchers from Israel and abroad.

Technion Vice President for Research, Professor Moshe Isenberg, congratulated Dr. Haik on receiving the extraordinary grant. "Hundreds of proposals were submitted to the European Union and 29 scientists were awarded the grant, and Dr. Haik is the only Israeli who has won this grant so far," he said. "This is a very significant achievement and I am convinced that the research Dr. Haik will lead at the Technion will be of the highest scientific level and will even achieve practical results."