Created as a key component of the Moross Integrated Cancer Center (MICC) within the Weizmann Institute of Science, the de Picciotto- Lesser Cancer Cell Observatory was founded in Memory of Wolfgang and Ruth Lesser, and established by Michael de Picciotto. The Observatory offers scientists in-depth analysis of cancer cells using advanced imaging technologies, which enables the viewing of live cells in action and at high optical resolutions. De Picciotto has been recorded stating that his contribution to the Cancer Cell Observatory allows him to honour and establish a connection to his beloved grandparents, after his grandfather passed away from pancreatic cancer, as well as to underline his keen attachment to his family roots. The creation of the observatory also comes from his own life-long fascination with science. Michael de Picciotto is keen to follow the future results of the research conducted within the Observatory as the field of cancer cell research continues to advance. It also provides a clear association to the memory of his grandparents and his family. His grandfather, Wolfgang Lesser, a successful businessman and a keen supporter of Israel, was notably a very prominent philanthropist. Today, Israel is known for the high level of scientific research carried out there and the Weizmann Institute of Science is one of the leading multidisciplinary research institutions in both natural and exact sciences not only in Israel but also in the world. In part, de Picciotto is proud to associate his grandparents’ memory with such a prominent institution.

1. Supporters
Michael de
Picciotto
The de Picciotto-Lesser
Cancer Cell Observatory in
Memory of Wolfgang and Ruth
Lesser was established by
Michael de Picciotto. Michael
was born in Brussels and
resides in the UK and
Switzerland. He named the
Observatory in memory of his
maternal grandparents who
fled Nazi Germany. His grandfather, Wolfgang Lesser, was a successful
businessman, a generous and charitable man and a great supporter of Israel; he
passed away in 1995 in Jerusalem.
"My contribution to the Cancer Cell Observatory allows me to honor my beloved
grandparents, as well as express my attachment to my roots and fascination for
science,” says Michael de Picciotto, whose father is an engineer—as were his two
uncles—and has aPhD in organic chemistry from Geneva University. Says de
Picciotto: “I am eager to closely follow the future results of the research done within
the Observatory and grateful to be able to associate my grandparents’ memory and
my family with this new area at the Weizmann Institute."