Faculty of Medicine

Our Faculty Our broad areas of research encompass cancer and molecular therapies, cardiovascular Basic and research and diseases, dental health and translational medicine, diabetes, metabolic and endocrine research diseases, genomics, artificial intelligence and precision medicine, hearing, language and As the largest health and speech sciences and disorders, infectious medical sciences faculty disease, inflammatory and autoimmune in Israel, our research diseases, medical education and ethics, nervous and teaching cover the system and brain disorders, nursing, full spectrum of cutting- occupational and physical therapy, public health, edge health and biomedical sciences. reproduction, development and evolution, stem cells, regenerative medicine and aging. Our diverse educational and training programs are delivered by academic staff who are experts in their fields, offering PhD, MSc, MD, DMD, and MPH degrees in medical sciences, clinical medicine, dental medicine, communication disorders, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy and public health.

For more information, please visit https://en-med.tau.ac.il/

TAU Faculty of Medicine Faculty of Medicine

Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases Contents Prof. Motti Gerlic Our Faculty – Vision - Our areas of study Prof. Fuad Iraqi Centers, Institutes and Hubs Prof. Ariel Munitz Anthropology and Ancient DNA Prof. Nir Osherov Prof. Israel Hershkovitz Prof. Udi Qimron Dr. Hila May Prof. Ronit Sagi-Eisenberg Dr. Rachel Sarig Dr. Dor Salomon Dr. Viviane Slon Nervous System and Brain Disorders Cancer and Molecular Therapies Dr. Avraham Ashkenazi Prof. Sivia Barnoy Prof. Bernard Attali Dr. Uri Ben-David Dr. Tami Bar-Shalita Dr. Yaron Carmi Dr. Orit Bart Dr. Merav Cohen Prof. Hagit Eldar-Finkelman Prof. Neta Erez Prof. Illana Gozes Prof. Zvi Fishelson Dr. Yoni Haitin Dr. Maayan Gal Prof. Talma Hendler Prof. Carmit Levy Prof. Yael Henkin Dr. Asaf Madi Dr. Michal Itzhaki Dr. Michael Milyavsky Prof. Liat Kishon-Rabin Prof. Rina Rosin-Arbesfeld Dr. Tal Laviv Prof. Ronit Satchi-Fainaro Prof. Tova Most Prof. Yossi Shiloh Prof. Yuval Nir Prof. Haim Werner Dr. Moshe Parnas Cardiovascular Research and Diseases Prof. Eran Perlson Prof. Silvia Koton Dr. Sigal Portnoy Prof. Jonathan Leor Dr. Violetta Rozani Dr. Semyon Melnikov Dr. Angela Ruban Computational Biomedical Research Dr. Moran Rubinstein Prof. Elhanan Borenstein Prof. Inna Slutsky Prof. Ran Elkon Dr. Eran Stark COVID-19 Pandemic Dr. Ido Tavor Dr. Bruria Adini Public Health Dr. Ilana Dubovi Dr. Anat Amit-Aharon Dr. Natalia Freund Prof. Dani Cohen Dr. Oren Kobiler Prof. Jiska Cohen-Mansfield Prof. Khitam Muhsen Dr. Yftach Gepner Development, Aging and Regeneration Prof. Yariv Gerber Prof. Lihi Adler-Abramovich Dr. Israel Halperin Prof. Ruth Ashery-Padan Dr. Yael Lahav Dr. Daniel Bar Prof. Liat Lerner-Geva Prof. Yankel Gabet Dr. Uri Obolski Dr. Chen Luxenburg Prof. Chava Peretz Dr. Miriam Theilla Prof. Leah Rosen Rehabilitation and Education Training Prof. Ronen Zaidel-Bar Dr. Michal Avrech Bar Diabetes, Metabolic and Endocrine Diseases Prof. Shimon Efrat Prof. Ruth Defrin Dr. Limor Landsman Dr. Jason Friedman Prof. Drorit Neumann Prof. Debbie Rand Ethics, Biomedicine and Policy Prof. Navah Ratzon Dr. Osnat Segal Dr. Oren Asman Dr. Sigalit Warshawski Genomics and Precision Medicine Prof. Gil Ast Dr. Yael Zaltz Prof. Karen B. Avraham Training opportunities Prof. Noam Shomron A view from our students Life in Tel Aviv Faculty of Medicine

Vision The Faculty by numbers

We believe that bringing • 130 Preclinical Faculty members, with labs together the best and on the Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv brightest minds – faculty, campus, and 10 with labs at the affiliated research associates, post- doctoral fellows and hospitals graduate students at the Sackler Faculty of • 1000 Clinical Faculty members, with labs at Medicine - will expedite the 17 affiliated hospitals in the greater Tel medical breakthroughs. Aviv area

Our combined Preclinical • 1,050 Graduate students performing Faculty members performing research on the research on campus and hospitals Tel Aviv University campus, along with our Clinical • 1250 Medical, 360 Dental, 1660 Health Faculty members at the Profession and 600 Public Health students affiliated hospitals in the greater Tel Aviv area, are the key to our success to translate our research into effective cures and treatments.

Prof. Ehud Grossman, Prof. Karen B. Avraham, MD, Dean PhD, Vice Dean for Preclinical Affairs

Cover credits Top: Second and third order olfactory neurons in the Drosophila brain. Hadas Lerner Nussbaum, Moshe Parnas. Middle left: Manot 1 skull, 55,000 years ago, the mother of modern populations. Israel Hershkovitz. Middle right: Genetic engineering and fluorescence microscopy in the tnematode C. elegans allows observation of cytoskeletal protein localization and dynamics in adult physiology and embryonic development. Priti Agarwal, Kriti Sethi, Ronen Zaidel-Bar. Bottom left: Rab5-stimulated fusion that mast cell secretory granules undergo during their biogenesis. Ronit Sagi-Eisenberg. Bottom right: Recording electrical brain activity during overnight sleep with a high-density (256-channel) EEG system. Yuval Nir.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Our areas of study

Understanding and conquering human disease remains one of the most important missions of humanity. Despite centuries of continuous progress, we still lack basic knowledge about the human body in health and disease. From genetics and biochemistry to epidemiology and public health, from virology to immunology, and from diabetes to cancer -- at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine we apply our basic curiosity of the secrets of life to questions that actually matter. We strive to improve patient care by bettering our understanding of human disease. Join us in this important and fascinating journey.

Anthropology and Development, Aging, Infectious and Ancient DNA and Regenerative Inflammatory Diseases Cancer and Molecular Medicine Molecular targeting Therapies Diabetes, Metabolic and and drug discovery Cardiovascular Endocrine Diseases Nervous System and Research and Diseases Ethics, Biomedicine and Brain Disorders Computational Policy Public Health Biomedical Research Genomics and Precision Rehabilitation COVID-19 Pandemic Medicine

Credits: Left – Primary mouse keratinocyte stained with phalloidin (red), striatin (green), and Dapi (blue). Yarden Shor, Michal Caspi, Rina Rosin-Arbesfeld. Middle - Induction of heart cell growth. OPN activates signals (yellow) that enter the heart cell (green) nuclei (blue). Itai Rotem, Jonathan Leor. Right - C. elegans germline expressing a membrane marker. Yusuke Hara, Ronen Zaidel-Bar.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Centers, Institutes and Hubs

Biomed@TAU Research Hubs https://en-biomed.tau.ac.il/

Felsenstein Medical Research Center http://felsenstein-center.com/doc/about-fmrc

Sylvan Adams Sports Institute https://adams-sports.tau.ac.il/

Dr. Yftach Gepner at the Sylvan Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery Adams Sports Institute https://bcdd.tau.ac.il/

Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology https://nano.tau.ac.il/

Edmond J. Safra Center for Bioinformatics https://safrabio.cs.tau.ac.il/

TAU Faculty of Medicine Anthropology and Ancient DNA

Affiliations

Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research https://en-med.tau.ac.il/dan_david_center

Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute (SFAI) https://sfai.tau.ac.il/

The Institute is dedicated to investigating the thousands of fossil specimens that comprise the Sackler Biological Anthropology Collection, and health. Images are Neanderthal skull from stored in a database, Amud cave 50,000 years one of the world's largest, ago. employing state-of-the-art forming the Shmunis technologies. The Skeletal Digital Library, a web- Young anthropologist in Imaging Laboratory, the based resource made action: Emma Blatt available for scholars excavating at Manot Cave heart of the institute, is (photo with permission). enabling scholars to around the world. extract hidden information The Institute is managed by from fossils on the Prof. Israel Hershkovitz, Dr. multitude aspects of past Hila May, Dr. Rachel Sarig, human behavior, nutrition and Dr. Viviane Slon.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Anthropology and Ancient DNA

Prof. Israel Prof. Hershkovitz is an emeritus Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, where he Hershkovitz is head of the Dan David Laboratory for the Search and Study of Modern Humans. He is also Head of the Tassia and Dr. Joseph Meychan Chair for the History and Philosophy of Medicine, Head of the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, and Head of the Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute. During his career he has been engaged in numerous excavations in Israel, responsible for some Paleopathology in of the major fossils found in the country, and was a medicine key person in establishing and organizing the fossil collection at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine. Prof. Hershkovitz’ varied research touches many diseases were in shaping aspects of past population past population physique life. By providing detailed (being the right hand of descriptions of bone natural selection). He modifications for many introduced the time diseases, he made dimension into medical paleopathology an thinking and showed how evidence-based medical human behavior and discipline. His studies climate affect population showed how evolution health in past times. He affect current people further showed that the health (demonstrating that turning point in human many spinal diseases are population health was at “trade off” for bipedalism), the advent of agriculture, and how important some 10,000 years ago. He documented the first modern humans migrating out of Africa (Misliya cave fossils 200,000 years ago), and retrieved the mother population of all present people outside Africa (Manot cave fossils

55,000 years ago). TAU Faculty of Medicine Anthropology and Ancient DNA

Dr. Hila Dr. May is head of the Biohistory and Evolutionary Medicine Laboratory at the Department of Anatomy May and Anthropology. She is affiliated to the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research. Dr. May graduated from Tel Aviv University in Life Sciences and Sociology and Anthropology, obtained an MSc in Evolutionary Medicine, and a PhD in Physical Anthropology at Tel Aviv University. For her postdoctoral research, she joined the Institute for Evolutionary Medicine at Zurich University, where she Biohistory and specialized in methods of virtual anthropology. The evolutionary medicine research in her laboratory is multidisciplinary and involves novel methodologies for the study of past What make people populations and revealing the evolutionary causes of vulnerable to diseases? modern-day diseases. Dr. May won the Bergmann Most present-day health Memorial Award from the BSF for hazards, such as obesity, young scientists. cancer, sclerosis, and https://hilamaylab.wixsite.com/bem-lab arthritis, have their roots thousands or even millions of years ago, multidisciplinary when humans began to approach for the study of acquire their current humankind and anatomical shape. Dr. combines both genetic May studies recent and and morphological data. past human populations The morphological to achieve new insights research is carried out on long lasting biological using advanced imaging and social phenomena. techniques, as well as This type of research traditional allows a comprehensive anthropological methods. understanding of human The genetic study uses behavior, biology and cutting-edge techniques illness. The research is of DNA that is extracted based on a from ancient bones.

CT reconstruction of 2,000 year old mummy of an Egyptian priest TAU Faculty of Medicine Anthropology and Ancient DNA

Dr. Rachel Dr. Rachel Sarig is at the Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, where she is a principal investigator Sarig and the head of the Dental Anthropology Laboratory. Dr. Sarig is a graduate of Tel Aviv University, having completed her D.M.D. and her Ph.D. in anatomy and anthropology, and her post-graduate studies in orthodontics (summa cum laude), all at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine. Sarig is a curator and researcher at the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Bio-history Research and the Shmunis Family Dental anthropology Anthropology Institute. Understanding who we are and where we come from can shed a light on our diseases. Sarig’s main future. Many of the current interest is in studying the oral diseases and evolutionary and malformations have their environmental effects on roots in our evolutionary oral health in prehistoric history. Knowing the populations and their evolutionary processes implications on modern that led to the current societies. The study of the shape and size of our skull masticatory apparatus is and mandible may greatly conducted both on bear on our understanding prehistoric and modern of phenomena such as samples using laboratory malocclusions, dental models, micro-CT scans malformations and oral and clinical studies.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Anthropology and Ancient DNA

Dr. Viviane Dr. Slon is at the Departments of Anatomy and Anthropology and Human Molecular Genetics and Slon Biochemistry and affiliated with the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research. Her PhD and post-doctoral research on ancient hominin DNA were conducted in the Department of Evolutionary Genetics of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig, Germany). She has an MSc in Medical Sciences and a BSc in Medical and Life Sciences, both from Tel Aviv University. Dr. Ancient DNA Slon is the recipient of the Dan David Prize Scholarship for Young Researchers, the Otto Hahn Who were the people Medal, the Otto Hahn Award, and the Alon living in our region in Fellowship. prehistoric times? Were https://www.tau.ac.il/~viviane/ they related to other populations living elsewhere in the world at the-art methodology suited the same time? Did they to face the challenges of migrate or otherwise DNA preservation over interact with populations time in warm climates. Our living in neighboring newly-established regions? How were their laboratory, which includes societies organized? To a clean room facility answer such questions, dedicated to the we analyze DNA from generation of ancient DNA ancient individuals, which data, is the first of its kind we recover both from in Israel. The study of skeletal remains and from ancient genomes allows to sediments deposited at elucidate not only who archaeological sites. We were the people living in do so by implementing the past, but also how past and pursuing the events affect on our own development of state-of- genomes today. S. Peyrégne

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Affilations

Cancer Biology Research Center

https://cbrc.tau.ac.il/

Melanoma brain metastases. Tumor cells, red; astrocytes, green; microglia, violet. Neta Erez.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Prof. Sivia Prof. Barnoy, Department of Nursing, School of Health Professions, completed her nursing degree at Barnoy the Hebrew University with distinction. She then obtained an M.Sc. (graduated with distinction) and Ph.D. at the Department of Human Genetics of the School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University. Barnoy served as the department chair between 2010-2014. She is active internationally in genetic nursing in the International Society for Nurses in Genetics, who in 2018 granted her the Founder Award for Excellence Nursing genetics and in Research. She was nominated as the Israeli delegate information technology in the Global Genomic Nursing Alliance Initiative. Patients do not always share hereditary cancer information with their at- Her approach is unique as risk relatives. Prof. Barnoy she studies this question is engaged in studies that from both the patients, the deal with testing and counselees, and disclosure of cancer counselors’ point of view. genetic information to The Israeli law states that blood relatives. She genetic information examines factors such as belongs to the counselees; stigma and health beliefs however, her current that might influence the results call for a re- decision to be tested and discussion about the share test results with privacy of genetic relatives. information.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Dr. Uri Dr. Ben-David, Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at the School of Ben-David Medicine, completed his PhD at the Hebrew University and his postdoctoral training at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. He was recently selected as a "Next Generation Star" of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). He has earned several prestigious prizes for early-career scientists, including the Dan David Scholar Award, the Kaluza Award, and the Cancer aneuploidy Kaye Innovation Awards. https://www.bendavidlab.com/ Healthy human cells have 23 pairs of chromosomes. progression. Dr. Ben- Any deviation from this David studies this number – known as "aneuploidy paradox" aneuploidy – has very using state-of-the-art severe consequences. For genomic and functional example, an extra copy of approaches. The work in chromosome 21 results in the lab aims to uncover Down syndrome. the basic biology However, cancer cells are underlying this hallmark of highly aneuploid, and cancer, and to exploit it to aneuploidy is even target cancer cells and required for tumor eliminate tumors.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Dr. Yaron Dr. Carmi, Department of Pathology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, completed his PhD studies summa cum Carmi laude at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and won the Pratt award for excellence PhD students. He completed his postdoctoral training at the Department of Immunology at Stanford University, where he earned the Young Investigator Award. His work on dendritic cell vaccination was published in Nature and Cell and he has co-authored manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, including Science and Cancer immunotherapy Immunity, and written four patents. Based on his findings, he co-founded two companies, Bolt Our body's immune Therapeutics and more recently, Gilboa Therapeutics, system knows how to and he serves as a consultant in Velocity attack and kill cancer cells Pharmaceutical Development venture capital, and as a – so why isn’t this board member at the Israel Society for Gene and Cell happening in each case? Therapy. Carmi was awarded the Alon Fellowship for How do we unblock this outstanding young Israeli scientists. natural lethal response? https://www.carmilab.org/ Dr. Carmi is taking a fresh approach to the problem using advanced microscopy and genetic engineering to monitor, in real time, how our immune cells communicate with each other. He will use the new understanding to develop better, safer therapies that kick in the natural anti-cancer immune response. NK cells attacking a tumor cell

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Dr. Merav Dr. Cohen, Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, received her MSc in the field of Cancer Cohen Immunology from the Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Ben- Gurion University of the Negev, in a direct MSc track for excellent students, and graduated summa cum laude. She received her PhD in the field of ‘Neuro- Immunology’ from the Department of Neurobiology, the Weizmann Institute of Science. Dr. Cohen performed her postdoctoral training in the field of Immunotherapy targets ‘Immuno-Genomics’, at the Department of using single-cell Immunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and at the Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn analysis School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, in the Tissue development, field of ‘Cancer Immunology’. She won the Feinberg homeostasis and Graduate School Prize for Outstanding Achievements pathologies are highly in Postdoctoral Research, and the Ministry of Science regulated processes and Technology Scholarship for Postdoctoral Fellows orchestrated by in Applied and Engineering Science. intercellular crosstalk https://www.mcohenlab.com/ between immune cell niche and tissue resident exclusive cell function. The cells, not necessarily from lab aims to assess the immune lineage. Dr. similarities and Cohen incorporates state- discrepancies in of-the-art single cell RNA- interactome molecular sequencing technologies, signature between tissue murine models, clinical development process and approaches and advanced cancerous conditions in computational methods in order to identify novel order to reveal the immunotherapy targets, molecular signature of directed against interacting cells that drives intercellular crosstalk.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Prof. Neta Prof. Erez, Department of Pathology, began her academic career at the Faculty of Agriculture, Hebrew Erez University where she received her B.Sc. She then proceeded to complete her M.Sc. and Ph.D. at the Weizmann Institute of Science in the field of tumor immunology. Supported by a fellowship from the Cancer Research Institute (CRI), Dr. Erez performed her postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco, working in the field of tumor biology. Tumor https://netaerez.tau.ac.il/ microenvironment in metastasis The research of Prof. Erez models of breast cancer is focused on tumor and of melanoma. The biology, tumor main goal of the studies is microenvironment, cancer- to identify key molecular related inflammation and pathways in the the role of stromal cells in communication between facilitating tumor tumor cells and their progression and microenvironment that can metastasis. Her main be targeted by novel focus is in understanding therapeutics, to prevent the early stages of tumor metastasis. metastatic relapse, and the role of the metastatic microenvironment. Prof. Erez studies these crucial aspects of cancer using genetically engineered

Melanoma brain metastases: Tumor cells, Astrocytes, Microglia

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Prof. Zvi Prof. Fishelson is a member of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and an Incumbent of Fishelson The Roberts-Guthman Chair in Immunopharmacology. He served as President of both the International Complement Society and European Complement Network (ECN) and was awarded an ECN Gold Medal. He is treasurer of the Israeli Society for Cancer Research, Board Member of the Israel Immunological Society and member of the Henry Kunkel Society. He is an editorial board Cancer cells resisting member of Molecular Immunology and associate editor immunity of Frontiers in Immunology. Several therapeutic approaches try to enlist investigating the the patient’s immune molecules that protect the system for killing of his/her cancer cells and their cancer. All these mode of action, and seek approaches face a major potential intervention obstacle: cancer cells are points through which this resistant to any type of protection could be damage inflicted by the annulled. They develop armory of our immune reagents that block system. Prof. Fishelson resistance of cancer cells, has uncovered several sensitize them to available defense strategies immunotherapies and employed by cancer cells enable the patient’s to resist immune attack. immune system to destroy His team is currently its cancer.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Dr. Maayan Dr. Gal is a faculty member in the Department of Oral Biology at the School of Dental Medicine. He Gal completed his PhD studies at the Department of Chemical Physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science and was an HFSP postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Medical School. He ran an independent lab at Miguel in northern Israel. Gal co-founded a biotech company dealing with Ag.Chem protein modulators. https://maayaangaal.wixsite.com/galma

Protein modulators for therapy Dr. Gal focuses on the as the basis for developing discovery and new immunosuppressant development of novel and on immune protein modulators as the checkpoint receptors basis for new therapeutics. function. The T-cell Of main interest are the inhibition switch is the challenging targets basis for developing new belonging to the biological therapeutics for space of protein-protein inflammation and cancer. interactions (PPIs). For this purpose, we are integrating cutting-edge computational, biophysical and cellular biology tools. We are focused on the interaction of calcineurin- NFAT proteins, known as the T-cell activation switch,

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Prof. Carmit Prof. Levy is in the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry. She performed her PhD Levy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and her post- doctoral training at the Harvard Medical School and Broad Institute. Since establishing her research team, Levy received the ERC Consolidator Award, the Rector and Dean Excellence in Teaching Awards, and the International Young Melanoma Investigator Award of the Society of Melanoma Research. https://carmitlevylab.com/ Cancer development and other side of UV exposure The human body takes the most lethal skin different measures in order cancer. It is also a to protect itself against the preventable cancer with results of UV exposure the most rapid increase in and its accompanied its incidence. Although the hazards, such as skin majority of patients are cancer. Despite extensive diagnosed in the early studies regarding the phase of disease, about molecular regulation of the 10% of patients will two main UV protection develop systemic disease mechanisms, namely, the and succumb to it. Check- DNA repair system and point inhibitors (CPIs) and the pigmentation system, targeted agents (TAs) a comprehensive theory have had a tremendous that simultaneously impact on this disease’s accounts for the two course. We aim to find systems is still missing. biomarkers for melanoma We aim to elucidate, for treatment response and to the first time, the dynamic further dissect control used to schedule their mechanism of action, and synchronize the UV in order to enhance the protection subsystems. effectiveness of Furthermore, melanoma is immunotherapy. TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Dr. Asaf Dr. Madi, head of the Systems Immunology Lab, completed his Ph.D. studies at Tel Aviv University in Madi computational immunology. Dr. Madi then continued to do a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women Hospital, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Boston, USA where he mainly focused on the study of T-cell differentiation and cancer immunology. www.asafmadilab.com

Systems immunology for cancer Can we activate our immunotherapies or cell- immune system to fight cell interactions. We apply cancer? What immune cutting-edge technologies cells are important and including 3D bioprinting of what prevents them from tumors, single cell RNA- exercising their anti-tumor seq and spatial functions? Can we trigger transcriptomics, mouse these specific immune tumor models, molecular cells to destroy cancer biology, and other high- cells and at the same time throughput genetic and provide an immunological genomic methods memory to prevent combined with advanced recurrence of the disease? computational approaches The main interest of the to identify and functionally lab is studying gene characterize genes that circuits of immune cells play an important role in involving differentiation, immune cell circuits and activation and regulation. their effect on tumor We focus on exploring growth. This approach will these cells and circuits enable in-depth studies of mainly in the context of the immune-cell signaling in tumor pathology following the context of the tumor stimulation, microenvironment.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Dr. Michael Dr. Milyavsky is at the Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, where he is a principal Milyavsky investigator and the head of the Hematopoietic Stem Cell and Leukemia Laboratory. Dr. Milyavsky is a graduate of the Weizmann Institute of Science, having completed his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology. Michael completed his post-doctoral training in hematopoiesis and leukemia at the University of Toronto, Canada. www.milyavskylab.com Leukemia hematopoietic stem cells As we age, our blood in highly purified human (hematopoietic) stem cells normal and leukemia cell (HSCs) suffer from subsets. Uniquely, we use accumulated mutations in humanized mice and their DNA that eventually genetic engineering to can lead to accelerated monitor in real time how leukemogenesis and/or normal and leukemia stem inefficient immune cells communicate with response. How normal other bone marrow cells in and leukemia stem cells the process of regenerate after acute or regeneration. We will use chronic damage is our this new understanding to main research interest. Dr. stop regeneration of Milyavsky addresses leukemia cells without these questions by harming normal HSC? studying DNA damage signaling and its outcomes

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Prof. Rina Prof. Rosin-Arbesfeld received her PhD in Biochemistry and Microbiology from TAU and trained Rosin-Arbesfeld as a post-doctoral fellow at the MRC-LMB in Cambridge, UK. Rosin-Arbesfeld serves as Chair of the Search Committee of the Faculty of Medicine. Rosin-Arbesfeld has competitive grant funding from the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation, the Jerome Lejeune Foundation, and the German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development. http://www3.tau.ac.il/rosin-arbesfeld/ Molecular changes in cancer regulators of the Wnt Wnt signaling is one of the pathway in order to most fundamental identify new targets for signaling cascades therapeutic purposes. involved in both Currently, the team is development and involved in pre-clinical, as homeostasis. Aberrant well as clinical trials, activation of the Wnt aimed at restoring the pathway is associated with normal expression of numerous diseases, most tumor suppressors, known notably in the to inhibit the Wnt pathway development of colorectal in patients suffering from cancer (CRC). The Rosin- hereditary CRC. The team Arbesfeld lab focuses on is looking into the different aspects of Wnt relationships between Wnt signaling in both sickness signaling and the and health. The team microbiome and have conducts comprehensive identified bacteria that are genetic and biochemical involved in CRC screens to isolate novel development.

Wnts associate with the erythrocyte membrane TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Prof. Ronit Prof. Satchi-Fainaro is at Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, where she is head of the Cancer Satchi-Fainaro Research & Nanomedicine Laboratory, Head of the TAU Kahn 3D BioPrinting Initiative and holds the Kurt and Herman Lion Chair in Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies. She completed her PhD in Polymer Chemistry and Cancer Nanomedicine at the University of London and her postdoctoral training at Harvard University and Children’s Hospital Boston working on Vascular and Cancer Biology. She was Nanomedicine awarded the Fulbright, Rothschild, and JULUDAN Prizes, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Founders Major efforts invested into Award, the 2019 Yo u d i m Family Prize for Excellence the development of new in Cancer Research, 2020 Kadar Family Award for drugs often fail to be Outstanding Research, the 2020 Humboldt translated into meaningful Foundation Bessel Research Prize, and “Woman of clinical benefit for cancer the Year” by Globes magazine. She serves on the patients. Developing Board of Directors of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries effective novel Ltd. therapeutics for cancer https://satchifainarolab.com/ while accurately predicting their clinical success in certain cancer types remains an urgent unmet responsiveness of human medical need. Prof. cancer. These models are Satchi-Fainaro being exploited for the incorporates cutting edge development of efficacious multidisciplinary basic, clinically-translatable translational and clinical therapies for various approaches to explore this cancer types. Her vision is scientific “blind spot”. To that this multidisciplinary 3D glioblastoma. Cancer this end, Satchi-Fainaro approach will revolutionize cells in red, endothelial cells develops clinically relevant our perception of tumor in green, nanomedicine in 3D cancer models that progression and blue better capture the clinical consequently the way we characteristics and drug diagnose and treat cancer.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Prof. Yossi Prof. Shiloh heads the Myers Laboratory for Cancer Genetics at the Department of Human Molecular Shiloh Genetics and Biochemistry. He obtained his Ph.D. in Human Genetics at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and trained at the Harvard Medical School, University of Michigan, New York University Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Rockefeller University, and was a Fogarty Fellow at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. He is a member of The Israel National Academy of Sciences and Genome instability in Humanities and won the 2005 EMET Prize in Life disease Sciences, the American Association of Cancer Research G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award for The Shiloh lab studies the Outstanding Accomplishments in Cancer Research, implications of genome the Israel Prize in Life Sciences and the Olav Thon instability on our health. Prize in Natural Sciences and Medicine (Oslo, Our DNA is constantly Norway). He has dedicated most of his scientific damaged by internal and career to understanding A-T. He gives popular external DNA damaging scientific lectures to the general public on the agents. In response to this medical, social and ethical implications of the genome ongoing threat to the revolution. genome, the DNA damage https://www.tau.ac.il/~yossih/ response (DDR) – a broad signaling network is activated. The Shiloh lab degeneration and cancer discovered a key player in stability and continues to this system – the protein decipher the physiological kinase, ATM. This basis of the many discovery was a result of a symptoms of A-T, long quest to identify the particularly the cerebellar gene responsible for a attrition. Recently, the lab human genome instability initiated an investigation of syndrome called ataxia- the role of genome Mouse cerebellum. Purkinje telangiectasia (A-T). A-T instability in aging and cells, which gradually involves cerebellar cellular senescence. disappear in A-T patients, highlighted in red.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cancer and Molecular Therapies

Prof. Haim Prof. Haim Werner is a member of the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry and the Werner Incumbent of the Lady Davis Chair in Biochemistry. He is the former Director of the Shalom and Varda Yo r a n Institute for Human Genome Research. Prof. Werner conducted his PhD studies at the Weizmann Institute of Science and completed postdoctoral research at the Diabetes Branch, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda. He is an associate editor at Molecular Cancer and Frontiers in Cancer Endocrinology. Insulin-like growth factors in cancer Since their discovery in in biochemical and the late 1950s the insulin- molecular terms over the like growth factors (IGFs) past 40 years. However, have attracted significant fundamental questions interest in multiple areas regarding basic of biology and medicine, differences between the including endocrinology, mechanisms of action of pediatrics, growth, IGF1 and the closely nutrition, aging and related insulin molecule oncology. IGF1, which was are yet to be resolved. initially identified as the Research in Prof. mediator of growth Werner’s laboratory is hormone action, is aimed at elucidating the regarded as a key player transcriptional and in numerous cellular and epigenetic mechanisms organismal processes. associated with The signaling pathways pathological expression of elicited by IGF1 have been the IGF1 receptor in extensively characterized human cancer.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cardiovascular Research and Diseases

Affiliations

Neufeld Cardiac Research Institute at the Sheba Medical Center, Affiliated with the Sackler Faculty of Medicine

https://eng.sheba.co.il/The_Neufeld_Cardiac_Research_Institute

Artist statement The bravery of compassion, to love and the commonality of our experiences as human beings are key themes in my artwork. This heart series are my translations of our heroic journey. I use color, pattern, texture, and symbols to depict our universal human experiences such as birth, evolution, revelation, temporality, beauty, the sacredness of life, and experiences of suffering and joy. The image of the heart resonates for me as a symbol of these journeys. .

Credit: Leslie Synder Portney TAU Faculty of Medicine Cardiovascular Research and Diseases

Prof. Silvia Prof. Koton, Department of Nursing, is a Registered Nurse and holds a Master’s Degree in Occupational Koton and Environmental Health and a PhD in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine from TAU. She was Chair of the Department of Nursing and holds adjunct associate professor appointments at John Hopkins University, Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, and School of Nursing. Prof. Koton was nominated International Fellow of the Stroke epidemiology, American Heart Association (FAHA), and selected as aging and cognitive a Paul Dudley White International Scholar. She is head function of the Herczeg Institute on Aging at Tel Aviv University. Stroke is a major cause of long-term disability and a strong predictor of dementia and cognitive Prof. Silvia Koton studies decline in adult and the factors associated with elderly populations. The changes in stroke incidence of stroke has epidemiology and declined in the last cardiovascular risk factors decades in various in Israel and in the US. countries, however, this Her research provides decline is not consistent important information on across population-groups. possible reasons for these Prof. Koton's varied changes; how the research includes studies incidence of stroke may be on epidemiology of stroke affected by the increasing and other cardiovascular rates of obesity, diabetes diseases; age and aging; and other cardiovascular dementia, changes in risk factors, and how the physical and cognitive changing trends in stroke functioning after stroke, may influence rates of and health of primary physical and cognitive caregivers of the elderly. function in old persons.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cardiovascular Research and Diseases

Prof. Jonathan Prof. Jonathan (Yoni) Leor is a Professor of Cardiology at TAU and and the Director of the Leor Neufeld and Tamman Cardiovascular Research Institutes at TAU and the Sheba Medical Center. He is a cardiologist, physician-scientist. He obtained his MD degree from Tel-Aviv University. He completed his medicine residency and cardiology training at the Sheba Medical Center, Israel. Leor performed a post- doctorate fellowship in cardiovascular regenerative medicine at the University of Southern California. He Cardiovascular served as the director of the Intensive Cardiac Care regeneration Unit at Soroka Medical Center and head of the Experimental Cardiology Lab at Ben-Gurion Leor’s research includes University. He is currently the director of the Neufeld the study of the heart's and Tamman Cardiovascular Research Institutes at Tel lack of reparative ability. Aviv University and Sheba Medical Center, and the His research group director of the Medical Scientist Training Program approached the challenge (MSTP or MD/Ph.D. program). from a different angle by studying the role of His work has led to extracellular matrix and establishing a novel line of immune cells in heart research dedicated to repair. Leor pioneered the understanding how the use of scaffolds and immune system and injectable biomaterials to extracellular matrix affect treat heart diseases. His heart repair. He was the lab was the first to target first in Israel to develop macrophages to improve novel cardiovascular infarct healing. regenerative therapies, such as cardiac stem cell therapy, tissue engineering, and gene therapy. Leor is a co- Myocardial regeneration. inventor of breakthrough Macrophages (green cells) injectable biomaterial to infiltrate the injured heart (red) of neonatal mouse treat heart attacks and and promote heart repair. heart failure. Tal Konfino & Leor.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Cardiovascular Research and Diseases

Dr. Semyon Dr. Melnikov is a faculty member at the Department of Nursing, School of Health Professions. He Melnikov completed his nursing degree at Tel Aviv University and earned an MSc and PhD at the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University. He was one of the first researchers in Israel to explore psychosocial adjustment among heart failure patients after heart transplantation and implantation of a mechanical circulatory support device. Psychological adjustment for cardiac patients Heart failure (HF) is a Dr. Melnikov explores global public health factors identified as problem that affects more barriers and facilitators to than 26 million people self-care among patients worldwide. Heart with implanted LVAD. His transplantation is the primary goal is to examine treatment of choice for factors affecting self-care, end-stage HF patients but such as self-efficacy, is extremely limited by the social support, mental low availability of suitable comorbidities such as heart donors. Implantable depression and anxiety, Left Ventricular Assist and others. Understanding Devices (LVADs) have the associations between been demonstrated to these factors and the self- prolong HF patients’ care of patients with survival and to improve implanted LVAD will their quality of life. improve future self-care Successful long-term interventions, helping LVAD support includes a patients and caregivers high degree of self-care by manage their chronic the patients and their illness. caregivers.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Computational Biomedical Research

Affiliations

Edmond J. Safra Center for Bioinformatics https://safrabio.cs.tau.ac.il/

Developing novel computational tools to study a wide variety of biological problems and systems

• A huge scope and scale of biomedical data is being generated by modern molecular technologies • Sophisticated computational techniques needed for analyzing, modeling, and mining data • Several research groups are dedicated to computational biomedical research • Topics range from the role of gut microbes on human health to the impact of genetic variation on disease risk

TAU Faculty of Medicine Computational Biomedical Research

Prof. Elhanan Prof. Borenstein is a Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and at the Blavatnik School of Computer Borenstein Science at Tel Aviv University. He is also an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute and a faculty fellow of TAU’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Bioinformatics. Prof. Borenstein received his BSc in physics and computer science and his PhD in computer science from Tel-Aviv University, and held a joint postdoctoral position at Stanford University and the Santa Fe Institute. In 2010, he joined the Department of Computational Genome Sciences at the University of Washington as microbiome research a faculty member, and in 2018, moved to Tel Aviv University with a joint appointment in Medicine and The human microbiome – in Computer Science. Prof. Borenstein is the recipient the complex ensemble of of various prestigious awards including the Alfred P. microorganisms that Sloan Fellowship and the NIH New Innovator Award. populate the human body http://borensteinlab.com/ – has a tremendous impact on our health. computational study of the World-wide research human microbiome, initiatives and novel spearheading research in metagenomics-based microbiome systems studies now provide biology. His group exciting insights into the develops novel previously uncharted computational methods composition of the inspired by data science microbiome, and reveal machine learning, marked compositional metabolic modeling, and changes associated with a network theory to model wide range of diseases. the microbiome, to Yet, a system-level analyze multi-omic understanding of the microbiome data, and to human microbiome and its better understand the role impact on the host is still of the microbiome in lacking. To address this health and in disease. challenge, Prof. Borenstein focuses on the

TAU Faculty of Medicine Computational Biomedical Research

Prof. Ran Prof. Elkon, Department of Human Genetics and Biochemistry at the School of Medicine, has his Elkon training in Physics and Bioinformatics. He is a member of the Safra Center for Bioinformatics. He completed his Ph.D. at TAU and his postdoctoral research at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. http://www.elkonlab.tau.ac.il/

Computational tools for prevention of disease Our genomes are 99.9% human genetic research, identical. The 0.1% and Prof. Elkon’s lab variation determines not develops and applies only the uniqueness of novel computational tools each one of us, but also to decipher such links. our predisposition to Gaining better common diseases such as understanding of genetic cancer, heart diseases, risk factors to common diabetes, schizophrenia, diseases will allow the and Alzheimer’s Disease. identification of individuals Understanding how who are at high risk before genetic variants affect the the onset of the disease risk for developing these and subject them to diseases is a major preventive regimens. challenge of current

TAU Faculty of Medicine COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic Affiliations has changed our lives as we know it. Our scientists at the Sackler Faculty of The Center for Combating Pandemics Medicine mobilized within days to: https://english.m.tau.ac.il/news/epidemic_center

• Build a “Corona Lab”, to conduct thousands of tests per day • Develop the serological tests used by the IDF • Lead the effort in public health policy and messaging • Isolate neutralizing antibodies against SARS Co-V-2 • And develop a nanovaccine

Left: Prof. Motti Gerlic & Prof. Ariel Munitz. Right: Ziv Ehrlich at the Corona Lab

TAU Faculty of Medicine COVID-19 Pandemic

Dr. Bruria Dr. Adini, head of the Department of Emergency Management and Disaster Medicine in the School of Adini Public Health, is an expert in both field and academic activities in disaster management. Adini serves as a board member of Local Authorities Confronting Disasters and Emergencies (LACDE) and the Israeli National Council for Trauma and Emergency Medicine and served two terms as a board member of the World Association of Emergency & Disaster Medicine (WADEM). Resilience in a pandemic A vital component of an individual, community, effective management of national and any pandemic is the organizational levels of resilience of the population resilience. The evolving and the responders. What findings facilitate policy- factors encourage or makers’ ability to sustain impede on the compliance or modify measures to to behavioral directives? improve management of How do varied aspects of the pandemic. resilience impact on our well-being and capacity to adapt to adversities? Dr. Adini implements an eclectic approach to monitor continuously the

TAU Faculty of Medicine COVID-19 Pandemic

Dr. Ilana Dr. Dubovi is at the Department of Nursing, Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions at the Faculty of Dubovi Medicine. She completed her PhD in Education at the Department of Learning, Instruction and Teacher Education, University of Haifa. She completed two postdoctoral positions, at the Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences at Utah State University, and at the Faculty of Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.

Educational technology Building upon a growing interactive visualizations evidence that patient and more. Using intelligent education plays a pivotal multi-modal biosensors, role in patient disease self- her team was the first in management and health the world to looking into outcomes, Dr. Dubovi’s personalized adaptive research seeks to technology to make leverage the efficacy of patient education process educational programs by more fine-tuned to integrating digital patient’s needs and educational technology. literacy levels. Educational With this goal in mind, she technology for patients is a develops and evaluates very timely approach, various cutting-edge even more so in times of technologies, such as COVID-19 pandemic era, virtual reality simulations, to support distant patient- online games, computer- clinician encounters as based models, telemedicine aids.

TAU Faculty of Medicine COVID-19 Pandemic

Dr. Natalia Dr. Freund is at the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology. Her research focuses Freund on human adaptive immune response towards diseases, such as HIV-1, Tuberculosis, SARS-CoV-2 and cancer. Before coming to Tel Aviv University, she completed her postdoctoral training at the Rockefeller University in New York City, where she led groundbreaking research on anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies and proved their efficacy as novel HIV immunotherapeutics. Neutralizing antibodies http://www3.tau.ac.il/nfreund/ Neutralizing antibodies are goal is to characterize the a key component of neutralizing antibody adaptive immunity against responses against SARS- many viruses and can be CoV-2 by isolating elicited by natural infection neutralizing antibodies or vaccination. Recent from infected donors and studies showed that determining the neutralizing antibodies are mechanistic basis for their elicited after SARS action. Additionally, she is Coronavirus 2 (SARS- interested in how these CoV-2) infection and are antibodies correlate with directed against the COVID-19 clinical receptor binding domain manifestations and (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 disease severity. Recently, Spike protein. Dr. Freund’s her team has isolated 22 monoclonal antibodies from COVID-19 donors, some of which were found neutralizing against the live SARS-CoV-2.

Vero E6 cells infected with SARS Coronavirus-2. Freund & Ben Croker, UC San Diego.

TAU Faculty of Medicine COVID-19 Pandemic

Dr. Oren Dr. Kobiler is at the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology. Kobiler obtained his Kobiler BSc from the Hebrew University in Medical Sciences. He received, in parallel, his MD and PhD from the Hebrew University. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, he received a Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) Long Term Fellowship and the ISF Bikura Postdoctoral Award. He frequently appears on the news to share a scientist’s perspective on the Organoid models COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.tau.ac.il/~okobiler/Home.html SARS-CoV-2 is a new emerging coronavirus that cause the COVID-19 global human health. By global pandemic. The comparing basic infection clinical manifestations processes of the seasonal among SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruses to the infected individuals vary SARS-CoV-2, Kobiler from asymptomatic anticipates to identify the infection to acute unique features of this respiratory failure and virus. His team is death. While SARS-CoV-2 establishing a model share many features of the system for coronavirus other human infection of patient-derived coronaviruses, it has airway organoids. The become a major threat on reproducibility of the model system will allow the team to test and identify the role of specific parameters of the SARS- CoV-2 infection, and to test possible drugs.

TAU Faculty of Medicine COVID-19 Pandemic

Prof. Khitam Dr. Muhsen is at the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health. Trained Muhsen as a nurse, she then obtained her PhD in epidemiology at Tel Aviv University, and a post- doctoral fellowship at the Center for Vaccine Development, University of Maryland School of Medicine, US. Dr. Muhsen's main research interest is in the epidemiology of infectious diseases, enteric diseases and vaccines. Her research has been supported by competitive awards and grants such as Sero-epidemiological the Israel Science Foundation, Israel-US Binational studies on coronavirus Science Foundation, Ministry of Health, Israel National Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Dr. Muhsen initiated sero- Research, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. epidemiological studies to assess the acquisition and patients and a multicenter transmission of the new study among medical coronavirus in the personnel. The novel population, and the aspects of these studies development and include the longitudinal persistence of the humoral design, the inclusion of immune response to various populations and SARS-Cov-2 in COVID-19 ethnic groups and patients and their capturing the first and households contacts and second waves of COVID- medical personnel. These 19 epidemic in Israel. The questions are being expected results will assist addressed in longitudinal in shaping preventive studies, with measurement measures, and the of serum IgG antibodies assessment of their against coronavirus that effectiveness. develop in patients and in Understanding the natural asymptomatic persons. immunity to SARS-Cov-2 This includes studies in is important for vaccine households of COVID-19 development.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Development, Aging and Regeneration

Affiliations

Switzerland Institute of Developmental Biology https://www.swissinstitutedb.com/

Herczeg Institute on Aging https://herczeg.tau.ac.il/index.php/en/

Contractile activity of actomyosin A: a miniature world (cell) where toy-like workers (formins: cyan and myosin: green) are reshaping the surface of their world (cell membrane: white) by pulling metal meshes (actin filaments). Diego Pitta de Araujo.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Development, Aging and Regeneration

Prof. Lihi Prof. Adler-Abramovich is at the School of Dental Medicine, where she is a principal investigator and the Adler-Abramovich head of the Laboratory of Bioinspired Materials and Nanotechnology. Dr. Adler-Abramovich studied biology at Tel Aviv University where she received both her M.Sc. (summa cum laude) and her Ph.D. She has been awarded numerous prestigious grants and prizes, including the ERC Starting Grant, ISF-Center for Excellence Grant and the Colton Foundation Scholarship. She has published in Nature Bone regenerative Nanotechnology, Nature Chemical Biology, Nature medicine Communications, Nano Letters, ACS Nano and is the inventor of more than 10 patents. Bone regeneration is a https://lihi13.wixsite.com/lihi critical challenge in the treatment of fractures, bone loss due to tumor peptides and amino acids resection, and alveolar into ordered bone deficiencies. nanostructures. We are a Approximately 2.2 million materials science bone graft procedures are laboratory with emphasis performed annually on organic chemistry and worldwide. Despite medical-biological significant progress in applications. The group bone tissue engineering, aims to develop there is an unmet need for customized patient-specific long- supramolecular scaffolds lasting bone restoration. that will promote Dr. Adler-Abramovich’s personalized therapy for research in the Laboratory bone regenerative of Bioinspired Materials is medicine, thus significantly focused on mimicking self- advancing the fields of assembly processes that tissue engineering and occur in nature, including materials science while biomineralization and the offering a novel solution to organization of short a major healthcare issue.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Development, Aging and Regeneration

Prof. Ruth Prof. Ashery-Padan is at the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, a member of Ashery-Padan the Sagol School of Neuroscience and holds the Zucker–Sussman Chair for Glaucoma Research. Ashery-Padan completed her MSc and PhD at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and her postdoctoral training at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany. She is the recipient of the Alon Fellowship (VATAT), the Dan David Prize for Young Investigators, Teva Prize, and the E. Matilda Development of visual Ziegler Foundation for the Blind Award. Prof. Ashery- system in mammals Padan heads the Yo r a n Institute for Human Genome Research. Prof. Ashery-Padan's https://asherypadanlab.com/ research group focuses on understanding the factor activity on target molecular mechanisms genes, and chromatin that control the structure during development of the visual development. Her group system in mammals. The studies ocular cell types group established and generated from human employs transgenic mouse stem cells to uncover the lines for state-of-the-art molecular mechanisms functional studies of genes underlying the in vivo. This is combined differentiation of human with gene-expression lineages, and to model profiles using laser human diseases. The work capture and single-cell is contributing to sequencing, transcription understanding the etiology of monogenic and complex retinal diseases, toward a better prediction Cytoarchitecture of the mature mouse retina - subset of retinal of individuals' susceptibility cell types are identified by and the design of stem immunostaining. Shaul Raviv, cell-based models and Ashery-Padan. future therapies for blinding diseases. TAU Faculty of Medicine Development, Aging and Regeneration

Dr. Daniel Dr. Bar is a principal investigator at the School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Bar earned his bachelor’s degree Bar in physics and biology from Tel Aviv University. He later went on to complete his PhD in Genetics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the lab of Prof. Gruenbaum. Here, Dr. Bar worked on the nuclear lamina and lifespan regulating pathways in C. elegans. He continued to a visiting-fellow position in the lab of Dr. Francis Collins at the National Human Genome Research Institute, the National Institutes of Health, Molecular biology of USA. He worked on proximity labeling, focusing on aging the nuclear lamina in primary human samples. He serves as guest editor of JOVE. Aging is the major risk https://barlabtau.wixsite.com/website factor for many prevalent diseases in the developed world, including cancer, exceptional accuracy. diabetes and However, the molecular cardiovascular disease. details of these Systemically slowing the interventions, as well as aging process has been natural aging, are only shown to delay the onset partially known. The Bar of many diseases and lab develops new tools prolong healthspan and and applies them to study lifespan in multiple model the molecular changes organisms. We now know that accompany aging. of metabolic and These include using pharmacological antibodies and various interventions that slow enzymes to label proteins, aging, and of epigenetic DNA and RNA and modifications that analyze them using high- correlate with aging with throughput methods.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Development, Aging and Regeneration

Prof. Yankel Prof. Gabet, D.M.D., Ph.D., is the Head of the Department of Anatomy & Anthropology and Gabet Director of the Bone Research Laboratory. He completed his post-doctoral training at the University of Southern California. He received several awards including the ASBMR Young Investigator award. He serves as treasurer of the Israeli Society for Skeletal Biology and Medicine. He is also a dentist focusing on implantology and oral rehabilitation and a consultant and scientific advisor for companies in dentistry, Bone health & orthopedics and cannabinoids. cannabinoids Did you know that the bone destruction and bone skeleton is the largest microarchitecture in organ by weight? Did you response to modulations know that critical steps of in the gut microbiota. Our immune cell development therapeutic approaches occur in the bone marrow? include cannabinoids, anti- How do immune cells inflammatory and bone affect bone health? Can anabolic agents that can bone cells regulate our modulate the bone- immune system? How can immune axis. Our we suppress inflammation- research spans from induced bone destruction? molecular biology to in Do specific strains of vivo settings and we bacteria in our gut have an developed unique tools in impact on the strength of 3D models using micro- our bones? Why do our CT. bones weaken with age? Our main focus is on bone health and the crosstalk between bone and immune cells. We developed unique models for the assessment of osteoporosis, inflammation-induced TAU Faculty of Medicine Development, Aging and Regeneration

Dr. Chen Dr. Luxenburg completed his Ph.D. studies in Molecular and Structural Cell Biology at the Luxenburg Weizmann Institute of Science. For his post-doctoral training, he trained at the laboratory of Prof. Elaine Fuchs at the Rockefeller University in New York. Dr. Luxenburg is the recipient of a number of research grants and awards, including the ISF, I-CoRE, BSF, ICRF, and the Te ve founders prize. Dr. Luxenburg serves on the scientific board of the Israeli Society of Developmental Biology, Switzerland Institute of Cytoskeletal regulation Developmental Biology, and the Biomed@TAU of epidermal stem cells Developmental Research Hub. He is also the academic coordinator of the International Graduate One of the significant program. challenges in biomedical https://www.luxenburglab.com/ research is to understand how stem cells give rise to functional tissue during development, maintain it throughout life, and regenerate it upon wounding. The Luxenburg model system, and studies lab studies how in the lab provide insight cytoskeleton-derived into both skin development signals regulate stem cells and common skin function. We use the skin diseases such as cancer epidermis as our primary and psoriasis.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Development, Aging and Regeneration

Dr. Miriam Dr. Miriam Theilla, Department of Nursing, School of Health Professions, is a registered nurse and holds a Theilla master’s degree in critical care nursing and a Ph.D. in clinical nutrition from the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment of the Hebrew University. She is a member of forums on nursing and clinical nutrition. Dr. Theilla is in charge of the clinical nutrition clinic at the Rabin Medical Center.

Nutritional care for patients Malnutrition is common optimal nutritional care among hospitalized and resting energy patients. Dr. Theilla’s expenditure (REE), as well research focuses on the as the ideal protein intake assessment and nutritional for critically ill patients and care of hospitalized and the effect of fish oil- critically ill patients. She enriched nutritional aims to demonstrate the support on the healing of importance of the nursing pressure ulcers and the staff’s involvement in the function of the respiratory nutritional treatment of and immune system. The patients, while highlighting subject of nutrition has a the identification and physical, emotional, and prevention of malnutrition social impact on people. in the hospital and in the As part of Dr. Theilla’s community. Dr. Theilla work at the clinical developed a self- nutrition clinic, she also assessment tool investigates the emotional completed by the patient and social effects of that detects patients who parenteral nutrition among are at nutritional risk. In type III intestinal failure addition, she examines patients.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Development, Aging and Regeneration

Prof. Ronen Prof. Zaidel-Bar, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the School of Medicine, Zaidel-Bar completed his Ph.D. in Molecular Cell Biology at the Weizmann Institute and post-doctoral training at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He started his independent group at the Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, where he was awarded the National Research Foundation Fellowship, and seven years later he joined Tel Aviv University. Zaidel-Bar is a world leader in the field of Cytoskeletal regulation cell and tissue mechanobiology. https://www.zaidelbarlab.com/ A developing embryo taking shape, a heart pumping blood, and a understood. Prof. Zaidel wound closing itself all rely Bar's group is using on mechanical forces to cutting edge genetics and accomplish their important live-imaging microscopy in tasks. A special cellular human and nematode machinery, the cell's models to gain a "front row skeleton, is responsible for seat" view of what the generating these forces, cytoskeleton is doing but how this machinery is inside an animal. A better assembled at the right understanding of time and place in our cytoskeleton regulation is bodies remains poorly important to prevent birth defects and to treat numerous diseases, such as asthma, hypertension, and cancer metastasis.

Actin (green) and myosin (red) in the cortex of a C. elegans 1-cell embryo form a contractile belt that drives the first cell division. Wei-Yung Ding, Zaidel- Bar.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Diabetes, Metabolic and Endocrine Diseases

One in 20 people in the world has diabetes, a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas is unable to make insulin, or when the body becomes insensitive to this hormone.

This year marks the centenary of the discovery of insulin, which provided a life-saving treatment. However, most patients still develop severe long-term complications. Research is on for a cure, and for disease prevention.

Insulin-producing cells in the pancreatic islets

TAU Faculty of Medicine Diabetes, Metabolic and Endocrine Diseases

Prof. Shimon Prof. Efrat chairs the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at the School of Efrat Medicine and is the Nancy Gluck Regan Chair in Juvenile Diabetes. He received his Ph.D. at the Hebrew University, followed by postdoctoral training at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He then joined the faculty of Albert Einstein College of Medicine for a decade, where he is still a Visiting Professor, before moving to Tel Aviv University. He has seven patents, co-founded a company, and served on the scientific Diabetes advisory boards of several companies. Diabetes, resulting from loss or failure of insulin- producing pancreatic beta cells, afflicts about 400 million people. The optimal treatment, transplantation of functional cells, is severely limited by shortage of human organ by reprogramming human donors. Prof. Efrat aims at donor beta cells into developing an abundant pluripotent stem cells, source of human insulin- which can be massively producing cells for beta- expanded in tissue culture, cell replacement therapy, followed by differentiation.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Diabetes, Metabolic and Endocrine Diseases

Dr. Limor Dr. Landsman is head of the Pancreas Biology Lab at Tel Aviv University. She graduated from the Hebrew Landsman University of Jerusalem with honors and obtained an M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Molecular Genetics and Immunology from the Weizmann Institute of Science. For her postdoctoral studies, she joined the laboratory of Prof. Matthias Hebrok at UCSF, an expert on pancreas physiology and pathophysiology. She has obtained prestigious research grants and awards, including the European Union ERC and FET Pancreatic programs, the Israel Science Foundation, and the microenvironment German-Israeli Foundation. She serves on the scientific board of the Switzerland Institute of Diabetes is now reaching Developmental Biology, the D-Cure Foundation, and epidemic proportions, yet the Israeli Islet Researchers Forum. our incomplete https://www.landsman-lab.com/ understanding of its etiology hinders the quest for a cure. Dr. Landsman studies how proper pancreatic insulin production is maintained in health, and why it is lost in diabetes. To this end, she and her team research the crosstalk between insulin- producing cells and their surroundings, focusing on how this communication is affected by the various diabetes risk factors. Their primary goal is to decipher Pancreas: white are insulin-producing the underlying causes of cells; green and red cells marks the vasculature. diabetes, to facilitate a personalized approach for a cure.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Diabetes, Metabolic and Endocrine Diseases

Prof. Drorit Prof. Neumann, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, completed her PhD at the Neumann Weizmann Institute and was trained as a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Lodish at MIT. She set up and coordinated the EpoCan FP7 Consortium, which assessed the long-term risks of Epo and investigated better Epoetin-driven treatment modalities. She currently serves as head of the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Graduate School at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and holds the Lily and Avraham Osteoporosis Gildor Chair for the Investigation of Growth Factors. https://droritneumannlab.com/ Anemia is a serious global health concern estimated to affect a third of the the age of 50. Neumann’s world’s population. The team studies Epo in introduction of mouse models and erythropoietin (Epo) into patients, in collaboration clinical practice has with bone experts and revolutionized the clinicians. Epo is a new treatment of this condition, player in although there is the risk osteoimmunology, and will of inadvertent effects that link the effects of the may be hazardous. Prof. hormone to a wide range Neumann has of outcomes on bone and demonstrated that Epo is immune cells, and suggest associated with a dual methods to realize the action of bone loss and therapeutic potential of immunomodulatory Epo, maintaining immune effects. Osteoporosis is competence as well as the the most common bone erythroid stimulating-effect disease, affecting nearly while attenuating the risk half the population over for bone loss.

Deshet-Unger et al. Theranostics 2020

TAU Faculty of Medicine Ethics, Biomedicine and Policy

Affiliations

Bioethics and Law Center

https://www.bioethics.center/

TAU Faculty of Medicine Ethics, Biomedicine and Policy

Dr. Oren Dr. Asman is a member of the Department of Nursing at the School of Health Professions. He is the Asman founder and co-director of the Bioethics and Law Center at Tel Aviv University. His doctorate at the Hebrew University focused on mental competence in Israeli law, both in Rabbinical and Shar'i courts. His role as Chair of District Psychiatric Committees inspires some of his current research projects. Following his doctorate he joined the Harvard Project on Disability led by Bioethics and Health Prof. Michael Stein and the Harvard Program in Law Psychiatry, Law and Ethics led by Prof. Harold Bursztajn. The Harvard Medical School Center for The Corona pandemic put Bioethics has been a strong supporter of the to the forth major Bioethics Center he established at TAU. His role bioethical concerns as Co-chair of the Mental Health Forum in the relating to public health Israeli Bar Association opened the door for policy, resource allocation, several highly attended Law and Medicine events medical research ethics, during the COVID-19 pandemic. public compliance with https://www.bioethics.center/ health promotion recommendations, privacy and human rights in times jurists in his work that of emergency. Dr. Asman connects case-based studies these issues from ethics with policy, and a normative perspective, empirical evidence with as well as from a normative claims. cognitive, behavioral one. A big portion of his He partners with research focuses on psychiatrists, Mental Health, Law and psychologists, nurses and Ethics.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Genomics and Precision Medicine

Affiliations

Safra Center for Bioinformatics https://safrabio.cs.tau.ac.il/

Single Cell Genomics Core https://en-med.tau.ac.il/single-cell-genomics- core

Yo r a n Institute http://yoran.tau.ac.il/

A T G C C A T T C G C A T A

Noam Shomron

TAU Faculty of Medicine Genomics and Precision Medicine

Prof. Gil Prof. Ast is the head of the laboratory of Genome Medical Research in Rare Genetics Disorders and Ast Cancer. He is a member of the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, the Sagol School of Neuroscience and the Edmond J. Safra Center for Bioinformatics. Ast won many awards and prizes, and is an EMBO member, Human Genome Organization member, the International Union Against Cancer Fellow, and Head of the Israeli Society of RNA Biology, European Network of Excellence on Alternative splicing & Alternative Splicing member, and elected many times epigenetics in human as ‘Best lecturer’ at the Faculty of Medicine. Ast mentored 36 Ph.D. students, 24 M.Sc. students, and 6 disease postdoctoral fellows. Of them, 10 now hold academic Prof. Ast’s team has made positions. several breakthroughs in astlab.tau.ac.il the field of alternative splicing, revealing how the human genome obtained autism. His lab was the some of its unique first in Israel and one of characteristics, how the first in the world to chromatin structure and integrate computational epigenetics can regulate biology and experimental the splicing reaction, and bench work. His team’s the links between mastery of both alternative splicing and bioinformatics and certain genetic disorders molecular biology and cancer. Prof Ast approaches enables the currently focuses on the multidisciplinary work that link between alternative has led to their leading splicing, epigenetic position in the field of RNA changes, and Hi-C in processing.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Genomics and Precision Medicine

Prof. Karen B. Prof. Avraham is Vice Dean at the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University and holds the Drs. Sarah and Avraham Felix Dumont Chair for Research of Hearing Disorders. She is a member of the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, the Sagol School of Neuroscience and the Safra Center for Bioinformatics. Avraham was awarded the Sir Bernard Katz Prize, the Bruno Memorial Prize, the TEVA Prize for Groundbreaking Research in Rare Diseases, and the Teva Founders Prize on Genetics and Breakthroughs. She is co-director of the Aufzien epigenetics for human Family Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease and the Taube-Koret Global disease Collaboration in Neurodegenerative Diseases. Prof. Hearing loss is a leading Avraham founded and co-directs the Biomed@TAU cause of disability Research Hubs, the MSc program in Medical Sciences worldwide, with an with a specialty in Genetic Counseling. estimated 466 million https://www.kbalab.com/ people suffering from this debilitating loss. Prof. that genomic sequencing Avraham’s goal is to using high-throughput determine the genetic technologies is effective basis of hearing loss and for genetic diagnoses in a use genome editing to diverse population, create models to study the providing a guideline for mechanisms of auditory precision medicine for function. Gene therapy is hearing loss in Israel. being conducted on these GRIN2D mutations are models for human hearing associated with epileptic loss. Regulatory encephalopathy. Avraham mechanisms are being and her team study the discovered at the level of mechanism of this NMDA non-coding RNA and receptor and develop methylation. The team’s mouse models, towards Organ of Corti immunolabelled work has demonstrated drug therapy. hair cells. Shahar Taiber.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Genomics and Precision Medicine

Prof. Noam Prof. Shomron heads the Functional Genomic Team at the Faculty of Medicine, after training at MIT. He leads Shomron a multidisciplinary team of scientists that develops computational methods for parsing big-data in the bio-medical field using Artificial Intelligence. Shomron is Editor of the ‘Deep Sequencing Data Analysis’ book; Director of ‘Rare-Genomics’ Israel (NPO); Academic Director of ‘ScienceAbroad’ (NPO); and, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Variantyx, which provides clinical interpretation of whole genome Genomics and human sequences. diseases http://www.tau.ac.il/~nshomron Our body is built from billions of cells. How each cell and organ interpret by injecting nanoparticles DNA is still a great puzzle. with small molecules into Understanding the the tumor the spread molecular interactions within the body is halted. within our cells, in health In another study, using a and disease, would greatly simple blood test improve our ability to combined with artificial diagnose and treat intelligence, the team has complex human diseases, shown that circulating such as cancer and DNA and RNA molecules neurological disorders. in the blood can indicate Prof. Shomron and his early development of team scan thousands of neurological diseases, genes in order to pinpoint their stage, and the the ones that play a major spectrum of the disease. role in tumor development This information could be and metastasis. His team used to devise a novel has shown that therapeutic approach.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases

Infectious diseases are among the top 5 global causes of death (WHO)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever- increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi (WHO)

Chronic inflammatory diseases — including stroke, heart disorders, cancer, and diabetes — are the most significant cause of death worldwide (WHO)

TAU Faculty of Medicine Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases

Prof. Motti Prof. Gerlic is in the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology. He obtained his PhD Gerlic (Direct track) at Ben Gurion University, followed by a CCFA postdoctoral fellowship at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), San Diego. Prof. Gerlic joined Tel Aviv University following a research officer position at WHEI & Melbourne University. https://www.gerliclab.sites.tau.ac.il

Cell death and disease Cell death, an essential consequences of cellular process, facilitates inflammatory cell death the removal of damaged or pathways during allergic infected cells, and is and inflammatory disease necessary for the in the skin, lung, liver and resolution of immune intestinal, studying the role responses. Cell death is of inflammatory cell death long suggested to act as pathways during infectious an innate immune diseases; and developing response by killing cancer immunotherapy infected cells to prevent based on non-apoptotic dissemination of cell death. The Gerlic lab pathogens. Using animal focuses on learning the models and genetics mechanisms of approaches, the Gerlic necroptosis and pyroptosis laboratory focuses on to ultimately harness this several projects including: knowledge to fight cancer Investigating the and improve the health of mechanisms of the infectious and inflammatory cell death inflammatory diseases pathways, necroptosis and patients. pyroptosis, studying the immunological

TAU Faculty of Medicine Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases

Prof. Fuad A. Prof. Iraqi, at the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, completed his PhD at the Hebrew Iraqi University in Jerusalem and three postdoctoral positions at University of Toronto, University of Michigan and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

Genetic basis of host response to diseases People response that control and define the differently to infection individual response to (viral, bacterial, fungal and variety of infectious and parasite) and chronic chronic diseases, diseases (obesity, including bacterial, fungal, diabetes, cancer, heart viral, parasite, obesity, diseases). Based on our type 2 diabetes, and others studies, this periodontitis, lung cancer, variation in response are and intestinal cancer. controlled by the individual Currently, he also focuses (host) genetic structure. on studying the host Prof. Iraqi has studied, genes that control the mapped and identified the variation in response to host genetic components COVID-19.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases

Prof. Ariel Prof. Munitz is at the Department of Clinical Microbioloy and Immunology at the School of Munitz Medicine. He obtained a B.Sc. in Medical Science and direct PhD in Pharmacology at Faculty of Medicine at Hebrew University. His post-doctoral training was at the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Ohio. Munitz was awarded the Alon Fellowship, the Teva Medicine Award for Outstanding Research, the Eva and George Klein Award by the Israel Science Foundation, the Tel Immunity in health and Aviv University Rector Award for Outstanding disease Teaching Achievements and the Dean Prize for Excellent Teaching Skills. He is a board member of the Type 2 immunity occurs International Eosinophil Society. during allergic diseases or www.munitzlab.com infection with parasites. Emerging data highlight new roles for Type 2 act differently in the tumor immune responses in microenvironment? Are metabolism, tissue the opposing activities of regeneration and cancer. eosinophils dictated by We aim to define the roles heterogeneity of these of cells and proteins that cells in distinct are “traditionally” microenvironments? associated with allergy in Finally, can eosinophils be additional chronic therapeutically targeted as inflammatory diseases and a new cellular target in the the tumor cancer? Answering these microenvironment. Our questions will introduce a main research aim is to conceptual shift from define how eosinophils, allergy to tumor biology white blood cells, operate providing cross- in settings of allergy and disciplinary cancer. How and when do understandings of the eosinophils recognize tumor microenvironment tumor cells? Do resident that can be translated into and recruited eosinophils novel immunotherapy.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases

Prof. Nir Prof. Osherov is at the Department of Clinical Microbioloy and Immunology at the School of Osherov Medicine and holds the Chair for the Ella Kodesz Institute for Host Defense. He completed his PhD studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his post-doctoral training at the Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, USA. www.tau.ac.il/~nosherov/index.html

Fungal diseases and novel treatments Every year, over 1.5 decaying vegetation, million people die producing airborne spores worldwide from fungal that can infect the lungs. infections. These numbers The Osherov lab uses are increasing fast cutting-edge molecular because of the growing techniques to study how number of at-risk this fungus infects the immunocompromised lungs and how it develops patients. Worryingly, fungi resistance to antifungal are developing resistance drugs. They develop new to our top antifungal drugs. drugs that take advantage One of the most of its weaknesses. This dangerous and common work is contributing to fungal infections, called better understanding and Invasive Aspergillosis, is treatment of a surprisingly caused by the green mold common and lethal fungal Aspergillus fumigatus. It is infection. commonly found in

TAU Faculty of Medicine Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases

Prof. Udi Prof. Qimron is Chair of the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology. He has authored over Qimron 50 scientific articles, some in prestigious journals such as Nature, Science, and Cell. He won the prestigious ERC grant twice. He is also the CTO of a company established based on his inventions, Trobix-Bio. https://flaxadam.wixsite.com/qimronlab

CRISPR-Cas for bacterial resistance Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is among the top three major health threats according to the World Health Organization. Rather than producing more antibiotics, which may worsen the problem, we have taken a unique approach, in which we reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Our approach uses the genetic engineering tool, CRISPR-Cas, to eliminate resistance genes from bacteria, and at the same time to enable growth of antibiotic-sensitive bacteria.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases

Prof. Ronit Dr. Sagi-Eisenberg is Head of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. She completed her PhD Sagi-Eisenberg at Tel Aviv University and trained at the Weizmann Institute of Science and at the National Institutes of Health in the US. https://rselab.wixsite.com/mysite

Allergic diseases the case of Allergic diseases have neurodegenerative reached epidemic diseases, autoimmune proportions affecting more diseases and cancer. than 30% of the world Therefore, the best population. Yet, allergy treatment for mast cell treatment is still by largely dependent disorders symptomatic, the reason would be blocking being the multiple and mediator release from diverse stimuli that trigger triggered mast cells. To mast cells, the central this goal, the Sagi- players in allergic Eisenberg lab combines diseases, and the wide functional genomics spectrum of inflammatory analyses with high mediators that are resolution microscopy to released by triggered mast delineate the secretory cells. The latter might response and identify the cause allergic symptoms protein networks that when mast cells are control this process. triggered by an allergen, Central proteins are but might also cause marked as targets for the neurogenic or chronic development of novel inflammation, when mast therapeutic means aimed cells are activated by at targeting the neurotransmitters or pathological activity of neighbouring cells, as is mast cells during disease.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases

Dr. Dor Dr. Salomon is at the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology. He completed his PhD Salomon (Dean’s direct track) at Tel Aviv University, followed by a Postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Salomon was awarded the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) and was also awarded the Alon Fellowship for young investigators and the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) starting grant. During the period of COVID-19 quarantine, he organized a Antibacterial treatment virtual international conference with over 400 participants, named T6SympoZOOM. The World Health https://www.dorsalomonlab.com/ Organization predicts that by 2050, multidrug- resistant pathogens will toxins that are used by become the leading cause bacteria to neutralize their of death worldwide. To bacterial competitors. By prevent this catastrophe, adapting and custom- the development of novel engineering these natural antibacterial treatments is antibacterial mechanisms, necessary. Dr. Salomon is Dr. Salomon is developing employing multi- next-generation disciplinary approaches to antibacterial treatments study mechanisms and and prophylactics.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases

Dr. Ella Dr. Ella Sklan is at the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology. Sklan obtained her Sklan Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and trained as a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford.

https://ellasklan.github.io/ellasklan/html.html

Novel anti-viral drugs RNA viruses are major innate host defenses and pathogens affecting the understand how some of lives of millions these viruses overcome worldwide. Our primary them We hope that a goal is to better better understanding of understand the these molecular interactions of these mechanisms will pathogens with their host contribute to the cells using RNA viruses identification of novel anti- from different families as viral drugs. models. We employ genome-wide genetic screens to identify mechanisms underlying.

Hepatocyte-expressing hepatitis C protein NS5A.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Affiliations

Sagol School of Neuroscience https://www.sagol.tau.ac.il/en/

Aufzien Family Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease https://en-med.tau.ac.il/Aufzien_Center_TAU

Goldschleger Eye Research Institute https://en-med.tau.ac.il/eye_institute

From left to right: Structural brain connectivity, extracted from diffusion MRI scans; Parcellation of the human cortex, based on functional connectivity; Myelin map (calculated from T1w/T2w MRI scans); Brain activation map extracted from functional MRI, while moving the right foot. Ido Tavor. TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Dr. Avraham Dr. Ashkenazi, from the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the School of Medicine, Ashkenazi completed his PhD at the Weizmann Institute of Science and his postdoctoral training at Cambridge University. He was awarded the Young Investigator Award by the European Biochemical Society and the Azrieli Fellowship for excellent new faculty in Israel. He is part of the Taube-Koret Global Collaboration in Neurodegenerative Diseases. https://www.ashkenazilab.com/ Autophagy in Huntington and Parkinson’s disease Dr. Ashkenazi’s long-term scientific goal is to identify was the first to describe a mechanisms that biological function of triplet contribute to neuronal repeats encoding survival. To achieve this polyglutamine stretches in goal, his laboratory regulating autophagy in combines stem cell health and in Huntington’s technology, primary disease. Dr. Ashkenazi’s neurons, animal models, research opens several and biochemical and new venues of cellular approaches. Dr. understanding protein Ashkenazi’s pioneering degradation pathways and work on autophagy (self- the biology of eating) revealed how this neurodegenerative cell survival pathway diseases. Moreover, his breaks down protein research has the potential clumps (aggregates), and to reveal new druggable reduces toxicity in models targets that can be utilized of triplet repeat expansion to control a range of diseases, such as neurological disorders Huntington’s and caused by aggregate- Parkinson's disease. He prone proteins.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Prof. Bernard Prof. Attali, in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, was educated in France, and received a Attali B.Sc/M.Sc. in Chemistry and Pharm.D. from Paul Sabatier University (Toulouse). He obtained his Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the Weizmann Institute of Science and performed his post-doctoral training at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France. https://attalilab.com/

Channels in disease Prof. Attali focuses on potassium channels in potassium channels since human brain and heart. they play crucial roles in His laboratory is a many cellular functions worldwide leader in such as shaping cardiac studying Kv7 potassium and neuronal action channels, whose potentials, tuning neuronal mutations lead to major firing patterns, synaptic neurological and integration or modulating cardiovascular disorders neurotransmitter release. such as epilepsy, Using the powerful myokymia, atrial or combination of molecular ventricular fibrillation. biology, biophysics, Notably, he showed that biochemistry and SK4 Ca2+-activated K+ electrophysiology, his channels are involved in team’s research aims at the cardiac pacemaker elucidating the structural, activity and represent new biophysical and targets for cardiac physiological attributes of arrhythmias.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Dr. Tami Dr. Bar-Shalita, Department of Occupational Therapy at the School of Health Professions, completed her Bar-Shalita PhD at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and her postdoctoral training at the University of Southern California. She is actively translating the knowledge evolved in her lab to the clinical field.

Sensory modulation dysfunction We all share the same physical environments, yet pain domains using for some of us these neurophysiology and severely attenuate our psychophysical methods. efficient function and well- Through this approach, Dr. being. This condition is Bar-Shalita found that termed sensory SMD is linked to disorders modulation dysfunction such as substance use (SMD), characterizing disorder and chronic pain, about 10% of the general which further served population. Dr. Bar-Shalita developing novel is the first to apply a mechanism-based unique approach by the therapeutic modalities, coupling of sensory and currently under testing.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Prof. Orit Dr. Bart is a faculty member at the Department of Occupational Therapy in the School of Health Bart Professions. She holds a Ph.D. in health professions and performed her post-doctoral training at Haifa University. She is Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy. Bart is a member of the International Advisory Council for Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and of the Israeli Association of Occupational Therapy and the American Occupational Therapy Association. Autism spectrum disorder Children with autism is a step towards a better experience stress in understanding of the diverse life situations. The physiological and most common stress- cognitive-emotional provoking situations are mechanism underlying engagement in social atypical sensory interaction and exposure responsiveness and social to tactile stimuli. Dr. Bart interaction. To overcome aims to assess brain the challenge of assessing engagement during young children with different play settings autism, Dr. Bart uses an (solitary play vs. dyadic electro-physiological play) and during exposure marker for sustained to different tactile stimuli attention, the Brain (direct – physiology vs. engagement index, which indirect -cognitive) in is an easy-to-use, reliable, children with autism. This and valid tool.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Prof. Hagit Prof. Eldar-Finkelman obtained her BSc in Chemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and her Eldar-Finkelman MSc in Physical Chemistry and PhD in Life Sciences at the Weizmann Institute. Her postdoctoral work was conducted with the Nobel Prize Laureate Edwin G. Krebs at the University of Washington in Seattle. She then became an Assistant Professor at the Harvard Medical School in the Division of Women’s Health and then joined TAU. Eldar-Finkelman was a visiting scientist at MBL Woods Hole, Cape Code; EMBL-EBI GSK-3 and Hinxton, UK; Perelman School of Medicine, University neurodegeneration of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; and at Rockefeller University, NYC. Her academic activity includes, The research in Prof. representing the university in the Inter-University Eldar-Finkelman’s Forum for Medical Sciences, in the National Council laboratory is focused on for Experiments in Animals Subjects, and in the State the development of new Control Committee in the Knesset, Chair of the innovative therapeutics Faculty committee for PhD studies and of the addressing unmet needs University Committee for Animal Care and Ethics. in the neurodegenerative She is part of the Taube-Koret Global Collaboration disorders arena. A in Neurodegenerative Diseases. particular interest is given https://heflab.com/ to the protein kinase, glycogen synthase kinase- 3 (GSK-3), as a prominent design drugs with unique drug target for treating inhibition modality. The neurodegeneration. They team’s goal is to ultimately combine expertise in produce beneficial chemistry, biology, and therapeutics for clinical computational modeling to practice.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Prof. Illana Prof. Gozes (Emerita) is Head of the Dr. Diana and Zelman Elton (Elbaum) Laboratory for Molecular Gozes Neuroendocrinology, and at the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, the Adams Super Center for Brain Studies and Sagol School of Neuroscience. She is Chief Scientific Officer at Coronis Neurosciences,with her BSc, from Tel Aviv University, Direct PhD, from Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, postdoc at MIT and Salk Institute, and was a Therapeutics for Senior Scientist/Associate Professor at the Weizmann Institute and Fogarty-Scholar-in-Residence at the NIH, autism and beyond USA. Prof. Gozes has won many awards of excellence, Prof. Gozes discovered including Tel Aviv University’s Vice President Award, and studies Activity- Olson Prize, Julodan Prize, Teva Prize, Neufeld Award, dependent neuroprotective Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg (HWK) Fellowship, protein (ADNP), Humboldt Award, the Landau Prize for Life recognized as a leading Achievements and the RARE Champion of Hope gene accounting for 0.17% Award. She currently serves as Secretary of the of autism spectrum European Society for Neurochemistry, is a member of disorder (ASD) cases the Israeli Ministry of Education, Council of Higher globally. The Gozes Education and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of laboratory focuses on Molecular Neuroscience. genome editing, to test https://www.adnpkids.com/illana-gozes.html and develop therapeutics such as the ADNP enhancing fragment NAP Alzheimer’s disease with (CP201) and pipeline ADNP playing a role in all products, for effects on of these diseases. As autism and other ASD- such, the Gozes related predicaments. laboratory strives to pave Prof. Gozes further the way to novel discovered convergence diagnostics and among autism, treatments toward healthy schizophrenia, stress- development, maturation related ailments and and aging of the brain.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Dr. Yoni Dr. Haitin completed his Ph.D. studies at Tel Aviv University and his postdoctoral training at the Haitin University of Washington, where he was awarded the Human Frontier Organization Long Term Postdoctoral Fellowship. Haitin has established a structural-physiology research program at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the School of Medicine. Dr. Haitin serves as the secretary of the Israeli Society for Physiology and Pharmacology and is on the editorial board of PLoS One. He heads Ion channels in the Joint Undergraduate Program with the Faculty of disease Life Sciences. https://haitinlab.com/ Proteins are molecular machines essential for all cellular activities. When types of radically different they malfunction due to enzyme families. By genetic mutations or utilizing cutting-edge environmental effects, they biochemical and also underlie and facilitate biophysical approaches, many human diseases. As they delineate the the roles of these crucial structural mechanisms cellular building blocks are underlying functional tightly related to their regulation of these key atomic structures, protein families. Moreover, deciphering disease- given the emerging pivotal related mechanisms roles these proteins play in requires scrutinizing numerous diseases, they proteins’ utmost use high-throughput fundamental molecular screens to identify novel properties. Dr. Haitin modulators, which may focuses on studying ion prove beneficial for future channels and development of targeted prenyltransferases, two therapeutic strategies.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Prof. Talma Prof. Hendler, MD-PhD, is a member of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and at Hendler the School of Psychological science at Tel Aviv University. She earned her PhD in SUNY at Stony Brook, NY, USA and her MD at Tel Aviv University. Hendler completed a psychiatry residency at the Sheba Medical Center. Dr Hendler is the founding director of the Sagol Brain Institute at the Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. She was a TAU representative at the I-CORE on Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Neuroscience and was recently awarded the leading NeuroModulation scientist voucher by the Flagship EU Program of the Human Brain Project. She is the inventor and chief The main research aim in medical scientist at GrayMatters Health. the Hendler lab is to https://www.cbf-tlv.com/ harness the brain for improving mental health, by examining emotional brain processing in healthy Her team was the first in and diseased human Israel to apply states. They are simultaneous recording of approaching the problem EEG/fMRI in humans, and by applying multi-scale the first in the world to brain imaging (fMRI, EEG perform a prospective and intracranial recording), study in humans showing ecological behavioral that the amygdala is a assessments and vulnerability marker for computational modeling. traumatic stress Prof. Hendler is using psychopathology, innovative neuroimaging developing and validating methods, and prospective an fMRI-informed large scale human studies electrical fingerprint of the to untangle cause from amygdala and applying it consequence in mental in self-neuromodulation disorders with respect to (NueroFeedback) for Keynan…Hendler 2019 traumatic stress, stress resilience.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Prof. Yael Prof. Henkin, from the Department of Communication Disorders at the School of Health Henkin Professions, completed her PhD and post-doctoral studies at TAU and at the University of Michigan, respectively, focusing on auditory processing in cochlear implant recipients, using auditory cortical neurophysiology. Prof. Henkin is Head of the Hearing, Speech, and Language Center and Communication Disorders Services, and co-director of the cochlear implant program at the Sheba Medical Center. She Auditory neuroscience manages a diverse spectrum of diagnostic and and hearing therapeutic activities in the field of communication disorders including audiology, hearing rehabilitation, rehabilitation speech, language, communication disabilities, and What are the swallowing disorders. She was awarded the DFG neurophysiological German-Israeli grant in collaboration with scientists underpinnings of auditory from the University of Hannover. Prof. Henkin processing in the normal consults the Israeli Ministry of Health on various and impaired auditory topics in the fields of communication disorders and system? how are they hearing healthcare. affected by increasing age, monaural vs. binaural listening, and by cochlear implants and rehabilitation with cochlear hearing aids, and in implants and hearing children with autism, aids? Prof. Henkin utilizes selective mutism, and a complementary auditory auditory processing neuroscience approach in disorders (APD). Her search of clinical experience in neurophysiological audiology and hearing biomarkers and behavioral rehabilitation have set the indices of auditory ground for clinical processing in normal research aimed at hearing listeners, hearing- transforming research impaired listeners with findings into diagnostic bilateral/unilateral hearing and rehabilitative loss habilitated by approaches. TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Dr. Michal Dr. Itzhaki, Department of Nursing, School of Health Professions, serves as the Chair of the Department. Itzhaki She is the first registered nurse in Israel to have completed a direct PhD track, which she obtained at the Department of Nursing Department at Tel Aviv University. She completed her post-doctoral training at the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Bar-Ilan University. She collaborates with nursing theorists in academic institutions worldwide exploring caring in multicultural societies. Emotion management Feeling rules are unwritten (emergency and disaster) social rules that dictate the and in complex care strength of emotions situations. Investigation of appropriate for different the emotion management situations. In case of experienced by nurses incompatibility between includes attention to caring experienced and socially and emotional resilience. expected emotions, Her research forms the emotional management is basis for developing required to overcome the intervention programs dissonance. Dr. Itzhaki aimed at efficient explores the feelings emotional labor, which experienced by healthcare includes raising the workers and patients and caregiver/patient's sense their coping strategies with of resilience and emotional differences between support. She uses a mixed expected versus methods design that experienced emotions in combines qualitative and life-threatening situations quantitative methods.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Prof. Liat Prof. Kishon-Rabin is at the Department of Communication Disorders, School of Health Kishon-Rabin Professions and is the Dean of Innovation in Teaching & Learning at Tel Aviv University. She completed her PhD in psychoacoustics from the Speech & Hearing Sciences Department at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. She was the first Israeli to be awarded with the Graham Fraser Memorial Lecture by the British Cochlear Implant Group. She is an associate editor for the International Journal of Speech processing Audiology. She is vice president of the European and brain plasticity in Federations of Auditory Societies (EFAS) and will serve as president from 2021-2023. In continuation to cochlear implant users her research, which supports intervention during the Prof. Kishon-Rabin early years of the developing brain, Prof. Kishon-Rabin investigates the effect of initiated a series of social startups in infant day-cares sensory, cognitive and and pre-school bringing evidence-based practice of linguistics processes that language acquisition programs to practitioners, are involved in speech caretakers and parents either directly or via novel on- perception in optimal and line programs. degraded listening conditions in normal and which she received pathological hearing. The worldwide recognition. different factors that She investigates the influence performance influence of auditory assist in understanding the stimulation and experience wide variability in dependent factors that performance of implanted drive cortical development cochlear implant users, as in infants using video well as in developing analysis and brain-imaging habilitation protocols that techniques. Her team are are tailored to the hearing- pioneers in implicit impaired individual. Prof. learning processes via Kishon-Rabin was one of auditory modality using the first to study functional fNIRS measurements, for hearing in infants with the first time for cochlear cochlear implants, for implants in Israel. TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Dr. Tal Dr. Laviv is at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and the Sagol School of Neuroscience. Laviv His PhD in neurobiology was conducted in the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Neurosciences at Tel Aviv University. His postdoctoral research was conducted at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (Jupiter, Florida). He received a BSc in the Joint Program in Life and Medical Sciences at Tel Aviv University. Dr. Laviv received two international postdoctoral fellowships, from the European Cognitive decline and Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the neurodegeneration Human Frontiers Science Program (HFPS). The brain has an amazing capacity to change throughout our life, a biological devices and process essential for our specialized microcopy to most basic functions: visualize them in the brain. experiencing the world Our main goal is to through our senses, explore the protein learning a new task or landscape in the living remembering past events. brain, during processing of This involves highly information from the synchronized changes in environment. This electrical activity of cells approach, first of its kind in within the brain, much like Israel, will allow us to individual orchestra tools better understand the playing together to inner workings of the achieve harmony. Inside healthy brain, and identify cells, complex array of critical failure points proteins provide the leading to detrimental molecular instructions for conditions such as this process. We develop cognitive decline and biosensors, sensitive neurodegeneration.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Prof. Tova Prof. Most is at the Department of Communication Disorders, Steyer School of Health Professions, Most Faculty of Medicine and the Department of Counselling and Special Education, Jaime and Joan Constantiner School of Education. Prof. Most research focuses on the rehabilitation and education of deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Her research work has been published in leading international scientific journals including 95 research manuscripts, 15 book chapters and a book in the area of education Rehabilitation and and rehabilitation of deaf and hard of hearing children education of hard of and adults. hearing and deaf individuals on the individual's Prof. Most’ research academic, social and activities focus on the emotional functioning. She effect of hearing loss and examines their functioning the use of various sensory in the various life aids (hearing aids, environments of cochlear implants) on the education, family, perception and production community and of spoken language. The occupation, focusing on research relates to the individuals with individuals from in a wide hearing loss as well as range of ages and various their parents, friends, degrees of hearing loss teachers and employers. from unilateral and mild She provides a holistic hearing loss to profound approach and broad in- deafness. Prof. Most also depth understanding of the studies the ramifications of ramifications of the a hearing and hearing loss on the communication deficiency individual's functioning.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Prof. Yuval Prof. Nir is at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. He ompleted his PhD at the Weizmann Nir Institute of Science and his postdoctoral training at center for sleep and consciousness, University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has won several awards, including the Adelis Neuroscience Prize. https://yuvalnirlab.com/

Sleep Sleep is a universal behavior that is present across the animal kingdom. We spend a third of our lives sleeping, but still do not fully understand what it is for. Prof. Nir is studying the relation between sleep and cognition using a unique combination of animal and human research: what it is about sleep that keeps us ‘disconnected’ from the external environment? How does sleep promote learning and memory? Can we harness sleep to improve neuropsychiatric diagnosis and counteract neurodegeneration?

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Dr. Moshe Dr. Parnas, at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Sagol Schol of Neuroscience, Parnas completed his PhD studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He conducted his postdoctoral training at the University of Oxford, where he was awarded the European Molecular Biology Organization and the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences Long Term Postdoctoral Fellowships. He is a board member of the Israeli Society for Neuroscience, a Review Editor for Frontiers in Behavioural Neuroscience Neural circuits encode and a recipient of the ERC Starting Award. learning and memory http://parnaslab.com/ The Parnas lab uses the fruit fly to study how neural circuits encodes receptors (GPCRs) information and support change their activity when behavior, learning and neurons change their memory. Using a electrical activity. Whether, multidisciplinary approach, these changes in GPCR we modulate the activity of activity have physiological single proteins and neural importance is unknown. circuits in behaving Approximately 35% animals and examine the of approved drugs target consequences such GPCRs. Thus, unraveling manipulations have on the physiological roles of flies’ perception, decisions this novel phenomena and behavior. In particular may lay the foundation to we are interested in a an entire new approach of novel phenomena in which drugs development. G-protein coupled

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Prof. Eran Prof. Perlson, at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Sagol School of Neuroscience, is a Perlson leader in the research of nerve degeneration and regeneration. He completed a Ph.D. at the Weizmann Institute of Science in molecular and cellular neurobiology. As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Pennsylvania Medical School, he focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying axon degeneration in ALS. His scientific work has earned him a large number of distinguished grants, awards Amyotrophic lateral and honors, and he is the author of numerous sclerosis publications in high profile journals and invited speaker to leading international meetings. Amyotrophic lateral http://www3.tau.ac.il/medicine/perlson/ sclerosis (ALS) is a lethal adult-onset motor neuron This unique platform disease, pathologically opens new possibilities for characterized by neuronal experimental analyses of death and degeneration. neuron degeneration and No effective treatment regeneration process, and exists for ALS. Prof. provides a tool for Perlson is taking a fresh personalized medicine. approach to this challenge The team’s main goal is to using advanced elucidate the critical microscopy, genetic events leading to neuron engineering and a novel damage that can be NMJ-on-a-Chip platform targeted and prevented. that mimics the human By preventing nerve motor unit. This novel degeneration and platform was developed activating its regeneration, first in the world by Prof. they will be able to find Perlson’s team, and effective treatment to enables growth of patients’ neurodegenerative neurons and muscle on a disease such as ALS or silicon chip. spinal cord injuries.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Dr. Sigal Dr. Portnoy is at the Department of Occupational Therapy at the School of Health Professions. Dr. Portnoy Portnoy received her B.Sc. in Electronic Engineering at Tel Aviv University and her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at the Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Laboratory at Tel Aviv University. She was the scientific director of the Gait and Motion Laboratory at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. https://www.tau.ac.il/~portnoys/ Technology for rehabilitation The promise of new and developed tools are a exciting technologies to software that evaluates enhance the world of cognitive function, motor and cognitive validated, published and to rehabilitation, relies on its date, downloaded by more integration in the clinics. than 250 users worldwide, One of the main goals of and a software that Dr. Portnoy is to create automatically fits the and distribute accessible dimensions of virtual and innovative tools that model of orthoses for 3D will promote the use of printing, according to technologies in simple limb measurements rehabilitation. Among the performed by the clinician.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Dr. Violetta Dr. Rozani is a faculty member at the Department of Nursing in the School of Health Professions. She is a Rozani Registered Nurse and holds a Master’s Degree in Nursing from Tel Aviv Univerity. Her graduate research study was one of the first in Israel to examine exposure to viral occupational hazards among nurses in the course of their work. She earned a PhD in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at Tel Aviv University, examining risk and protective factors associated with Parkinson's disease. These findings Bio-physiological were reported to the Israeli Center for Disease factors in aging Control (ICDC), allowing the ICDC, for the first time, to make a comprehensive report regarding Dr. Rozani’s research neurodegenerative morbidity in Israel. She then focuses on bio- continued her postdoctoral training at the Faculty of physiological and Health Science at Ben-Gurion University of the psychosocial factors, as Negev, exploring the indicators of healthy aging. well as on case/disease management associated and Parkinson's disease, with both aging and trying to better understand chronic illness. She the mechanism of these conducts big-data studies medications for the based on national and prevention or modification international medical of Parkinson’s disease. As datasets, as well as a researcher in the field of studies in the clinical field case/disease focusing on the well-being management, Dr. Rozani of older patients, their examines the quality and families, and medical staff. safety of care provided by In her research on bio- nurses in various wards physiological factors, during the hospitalization, Rozani focuses on the as well as the burden of association between chronic illness medications for type two experienced by patients, diabetes mellitus their families, and health treatment care providers.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Dr. Angela Dr. Ruban, at the Department of Nursing in the School of Health Professions, received a PhD in Ruban Clinical Pharmacology from the Ben Gurion University. She was a postdoctoral scholar at the Department of Neurobiology at Weizmann Institute of Science. During this period, she and Prof. Te i c h b e r g developed a novel Blood Glutamate Scavenging (BGS) technology for the treatment of malignant and neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Ruban A. is a faculty member at the Health Profession School, Faculty of Spinal cord injury Medicine, Tel Aviv University. Her lab research has focused on evaluating the therapeutic potential of the Spinal cord injury causes treatment in the neurotrauma, neurodegenerative and permanent changes in malignant diseases. strength, sensation and https://www.angelarubanlab.com/ motor functions. Hope of recuperation is slim to none. Primary mechanical after the accident, has the damage to spinal cord potential to diminish a tissue kills a certain cascade of pathological number of neuronal cells. events responsible for But there is a secondary neuronal death, such as damage due to the release inflammation and of excess glutamate, scarring. It will be the first which is responsible for an emergency treatment for additional functional neurotrauma in the world. disability. Our main idea is We suggest administering to reduce the secondary the injection by damage as soon as paramedics even in cases possible — to block the of uncertain diagnosis. body’s reaction to the There’s no side effect, but spinal cord trauma. Our it might just mitigate new study finds the secondary damage and intravenous injection of a dramatically improve the potent enzyme, just hours quality of a person’s life.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Dr. Moran Dr. Rubinstein, head of the Goldschleger Eye Research Institute and member of the Department of Rubinstein Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine of Tel Aviv University, completed her Ph.D. studies at Tel Aviv University and her postdoctoral training at the University of Washington. She serves on the scientific committee of the Israeli Society for Physiology and Pharmacology, the editorial board of the Journal of Molecular Neuroscience and as guest editor for Frontiers Neurodevelopmental in Pharmacology. disorders https://moranrub.wixsite.com/rubinsteinlab Neurodevelopmental disorders, which include cognitive impairment, genetic mutation to severe epilepsy and abnormal brain function is autistic features, are the limited. In order to bridge leading cause of morbidity this gap, the lab of Dr. in children. While recent Rubinstein uses unique genetic studies, exposing mouse models, which are involvement of specific a precise mimic of the genes in the etiology of human disorder. By these disorders, have combining genetic, contributed to the electrophysiological and tremendous advancement behavioral approaches, in the studies of these her goal is to elucidate the disorders, our neurobiological basis of understanding of the these disorders and unveil pathophysiological novel diagnostic and pathways leading from a therapeutic approaches.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Prof. Inna Prof. Slutsky is at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and the Sagol School of Neuroscience Slutsky at Tel Aviv University. Dr. Slutsky completed her PhD at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and post- doctoratal studies at MIT. She is a member of the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) National Scientific Advisory Council, editorial member of eLife and Scientific Reports journals, and scientific committee member of the Israel Society of Neuroscience. Dr. Slutsky is a recipient of the MetLife Plasticity and memory Foundation Prize in Alzheimer’s research, Bernard in Alzheimer’s disease Katz Prize in Neuroscience, the New Investigator Award in Alzheimer’s Disease from American Prof. Slutsky’s research is Federation for Ageing Research, the Sieratzki Prize focused on understanding and the ERC Starting and Consolidator Awards. the basic mechanisms that https://www.slutskylab.com/ maintain synaptic plasticity and memory function and initiate memory dysfunction in Alzheimer’s how neuronal activity and disease (AD). Using high- sensory experience resolution optical imaging, regulate molecular electrophysiology and composition of amyloid- molecular biology, beta, the physiological role Slutsky’s team focuses on of amyloid-beta, the role of identifying the magnesium ion in mechanisms that initiate cognitive enhancement synaptic and cognitive and the molecular impairments in common, mechanism triggering late-onset AD. Dr. Slutsky synaptic hyperactivity at and her team discovered the earliest AD stages.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Dr. Eran Dr. Eran Stark is with the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and with the Sagol School of Stark Neuroscience. He completed his M.D. and Ph.D. at the Hebrew University in neural computation, and postdoctoral training at Rutgers and New York Universities. He has received several awards and fellowships, including a Rothschild Fellowship, HFSP Fellowship, ERC Starting Award, and Rosetrees Interdisciplinary Prize. https://www.eranstarklab.com/ Spiking network mechanisms underlying cognition The Stark Lab studies the mechanistic approach way neuronal networks involves high-density give rise to function. There recording and are many levels to manipulation of dozens to approach this topic and we hundreds of neurons are interested at the simultaneously, while spiking level, mainly in freely moving rodents local circuits of free, perform cognitive tasks. behaving animals. We By erasing and writing focus on short-term individual spikes of memory and spatial multiple neurons in real navigation in rodents. For time, we precisely modify this, we are continuously network spiking activity developing technologies to during specific epochs (for interface bi-directionally instance, short term with the intact brain at the memory maintenance), spatiotemporal resolution and study the effects on of a single neuron and a learning and memory single spike. Our (deterioration or boosting).

TAU Faculty of Medicine Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Dr. Ido Dr. Tavor, from the Department of Anatomy and Anthropology at the School of Medicine and the Sagol Tavor School of Neuroscience, completed his PhD at Tel Aviv University. He then proceeded to a postdoctoral training at the University of Oxford where he specialized on advanced imaging techniques. He holds an inter-disciplinary lab, combining computational, statistical and cognitive neuroscience methods to study the human brain and behavior. https://www.tau.ac.il/~idotavor/ Brain structure, function and human behavior What makes us different? techniques to examine While doing the exact how modifications in brain same thing, different connectivity and individuals present microstructure affects different patterns of brain brain function and human activity. Dr. Tavor studies behavior, both in healthy what underlies behavioral and clinical populations. and functional differences By better understanding between individuals using the relations between Magnetic Resonance brain function and Imaging (MRI). structure, new insights on Specifically, he uses human behavior may be advanced imaging gained.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Public Health

Public health laboratories at the Sackler Faculty of Programs Medicine are responsible for providing timely and reliable Summer Institute of Advanced results, primarily for the Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, purpose of disease control in collaboration with Johns Hopkins and prevention, as well as University Bloomberg School of Public improving quality of life across range of population. Health https://en-med.tau.ac.il/School-of-Public- Our public health Health/Summer-Institute researchers conduct interdisciplinary studies, Emergency & Disaster Management incorporating behavioral Program health, mental health, https://emergexint.tau.ac.il/ health education, occupational safety, disability, gender issues in The School of Public Health has been at the health, reproductive forefront of efforts to benefit the health of epidemiology, and disease populations worldwide, including the current prevention. COVID-19 pandemic.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Public Health

Dr. Anat Dr. Amit-Aharon is at the Department of Nursing, School of Health Professions, and is a registered Amit-Aharon nurse and holds a Master’s degree in health administration from Tel Aviv University and a Ph.D. in public health from Haifa University. Dr. Amit-Aharon serves as the head of the PISGAH program for pre- military nursing students. She was one of the first researchers in Israel to examine parental non- compliance to childhood vaccines during her service as a head nurse in the Department of Public Health at Culture and decisions the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality. Her doctoral affecting health dissertation dealt with parental compliance of vaccinations and their feelings of control over health How does culture factors. influence health? What is the mutual relationship between culture and Jews, Arabs, and asylum health? How does cultural seekers in Tel Aviv. diversity generate health Understanding the differences and disparities associations between and what is the culture and health may association with health lead to implementation of education and promotion? programs tailored to Dr. Amit-Aharon explores individual needs in these complex issues different communities and among a variety of hence, reduce health communities, including inequity. secular and orthodox

TAU Faculty of Medicine Public Health

Prof. Dani Prof. Cohen, PhD, MPH, is at the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine in the School Cohen of Public Health, former head of the School of Public Health (TAU SPH) and the Chair of the Middle East Consortium for Infectious Diseases Surveillance (MECIDS). Prof. Cohen has served for many years on the National Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Infectious Diseases and is currently a member of working groups on the COVID-19 immunization program in Israel. Prof. Cohen is an appointed Epidemiology of member of the WHO COVID-19 working group for infectious diseases and selection of candidate vaccines for the WHO solidarity vaccine trial. He received several awards for vaccinology outstanding contributions to research. Prof. Cohen’s research https://en-med.tau.ac.il/profile/dancohen has contributed to the development of Shigella conjugate vaccines, which are currently the leading ,A longstanding expertise Shigella vaccine developed by Prof. Cohen candidates. Prof. Cohen and his group in Israel in studies the immune different populations at risk response following natural for diarrheal diseases and exposure to Shigella shigellosis are currently species or vaccination with applied in studies for Shigella candidate young children in low- and vaccines. His group has middle- income countries developed immunological severely affected by correlates of protection shigellosis. Prof. Cohen is against shigellosis and are involved in the preclinical currently quantifying them development of a in observational and conjugate vaccine against vaccine studies facilitated brucellosis and in the by competitive grants, performance of sero- including support from the epidemiological studies of Bill and Melinda Gates selected vaccine Foundation. preventable diseases. TAU Faculty of Medicine Public Health

Prof. Jiska Prof. Cohen-Mansfield is in the Department of Health Promotion in the School of Public Health. She holds Cohen-Mansfield the Igor Orenstein Chair for the Study of Geriatrics. Cohen-Mansfield studied statistics and psychology at the Hebrew University and clinical psychology at State University of New York at Stony Brook, followed by a post-doc at New York University Medical Center Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. She was awarded a Distinguished Scientist Award by the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry, and th Mental heath in aging ranked 12 in the world in the field of Geriatrics according to a study by Stanford University in 2020. Prof. Cohen-Mansfield’s Prof. Cohen-Mansfield is the Director of the Minerva research focus is on Center for Interdisciplinary Study of End of Life. mental health promotion in the older population, with To reduce such an emphasis on experiences, she has has preventing or ameliorating studied group activities for loneliness in old age, and persons with dementia improving the quality of and are now conducting a the lived experience of trial of activity kits her persons with dementia team developed for and those who are at the recreational activity end of life. About forty workers, with the goal of percent of community- enabling them to provide dwelling older persons more social and experience loneliness, stimulating activities for associated with increased older persons with morbidity, mortality and dementia. With regards to dementia. Her team has end of life, Cohen- used a model of factors Mansfield has developed she developed to develop an app to improve and test an intervention to communication between decrease loneliness staff who care for persons among community at the end of their lives dwelling older persons. and family members.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Public Health

Dr. Yftach Dr. Gepner, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, completed his Ph.D. at Ben-Gurion Gepner University on the role of lifestyle intervention on various body fat depots. He then continued his training in the Department of Sport and Exercise at University of Central Florida, to better understand the field of exercise physiology in both applied and basic in nature. Gepner has been awarded the 2020 Neufeld Memorial Research Grant, which will run concurrently with his BSF and other grants. Impact of exercise https://www.gepnerlab.com/ training Regular physical activity is Gepner are using cutting- one of the most important edge technologies, things you can do for your including magnetic health, and has long been resonance imaging (MRI) touted as a strategy for for assessing muscle weight loss. However, only damage and adipose 20% meeting the physical tissue distribution, doubly activity guidelines and labeled water to assess over 90% of the people energy expenditure and who lose weight will gain it labeled amino acid to all back. Dr. Yftach Gepner determine protein research focuses on synthesis by muscle understanding the impact biopsy. By combining of exercise training, applied and mechanistic combined with dietary metabolism and strategies, on muscle physiology adaptation damage and mass, studies, his goal is to metabolism and elucidate the unique performance across a beneficial effect from range of populations. Dr. physical activity.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Public Health

Prof. Yariv Prof. Gerber, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, completed his direct track Ph.D. at Tel Gerber Aviv University. He then continued his training in the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, in cardiovascular disease epidemiology. He is head of the School of Public Health, Director of the Stanley Steyer Institute for Cancer Epidemiology and Research and holds the Lilian & Marcel Pollak Chair in Biological Anthropology. He is an Adjunct Professor of Cardiovascular disease Epidemiology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. epidemiology Prof. Gerber studies risk They assessed the clinical factors for and time trends course, risk factor control in various vascular and adjustments among diseases across different these patients over populations and settings, decades of follow-up. They with the goal of improving have looked at individual public health and training and area-based risk future leaders in factors while applying epidemiologic research. advanced epidemiologic Much of his work has methods and statistical centered on factors modeling. The ultimate affecting prognosis and goal of Prof. Gerber’s work well-being of patients is to reduce the massive suffering an acute burden of vascular myocardial infarction disease through (“heart attack” or MI). His advancing the scientific team investigated a large basis for appropriate cohort of Israeli patients public health interventions. aged ≤65, longitudinally, hospitalized for a first MI.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Public Health

Dr. Israel Dr. Halperin, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, completed his PhD studies at Edith- Halperin Cowan University in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Sport. He studied the effects of augmented feedback on physical performance. He then completed his post-doctoral training at Memorial University of Newfoundland, focusing on ways to optimize exercise training programs. Halperin is a member of the Sylvan Adams Sport Institute. https://www.halperin-lab.com/ Personalized exercise prescription models Exercise is medicine, yet structure of the training few get the recommended sessions (e.g., selecting dose. One reason for this the number of repetitions) is that exercise and if trainees can prescription models tend effectively regulate the to be complicated and intensity of exercise based generic, leading to low on their subjective participation and experiences (e.g., adherence rates. perception of effort). His Accordingly, Dr. Halperin team’s goal is to develop studies personalized simple and personalized exercise prescription exercise prescription models that emphasize models that will increase individual abilities and participation and preferences. Specifically, adherence rates, and lead he investigates the effects to better health, of providing trainees with psychological well-being, choices regarding the and physical performance.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Public Health

Dr. Yael Dr. Lahav is a new faculty member in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the Sackler Faculty of Lahav Medicine. Dr. Lahav is a licensed clinical psychologist. She completed her PhD studies at Tel Aviv University, where she studied the longitudinal associations between attachment and perceived health among former-prisoners-of-war of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. She was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Southern Denmark, where she studied the link between attachment and dissociation during Trauma and abuse treatment among childhood sexual abuse survivors and at Stanford University, as a Fulbright grantee, Dr. Lahav investigates the where she studied posttraumatic growth, as well as implications of the phenomenon of identification with the aggressor psychological trauma, and among childhood sexual abuse survivors. focuses on uncovering the https://www.tau.ac.il/~yaellah1/ mechanisms underlying post-traumatic distress psychological, following interpersonal and interpersonal, somatic, ongoing traumatic events, physiological, and such as was captivity, functional facets of domestic violence, as well psychological trauma; as as sexual, physical, and well as the interpersonal emotional abuse during processes involved in the childhood. Her interests victim-perpetrator revolve primarily, around dynamics, known as the unique associations identification with the between the aggressor.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Public Health

Prof. Liat Prof. Lerner is at the School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, and Chair of the Department of Lerner-Geva Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine. She is a board-certified physician in Epidemiology and Public Health with special emphasis on reproductive epidemiology. She is the director of the Women and Children's Health Research Unit at the Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research (Ltd) and the founder and director of the National Registry for in vitro fertilization treatment cycles in Reproduction and Israel. infertility Israel has a world-wide unique epidemiology and and having healthy babies. public health policy She is carefully assessing regarding reproduction in on a national basis the general and infertility short and long-term treatments in particular. adverse outcomes of Prof. Lerner-Geva are infertility treatments. taking a scientific, These insights will lead to evidence based approach the development of safer to evaluate these topics, and better procedures that including investigation of are of great interest in the factors that predicts national, as well as the successful reproduction international arena.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Public Health

Dr. Uri Dr. Obolski holds a dual appointment at the School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Obolski Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences. He obtained a BSc in mathematics, and an MSc and PhD in computational biology from Tel Aviv University. He conducted his postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford as an EMBO Research Fellow.

Infections diseases and the environment Dr. Obolski is interested in infectious diseases and example, they analysed their interactions with the the relationship between environment. Specifically, the incidence of dengue his group analyses the virus in Brazil dynamics of mosquito- and West Nile Virus borne diseases with in Israel to weather; and respect to climate, and they predicted antibiotic patterns of antibiotic resistance patterns of resistance and their hospitalized patients' relation to antibiotic usage. infections using machine They develop and apply learning. Dr. Obolski’s mathematical models as major aim is to understand well as machine learning and predict the dynamics and advanced statistical of infectious diseases to techniques to electronic successfully mitigate their medical records and other future emergence and disease-related data. For spread.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Public Health

Prof. Chava Prof. Peretz is at the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the School of Public Health, Peretz Sackler Faculty of Medicine. She obtained a BSc in mathematics and statistics from Tel Aviv University, a PhD degree from Utrecht University, the Netherlands in occupational and environmental epidemiology, and post-doctoral training at the University of Washington University, Seattle, USA. She is a consultant on matters regarding air pollution/climate and health to the Israeli Ministry of Environment and the Ministry Neuro-epidemiology of Health. She is a member of the editorial boards of and environmental the Ecology and Environment and Neuroepidemiology. Peretz is a member of the International Society of epidemiology Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) Aiming to enhance knowledge on the elusive uses advanced statistical etiology and treatment of modelling to study the neuro-generative spatio-temporal diseases, Prof. Peretz distribution of diseases or studies the epidemiology mortality, and the of diseases of the brain. association with climate She does so with a conditions and air multidisciplinary team, pollution. The results are studying risk factors, important for public health markers (e.g. anemia), considerations and health prognosis and pharmaco- system preparedness for epidemiology of temperature increases as Parkinson's disease. She a result of climate change also applies Big Data- and for the clean ambient driven studies based on air act. Most recently, to databases of Maccabi evaluate the global burden Healthcare Services. In of the pandemic in Israel, the area of environmental Peretz has established epidemiology, COVID-19 related studies, environmental hazards accounting for climate and public health, she conditions.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Public Health

Prof. Leah Prof. Rosen is at the Department of Health Promotion at the School of Public Health, Faculty of Rosen medicine. She performed her B.Sc. at Rutgers University in mathematics, her M.Sc. At Harvard School of Public Health in biostatistics, and her Ph.D. at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Braun School of Public Health. Rosen initiated and teaches Israel’s only academic course on tobacco control, and is on various national and international health advisory committees. Tobacco reduction Tobacco use is the leading intersection of evidence cause of preventable and policy, Rosen death in the world today, contributes to the science with 8 million annual base for healthy public deaths, and a predicted 1 policy; her work has been billion deaths in this quoted widely in the press, century. About a million of used in policy-making by the annual deaths are due health bodies and in the to exposure to other Knesset, and submitted to people’s smoking. Prof. the Supreme Court. Most Rosen’s primary area of of Rosen’s original research is promoting research is conducted in public health through Israel, often with reduction in tobacco use ramifications for those in and exposure. Topics other countries. Rosen’s include prevention of child proposal to include exposure to tobacco tobacco package inserts in smoke, smoking cessation all tobacco products, as a and initiation, public means of messaging attitudes regarding smokers about risks and tobacco policy, and public ways to quit smoking at understanding of the role very low cost to the of nicotine and harm government, was passed reduction. At the into law by the Knesset.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Rehabilitation and Educational Training

The Stanley Steyer School of Health Our major goal: to improve the Professions health and wellbeing of our population. Four clinical fields of study and research https://en-med.tau.ac.il/Steyer-School-Main

• Communication Disorders • Nursing • Occupational Therapy • Physical Therapy

TAU Faculty of Medicine Rehabilitation and Educational Training

Dr. Michal Dr. Avrech Bar is at the Department of Occupational Therapy at the School of Health Professions. She Avrech Bar received her PhD from Tel Aviv University, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. She joined the Occupational Science Europe (OSE) - Research Committee as Israel's representative. The committee is responsible for developing the research agenda for Occupational Science Europe.

Occupational science Dr. Avrech Bar’s primary area of research is occupational science, a nature of these scientific discipline that is relationships and to defined as the systematic provide empirical evidence study of the human as an to support them, especially occupational being. It is among women in relation the basic science that to their role as mothers. In supports the practice of her research she employs occupational therapy. As advanced qualitative and an occupational scientist quantitative methods with she studies the healthy women, women in relationship between their role as caregivers to engagement in their children or spouse occupations, health, and and women diagnosed wellbeing. The goal of her with illness or having a research is to clarify the disability.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Rehabilitation and Educational Training

Prof. Ruth Prof. Ruth Defrin is at the Department of Physical Therapy in the School of Health Professions. She Defrin completed a Bachelors degree in Physical Therapy, MSc and PhD in Physiology and Pharmacology at Tel Aviv University and post-doctoral training in pain imaging at the University of Toronto, Canada. Prof. Defrin established the Pain Laboratory, which includes branches in several departments of affiliated hospitals. Prof. Defrin has founded and co-directs the Biomed@TAU Pain Research Hub and is the research Pain chair of the Israeli Pain Association. Prof. Defrin has won several awards, including from the Israeli Pain A traumatic spinal cord Association for outstanding contribution in the injury may provoke a promotion of national and international pain research. debilitating, lifelong pain in some people, whereas other people may remain imaging methods, Prof. pain free thereafter. Defrin aims to uncover the Similarly, some people mechanisms leading to develop posttraumatic these seemingly opposite stress disorder in the effects of physical and aftermath of traumatic traumatic stress, and the stress, which is often biomarkers that enable accompanied by chronic their prediction. Early pain and alterations in detection of vulnerability pain modulation, whereas would enable preemptive other people are resilient management, which may to such stress. By applying mitigate or prevent the a multidisciplinary hazardous consequences approach using advanced of such pathological psychophysical and conditions.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Rehabilitation and Educational Training

Dr. Jason Dr. Friedman is in the Department of Physical Therapy, where he is a principal investigator and co-director of Friedman the Movement Sciences lab. Originally from Australia, Dr. Friedman completed his undergraduate studies at Monash University in Australia, followed by an M.Sc. and Ph.D. at the Weizmann Institute of Science, all in the field of Computer Science. He also performed postdoctoral research in the Department of Kinesiology at Penn State University in the US, and in the Department of Cognitive Science at Macquarie Motor learning University in Australia. He takes advantage of his multidisciplinary background to find new ways of In day-to-day life, we looking at problems related to human motor perform an enormous control. Dr. Friedman heads the Biomed@TAU variety of movements, Research Hub on Motor Learning. usually with little thought. https://www.curiousjason.com/ However, we know that planning and executing techniques developed in these movements is in the lab on different reality very complicated. populations, including Dr. Friedman seeks to children as they develop, enhance our and individuals with motor understanding of how we disorders such as produce movements, with Parkinson's disease and a focus on how we can cerebral palsy, with a goal speed up the process of of improving rehabilitation motor learning. He tests and other motor learning applications of the processes.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Rehabilitation and Educational Training

Prof. Debbie Prof. Rand is at the Department of Occupational Therapy at the School of Health Professions, and Rand affiliated with the Sagol School of Neuroscience. She completed her PhD at Haifa University and her postdoctoral training at the University of British Columbia, Canada. She presented her research at international conferences in the field of rehabilitation, gerontology and advanced technologies. https://www.tau.ac.il/~drand/

Gaming for rehabilitation Prof. Rand’s research aims to achieve a better aimed to improve the understanding of the affected upper extremity factors hindering and as well as assessment facilitating the recovery of and treatment of the individuals post stroke and cognitive deficits of these specifically the use of their individuals. Recently, affected upper extremity. Rand has expanded her Her studies are clinical, research to the growing aiming to research the population of (healthy) factors related to the older adults. She limited recovery of the investigates physical and affected upper extremity. social frailty as well as She has developed cognitive decline, aiming interventions (utilizing to determine ways to gaming technologies) promote successful aging.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Rehabilitation and Educational Training

Prof. Navah Prof. Ratzon, PhD, is at the Department of Occupational Therapy, and is Head of the School of Ratzon Health Professions. Among her other achievements, Ratzon chaired the Council for the Advancement of Women in Science and Technology at the Ministry of Science and Technology from 2016-2020. She is a member of the Advisory Council to the Minister of Health on the subject of rehabilitation and of the Advisory Committee to the Minister of Health and the Minister of Labor and Welfare on the subject of Occupational employee health. Prof. Ratzon is a social activist, rehabilitation engaged in developing community intervention programs and research among communities in need, Ratzon's research areas such as children of immigrants from Ethiopia, children focus on ergonomics, of foreign workers, and students with disabilities. vocational rehabilitation, and driving rehabilitation. Her research in the field of ergonomics focuses on risks and treatments workers at risk of among those recovering developing skeletal from cancer, people after muscle problems. Her hand injuries, and more. studies highlight multiple As a researcher in the field populations, such as of driving rehabilitation, professional musicians, Ratzon examines ways to people who work long assess driving ability and hours on the computer, interventions to reduce the and "blue-collar" workers. driving risks in In her research on professional drivers, occupational rehabilitation, adolescents with ADHD, Ratzon focuses on raising people with schizophrenia, awareness of professional and people after a stroke.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Rehabilitation and Educational Training

Dr. Osnat Osnat Segal, PhD, is at the Department of Communication Disorders, School of Health Segal Professions. Dr. Segal earned her BA, MA and PhD in Communication Disorders at Tel Aviv University. Her doctoral studies focused on speech perception and language acquisition in infants. During her PhD she established the first dedicated laboratory in Israel for assessing processes in speech perception and language acquisition in infants. Her post-doctoral studies focused on recognition of morphological The journey of early patterns by infants learning Hebrew, and took place at language acquisition Tel Aviv University and at the Department of Language and Linguistics Science, University of York. One of the most She is the Chair of the Israeli Speech Hearing and interesting questions in the Language Association (ISHLA), and an executive board field of language member of the International Association of acquisition is how a Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP). newborn becomes a speaker of its native communication disorders language within the first clinician is to study the three years of life. aforementioned processes Understanding early of early language language-learning development in typically processes, from infancy, is developing infants as a highly important in order basis for understanding to: gain insight on the these processes in special typical and atypical populations including courses of language children with hearing loss, acquisition, identify children with autism developmental difficulties spectrum disorder (ASD), as early as possible, and children with assess the influence of developmental language interaction, exposure and disorder (DLD), children use of language on the with childhood apraxia of processes of language speech (CAS), and learning. My goal as a children from low socio- researcher and economic status (LSES). TAU Faculty of Medicine Rehabilitation and Educational Training

Dr. Sigalit Dr. Warshawski, at the Department of Nursing, School of Health Professions, serves as the Head of the Warshawski Baccalaureate Nursing program. She is a registered nurse and holds a post-basic professional license as a Pediatric and Preterm Intensive Care Nurse. Dr. Warshawski received her Master’s degree in Nursing from Tel Aviv University and a Ph.D. in Health Sociology from Ben-Gurion University. Her doctorate was one of the first in Israel that focused on Interprofessional collaboration between healthcare Nursing education and teams in hospitals. advanced technologies Nursing education has Understanding students’ undergone significant needs and competencies changes in its training accompanied by the programs for several integration of novel decades with the purpose teaching methods may of ensuring quality care improve students’ learning and adjusting to experience, confidence organizational and and professional skills. technological changes in These may bring about healthcare systems. We improved treatment employ both quantitative outcomes. Dr. Warshawski and qualitative methods to is part of research project explore nurse and nursing at the School of Health students’ role as leading Professions that is the therapeutic process. exploring interprofessional As such, examining their attitudes among health training and skills during profession students in their studies is crucial. Israel.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Rehabilitation and Educational Training

Dr. Yael Dr. Zaltz is at the Department of Communication Disorders, School of Health Professions. Her PhD Zaltz was conducted at the Department of Communications Disorders at Tel Aviv University. Her postdoctoral training on the psychoacoustic cues for voice discrimination in hearing impaired individuals with cochlear implants, as compared to individuals with normal hearing, was conducted at the University of Southern California (USC). Her research work in the areas of auditory skill learning, voice Auditory training to discrimination and speech perception in normal and improve speech pathological populations has been presented at leading international and national professional perception conferences. Dr. Zaltz is also an audiologist and a Can we improve speech- speech therapist. in-noise perception via behavioral auditory training? What is the best generalization, way to do so? Will the susceptibility to improvement last? Dr. interferences, and long- Zaltz examines the term retention of the possibility to enhance the learning-gains. She is also underlying in the process of psychoacoustic, linguistic, establishing a and cognitive mechanisms neuroimaging lab that will for speech perception in be the first in Israel to use degraded listening functional Near Infrared conditions in normal and Spectroscopy (fNIRS) data pathological populations to gain insight on the via auditory training. She neural mechanisms that explores the behavioral undergo modifications effects of auditory training, following auditory training including the time course in cochlear implant users of learning, magnitude of and in individuals with improvements, normal hearing.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Sackler Faculty of Medicine

Training opportunities

The School of Graduate Studies at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine strives for excellence in research and serves as a training platform for Master’s programs – M.Sc., M.P.H., M.Occ.H., M.A. - and Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D. - in diverse biomedical fields. The school is the largest graduate school at Tel Aviv University, with 1050 students, including 430 Ph.D. students, and 580 Masters’ students.

The Faculty of Medicine’s M.Sc. and Ph.D. thesis projects offers financial support to undertake research in our laboratories. Tuition and stipend scholarships are available to qualified students, providing a tuition-free degree and living stipend.

We welcome students from abroad, with opportunities for courses in English. While our official spoken language is Hebrew, all laboratory members speak English, providing an international environment.

See the next pages for testimonials from our graduate students.

Prof. Drorit Dr. Chen Luxenburg, Neumann, Head of Academic Coordinator, the Graduate International Graduate School Program

TAU Faculty of Medicine A view from our students

Fatima “Our Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, with its affiliated hospitals, is a leading center of research Amer-Sarsour into the genetics, diagnosis and treatment of human PhD student, diseases. It provides a unique interface between basic and clinical science that underpins its high-level Dr. Avraham Ashkenazi objective of understanding the biology of disease. laboratory Therefore, this is an ideal place for me to develop my scientific career towards independence. My lab is like “I joined the Ashkenazi one big family, where we are all very much involved lab in Sackler Faculty of and united. We initiate meetings to celebrate personal Medicine in February events and celebrate the holidays of all lab members 2019. My PhD project as we come from different nationalities. One of the focuses on the most memorable experiences for me is that my investigation of protein supervisor, Dr. Avi Ashkenazi, sent me to a conference degradation pathways in in Portugal. This was my first experience at an disease models of international conference abroad." congenital central hypoventilation syndrome. The Faculty of Medicine exposes me to a variety of opportunities in different fields. Beyond different methods and collaborations, the human capital here is special and diverse. I gained a lot from it by developing valuable research skills and tools I will use in the future.”

Photo: Members of the Ashkenazi lab – from left, Prof. Avraham Ashkenazi, Fatima Amer-Sarsour, Margarita Galves, Dr. Yevgeny Berdichevsky.

TAU Faculty of Medicine A view from our students

Gideon “The faculty has a very diverse milieu of researchers from all fields, making collaboration easy and Karmon accessible. Many of them are highly translational, MD-PhD student, which is important to me as an MD-PhD student. The high translational potential of most of the research Prof. Illana Gozes conducted at the Faculty of Medicine was extremely laboratory important to me as an MD PhD student. My PhD studies will help me become a better physician, taking “My research focuses on tools and understanding from the laboratory bench autism spectrum to the patient setting. The tools I acquired during my disorder. Specifically, on PhD will assist me in becoming a better physician a rare monogenic cause researcher, with the ultimate goal of taking bedside of ASD caused by a problems and applying them to further research mutation in the ADNP toward novel diagnostics and therapeutics. The gene. Although rare, Sackler School of Medicine is (in my opinion) the best researching a medical school in Israel, and I joined one of the best monogenic cause for laboratories in the school for my PhD studies, this ASD may help elucidate was and still is an excellent experience.” key in disease features in ASD which may help alleviate the burden of this debilitating disease. I am also focus on testing a potential drug candidate on a novel mutant mouse model, making my research highly translational.” Photo: Members of the Gozes lab – from left, front: Gal Hacohen-Kleiman, Dr. Eli Giladi, Prof. Illana Gozes, Dr. Adva Hadar, Dr. Yanina Ivashko- Pachima, Oxana Kapitansky, Yael Toren; left, back: Shlomo Sragovich, Gidon Karmon.

TAU Faculty of Medicine Sackler Faculty of Medicine

Life in Tel Aviv

The city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa is a bustling, energetic and dynamic one, with opportunities for sun, exercise, food and socializing like no other place.

Source: Unsplash

For more information, please visit https://en-med.tau.ac.il/

June 19, 2021