
BIO
TOMER COOKS, PH.D.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Academic Appointments
2018-to date
Senior lecturer (equivalent title to Assistant Professor). Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition. The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Previous Positions
2013-2017
Postdoctoral fellowship, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Lab of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, Host: Dr. Gordon Hager
Higher Education
2008-2012
Ph.D., The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel. Faculty of Biology, Department of Molecular Cell Biology. Advisor: Prof. Varda Rotter
2005-2008
M.Sc., The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel. Faculty of Biology, Department of Molecular Cell Biology. Advisor: Prof. Varda Rotter
2002-2005
B.Sc., Biology, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Graduated Cum Laude.
Email: cooks@bgu.ac.il
My Ph.D. was conducted in the Tel-Aviv University after which I moved to the Weizmann Institute and later to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). My research interests are focused on extracellular vesicles (exosomes) and the intricate molecular relationship shared by the tumor, the host tissue and their microenvironment. Essentially, I wish to explore the emerging role of exosomes released by tumor cells giving rise to immuno-modulating changes in the microenvironment. Such cell-to-cell regulation is a key mechanism controlling the interplay between the innate immune system, the epithelial compartment and the microbial environment in inflammatory conditions driving toward tumorigenesis.