The couple harnessing Israeli tech to help cure cancer

After surviving breast cancer twice, entrepreneur and mother-of-three Gal Avital and her husband, Idan Megidish, set out to mobilise Israel’s technology industry around an ambitious goal: curing cancer.

Their not-for-profit, Tech4Cancer, connects cancer researchers and clinicians with engineers, data scientists and AI specialists who develop tools to overcome obstacles holding back their work.

Initially focused on breast cancer, Tech4Cancer’s mission targets all cancers, supporting early laboratory research to projects intended to inform better treatment decisions.

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“Our vision is to cure cancer,” Gal told Jewish News.

“Israel has a strong combination of healthcare institutions, leading research and technological expertise. Our ambition is to connect those capabilities more systematically, so that promising cancer research is not slowed down simply because the right data, technology or connection is missing.”

Speaking during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the couple’s work comes amid growing concern about cancer in younger adults.

Analysis published by the World Cancer Research Fund earlier this month found rising rates of several cancers among under-50s. In England, cases of breast cancer in this age group increased from 42 to 47.5 cases per 100,000 between 2001 and 2023. Cancer remains more common in older adults, but researchers say further work is needed to understand the increases.

Launched in 2023, Tech4Cancer is supporting 26 ongoing projects involving more than 40 researchers and clinicians. Around 170 technology professionals have joined its community from major companies including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Wix, monday.com and Salesforce.

Tech entrepreneur Maor Shlomo, whose AI platform Base44 was acquired by Wix for around $80 million last year, has joined the advisory board.

“For and me, this is deeply personal,” Idan said. “Gal’s experience is a major part of why we believe awareness alone is not enough.”

Gal was first diagnosed with breast cancer around six and a half years ago, a few months after the birth of their son, now seven. She was diagnosed again in her other breast four years ago, a month after giving birth to their twin daughters. She underwent chemotherapy, mastectomy, reconstruction and radiotherapy.

“I’m doing well,” she said.

Both founders brought professional experience from outside medicine. Avital worked in venture capital and strategic partnerships, including roles at Microsoft’s venture fund, M12, and Oracle.

Idan’s career spans government, philanthropy and technology, including at the prominent Israeli tech unicorn, Lightricks where he managed the Haifa and Be’er Sheva sites.

After Gal’s first diagnosis, the couple established Green Wave, helping cancer patients access their entitlements, including tax relief, and then, Halas-Tech, which helps self-employed cancer patients and survivors rebuild businesses affected by their illness, through practical support from technology professionals and companies.

With Tech4Cancer, they turned their attention to accelerating research and more targeted treatment.

“Of course, for us, it was important to start with breast cancer,” Gal said.

One of its earliest projects brought together a breast cancer researcher at Sheba Medical Center and experts from Google. Their image-processing and analysis work supported research on breast cancer organoids, which was published in Frontiers in Oncology.

Tech4Cancer is also working with the Hadassah oncology team led by Shani Paluch-Shimon, together with the Ministry of Health and other partners, to develop the foundations for a breast cancer recurrence and outcomes registry. “The aim is to follow what happens after diagnosis, including recurrence or progression, treatments and outcomes, with a view to expanding across medical centres,” explained Gal.

The initiative has expanded across institutions including Sheba, Weizmann, Technion, Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University, Hadassah, Rambam, Soroka and Schneider. Other projects include work relating to pancreatic cancer, childhood brain cancer and lung cancer.

Tech4Cancer is also working on an initiative to explore how AI-assisted tools can help doctors and research coordinators identify potentially suitable clinical trials for individual patients.

“Some of the Tech4Cancer projects address immediate needs while others support research whose potential benefits may take longer to reach patients,” said Idan. “The biggest evolution in the mission is that we are now looking beyond individual projects and asking how some of these gaps can be addressed at an ecosystem level.”

“Everyone is affected by cancer,” added Gal, “either themselves or they know someone with it.”

Maor Shlomo’s involvement has a personal motivation. After losing his mother to cancer, he established Second Light, a personally-funded oncology fund backing early-stage companies and providing grants to researchers whose ideas are not yet ready to become businesses.

When he wrote about his interest in cancer research on LinkedIn, Avital and Idan contacted him. An initial meeting led to further conversations and Shlomo joined the advisory board.

“He’s a real mensch,” said Idan.

Base44 is also providing tools, cloud infrastructure and other technical resources to help build a digital map of Israel’s cancer ecosystem. According to Tech4Cancer, it already covers nearly 600 researchers and professionals, more than 600 clinical trials, 55 institutions and over 190 datasets.

“It is designed to help researchers identify collaborators, startups find relevant expertise and data, and funders see where support is needed.”

Tech4Cancer has also submitted a joint proposal with NVIDIA to a national AI challenge, focused on using AI, computing and data infrastructure to better connect cancer data, research and capabilities.

Its preliminary mapping covers nearly 600 researchers and professionals, around 600 clinical trials and 55 institutions, alongside more than 190 potential data sources identified for further review.

Gal said: “Together with NVIDIA, we submitted a proposal in response to Israel’s National AI Directorate’s request for information on national AI challenges, outlining how AI and shared data infrastructure could address gaps in cancer research.”

Funded through philanthropic donations, Tech4Cancer is pursuing further grants and support. Members of its core team worked for months without salaries while establishing the organisation.

“We are confident that bringing technology and research together can help accelerate breakthroughs towards cures. Everyone understands the urgency.

“Within a few years, we want the world to look to Israel and recognise the global impact we are making in the fight against cancer. We are confident that the cure for cancer will come from Israel and we want that expertise to benefit researchers and patients worldwide.”

tech4cancer.org