"The Brain Gain" Introducing New Young Scientists
Talented young scientists like the new recruits pro led here, with their fresh ideas and research skills, are the dynamic engines of scienti c discovery and progress that enable the Weizmann Institute of Science to retain and enhance its position at the forefront of science. These high-caliber young researchers, who are recruited each year to the tenure-track faculty of the Weizmann Institute – our “brain gain,” are vital to Israel’s future, and key to the role the Weizmann Institute plays in developing Israel’s scienti c brain power.
They join its community of 250 principal researchers who are not only the leaders of their own labs and in their own elds, but also train more than one-quarter of Israel’s new Ph.D.’s in science and mathematics within the framework of the Institute’s graduate education programs.
The Institute has set itself a mission to locate and bring back home the best and brightest young Israeli scientists, and has hired 49 new faculty members since 2005. Their recruitment entails a serious commitment and signi cant expenditure to provide them with the advanced tools and nancial backing needed to launch their careers, out t their laboratories, purchase equipment, build their teams, explore new ideas, and establish collaborations.
This major investment of funds and resources would not be possible without the support of many friends of the Institute from around the world. In addition, we receive signi cant assistance from various programs of the Israel Science Foundation. We are extremely grateful for the vision and generosity of these supporters, which help us to ensure Israel’s and the Institute’s future success.
Prof. Daniel Zajfman President Dr. Eli Arama Education Eli Arama earned his B.Sc. (1994) and M.Sc. (1996) degrees from Bar- Ilan University. His Ph.D. on Drosophila tumor suppressor genes was completed at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, in 2000. Dr. Arama conducted postdoctoral research in the genetic analysis of programmed cell death in the Drosophila at Rockefeller University in New York, and was awarded the Charles H. Revson Foundation Fellowship in Biomedical Research in 2003. Dr. Arama Dr. Arama’s research is joined the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Molecular Genetics supported by: in 2006. M.D. Moross Institute for Cancer Research Research eld Nella and Leon Benoziyo Center Dr. Eli Arama studies the interaction between apoptosis, or for Neurological Diseases Chais Family Fellows Program programmed cell death, and the processes that are essential to for New Scientists maintaining the body’s normal biological activities. Defects in the Samuel M. Soref & Helene K. mechanisms that instruct cells to die can promote the development Soref Foundation of cancer and malignant tumors if defective cells escape the signal Henry S. & Anne S. Reich to self destruct; Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and other Research Fund for Mental disorders can arise when too many cells are killed. Health Lord Mitchell, UK He is the incumbent of the Corinne S. Koshland Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
Dr. Barak Dayan Education Barak Dayan completed his B.Sc. degree in physics and mathematics cum laude at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1992), within the IDF’s elite Talpiot program. He went on to complete a M.Sc. in physics cum laude at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1999), and a Ph.D. in physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2005, in Prof. Yaron Silberberg’s ultrafast optics group, where he initiated the assembly of a new quantum optics lab. Dr. Dayan conducted postdoctoral work in quantum optics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he led the e orts of the microtoroids group. He joined the Department of Chemical Physics at the Weizmann Institute in 2008.
Research eld Dr. Barak Dayan devises new ways to explore and control the most promising and surprising aspects of quantum phenomena. His particular interest lies in the eld of quantum optics and quantum information science.
2 Dr. Nirit Dudovich Education After completing a B.Sc. in physics and computer science at Tel Aviv University in 1996, Nirit Dudovich studied physics at the Weizmann Institute, receiving her M.Sc. in 1999 and Ph.D. in 2004. Dr. Dudovich conducted postdoctoral research as a Fellow at the Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences at the National Research Council in Ottawa, Canada. She joined the Department of Physics of Complex Systems at the Weizmann Institute in 2007. Dr. Dudovich’s research is supported by: Research eld Chais Family Fellows Program Dr. Nirit Dudovich uses super-fast pulses of laser-produced light to for New Scientists probe the basic processes within atoms and molecules. Using these Lord Sie of Brimpton ultra-short bursts of light, Dr. Dudovich and other researchers at Memorial Fund IPA Prize the Weizmann Institute hope to capture a conceptual snapshot of Estate of Julius and Hanna molecules in motion and eventually of electron orbits. Rosen Charles and Julia Wolf Philanthropic Fund Wolfson Family Charitable Trust
Dr. Nir Friedman Education Nir Friedman completed a B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics in 1989 in the IDF’s Talpiot program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received his M.Sc. in physics at Tel Aviv University in 1996. He completed a Ph.D. under the guidance of Prof. Nir Davidson in the Department of Physics of Complex Systems at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2001. He continued at the Weizmann Institute as a postdoctoral fellow for two years in the Department of Dr. Friedman’s research Physics of Complex Systems. Dr. Friedman then found his interests is supported by: being drawn to the ultimate in complex systems – living cells and Sir Charles Clore Research Prize organisms. He went on to spend four years as a postdoctoral fellow Crown Endowment Fund for in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard Immunological Research University. Dr. Friedman joined the Weizmann Institute’s Department Abisch-Frenkel Foundation for of Immunology in 2007. the Promotion of Life Sciences
Research eld Dr. Nir Friedman plans to build special micro- uidic devices to study how cells in the immune system communicate by means of exchanging proteins. These micro- uidic devices, which are essentially a lab-on-a-chip, enable him to study this exchange on a single cell level. His research combines advanced nano-fabrication, state-of-the-art imaging, full- edged biological manipulation of single cells, and advanced mathematical approaches to study the immune system. 3 Dr. Avishay Gal-Yam Education Avishay Gal-Yam completed his B.Sc. magna cum laude in physics and mathematics at Tel Aviv University in 1996. Upon completing his Ph.D. in physics and astronomy at Tel Aviv University in 2003, Dr. Gal- Yam received NASA’s prestigious Hubble postdoctoral fellowship – which included research time on the Hubble space telescope – and chose the California Institute of Technology as his host institution. Dr. Gal-Yam joined the Department of Condensed Matter Physics at the Dr. Gal-Yam’s research is Weizmann Institute in 2007. supported by: Nella and Leon Benoziyo Research eld Center for Astrophysics Dr. Avishay Gal-Yam’s research focuses on identifying the progenitors Peter and Patricia Gruber of supernovae and gamma-ray bursts, and illuminating the physical Awards William Z. & Eda Bess Novick processes that determine these explosions. His leadership in a New Scientists Fund worldwide observation project for supernovae led to the rst real- Legacy Heritage Fund time recording of a star in the process of exploding.
Dr. Lilach Gilboa Education Lilach Gilboa earned an M.Sc. degree summa cum laude in biochemistry from Tel Aviv University’s Interdisciplinary Program for Fostering Excellence in 1993, completing a Ph.D. with distinction in Neurobiochemistry in 1999. After conducting postdoctoral research at New York University’s School of Medicine for eight years, she returned to Israel and joined the sta of the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Biological Regulation in 2007. Dr. Gilboa’s research is supported by: Research eld Helen and Martin Kimmel Dr. Lilach Gilboa studies stem cells found in the ovary of adult fruit Institute for Stem Cell Research ies (Drosophila melanogaster), which produce eggs continually Willner Family Center for throughout their lifetime. The many genetic tools available for Vascular Biology Abisch-Frenkel Foundation for Drosophila research have made the adult ovary a leading system the Promotion of Life Sciences in understanding the principles of stem cell biology. She has Abraham and Sonia Rochlin developed a number of new tools and techniques for probing stem Foundation cell development and di erentiation.
4 Dr. Shahal Ilani Education Shahal Ilani completed his B.Sc. in mathematics and physics with honors at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in I992. He went on to complete an M.Sc. in Physics at the Racah Institute of Physics at Hebrew University in 1997, while serving in the Israel Defense Forces’ RAFAEL research program. He spent 1995 as a visiting scientist at Northwestern University in Illinois. Dr. Ilani completed a Ph.D. in Physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2003, and was part Dr. Ilani’s research is of the Weizmann Institute research team that built scanning single supported by the Willner electron transistors in the Braun Submicron Center on campus. From Family Leadership Institute for the Weizmann Institute of 2004 until joining the Department of Condensed Matter Physics in Science 2008, Dr. Ilani conducted postdoctoral work in the Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics at Cornell University.
Research eld Dr. Shahal Ilani is devising new ways to discover the innermost secrets of quantum phenomena. To study the physics of single electrons in action, he has helped create incredibly small electronic devices – such as single electron transistors and capacitators – made out of single carbon nanotubes suspended between two materials that form the gateways.
Dr. Tali Kimchi Education Tali Kimchi completed a B.Sc. in biology (1996), an M.Sc. (1998), and Ph.D. with distinction in zoology in 2004, all at Tel Aviv University. From 2004, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard. Dr. Kimchi joined the Department of Neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute in 2008.
Research eld Dr. Kimchi’s research is Dr. Tali Kimchi, an expert in observing the behavior of animals, is supported by Esther Smidof, fascinated by the powerful e ect of pheromones – the subtle scents Switzerland that animals give o and receive to communicate – on social and reproductive behaviors. Pheromones have been connected with sexual attraction, fertility, lactation, aggression, and a host of other sex-related phenomena. Yet, understanding how these chemical signals are picked up and transmitted to the brain, and how they a ect the di erences between masculine and feminine behavior, is largely uncharted territory.
5 Dr. Robert Krauthgamer Education Born in Ukraine and raised in Israel, Dr. Krauthgamer received a B.Sc. cum laude in mathematics and computer science from Tel Aviv University in 1991. He conducted his graduate studies in computer science at the Weizmann Institute under the guidance of Prof. Uriel Feige, earning an M.Sc. in 1996 and a Ph.D. in 2001, both with distinction. After conducting postdoctoral research at the University of California at Berkeley for two years, he became, in 2003, a research sta member at the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California. In 2007, he joined the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics.
Research eld Dr. Robert Krauthgamer conducts research in theoretical computer science. He designs and analyzes e cient algorithms for a broad range of computational problems, and examines the limitations of such algorithms. He focuses on challenging problems that involve such vast quantities of data that they cannot be solved by examining all the potential alternatives.
Dr. Anat Levin Education Anat Levin completed her B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics and computer science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem between 1998 and 2006. With assistance from a Sara Lee Schupf Postdoctoral Award from the Weizmann Institute, she conducted postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Computer Science and Arti cial Intelligence Laboratory. She will join the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics in 2009.
Research eld Dr. Anat Levin’s research focuses – quite literally – on improving digital photography and computerized vision. The emerging eld of computational photography exploits digital technology to introduce computation between the light array and the nal image. Dr. Levin and her colleagues helped develop several recent post- exposure applications such as transparency, colorization, matting, and segmentation. They have also applied these principles to the design of novel cameras, such as the coded aperture camera and the motion invariant camera, which can overcome motion blur distortions. Dr. Levin was named by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering’s Intelligent Systems magazine as one of ten top researchers “to watch in arti cial intelligence (AI)” in 2008.
6 Dr. Yaacov (Koby) Levy Education Koby Levy graduated summa cum laude from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (B.Sc. 1994), and earned a Ph.D. at Tel Aviv University in the Department of Chemical Physics. Dr. Levy conducted postdoctoral research at the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, University of California, San Diego. He joined the Department of Structural Biology at the Weizmann Institute in 2006. Dr. Levy’s research is Research eld supported by: Dr. Koby Levy’s research focuses on deciphering the physical Clore Center for Biological and evolutionary principles of communication between the Physics cell’s molecules. He uses high-performance computer clusters to Helen and Martin Kimmel generate models of protein assembly, protein folding (the process Center for Molecular Design Helen & Milton A. Kimmelman of a protein chain assuming a three-dimensional shape), protein-to- Center for Biomolecular protein recognition, and protein-to-DNA recognition (the speci c Structure & Assembly binding between proteins and a DNA molecule). Dr. Levy’s e ort to Fondation Fernande et Jean understand how biological molecules communicate to generate a Gaj He is the incumbent of the cellular function has long-term implications for combating medical Lillian & George Lyttle Career conditions such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Development Chair and cancer.
Dr. Ron Milo Education Ron Milo completed his B.Sc. in physics and mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1996), and an M.Sc. electrical engineering at Tel Aviv University in 1999. He earned a Ph.D. in biological physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2005. Dr. Milo conducted postdoctoral research at the Weizmann Institute and as a fellow in systems biology at Harvard Medical School. He joined the Department of Plant Sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2008.
Research eld Dr. Ron Milo brings the tools and approaches employed in systems biology to bear on such challenges as the sustainability of plant and biofuel production. He studies the e ciency of photosynthesis to gain insight into the constraints that shape its properties and the limitations on the maximal productivity in plants and other photosynthetic organisms. His early work identi ed “network motifs,” simple building blocks that enable analysis of complex biological networks. He has also studied the dynamics of protein levels at the single cell level, and helped develop technology to measure the variability and temporal memory of proteins in human cells.
7 Dr. Alexander Milov Education Alexander Milov was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and raised in Novosibirsk, Russia. He earned an M.Sc. at Novosibirsk State University in 1991, and worked in the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics from 1987 until making aliyah in 1996. He completed a Ph.D. in particle physics at the Weizmann Institute in 2002. He began his postdoctoral work as a Research Associate in the Heavy Ion Group at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, State University of New York at Stony Brook from 2002 though 2005. He then joined the BNL-PHENIX Group in the Department of Physics at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Dr. Milov joined the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Particle Physics in 2008.
Research eld In his Ph.D. work at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Dr. Alexander Milov began to develop unconventional new ways for analyzing the global characteristics of high energy particle collisions, such as particle multiplicity and the energy they carry. His ideas for this new kind of analysis were readily adopted by many of his collaborators, and will enable scientists to measure the signal produced by some rare resonances not considered to be measurable by the PHENIX experiment.
Dr. Dror Noy Education Dror Noy earned a B.Sc. in chemistry at Tel Aviv University in 1992. He earned an M.Sc. (1995) and a Ph.D. in chemistry in 2000, both at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Dr. Noy studied under Prof. Avigdor Scherz, whose pioneering work in chlorophylls and chlorophyll derivatives laid the groundwork for the new eld of vascular targeting photodynamic therapy. Dr. Noy worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the University of Pennsylvania Biochemistry and Biophysics Dr. Noy’s research is Department from 2000-2004. He returned to Israel in 2004, worked supported by: as a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Irit Sagi in the Department of Chais Family Fellows Program Structural Biology at the Weizmann Institute, and joined the Plant for New Scientists Sciences Department in 2007. Koret Foundation Estate of Wilhelm and Ruth Research eld Berler, Belgium Estate of Louise G. Perlmuter, Dr. Dror Noy is fascinated with photosynthesis, the complex Brookline, MA biochemical reaction that is the basis for all biological energy. Mr. Ilan Gluzman, Secaucus, NJ He has spent his research career learning how it works, and Dr. and Mrs. Robert Zaitlin, Los how to disassemble and begin to reassemble the basic building Angeles, CA blocks of photosynthesizing protein complexes. He sees natural photosynthesizing proteins as the ultimate catalysts and the perfect models for new tools for harvesting light energy from the sun.
8 Dr. Dan Oron Education Dan Oron earned his B.Sc. degree in physics and mathematics at the Hebrew University in the IDF’s Talpiot program (1994). After completing an M.Sc. at Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba (1998), Oron worked as a scientist in the Physics Department of the Negev Nuclear Research Center from 1994 until 2000. He completed a Ph.D. in physics at the Weizmann Institute in 2005 under Prof. Yaron Silberberg. They have collaborated on numerous papers in Dr. Oron’s research is the new eld of ultrafast optics. After postdoctoral research at the supported by the A.M.N. Fund Hebrew University, he joined the Institute’s Department of Physics of for the Promotion of Science, Complex Systems in 2007. Culture and Arts in Israel
Research eld By bending and shaping beams of laser light, and then refocusing their harmonic waves so that they come together at various depths, Dr. Dan Oron and his colleagues are able to create in-depth pictures of microscopic samples much faster than with traditional scanning techniques. Due to their novel optical properties, nanocrystals promise to dramatically improve the resolution of optical microscopes. Moreover, these inorganic crystals are more stable than conventional organic dyes currently used as markers for biological molecules that need to be traced. Other potential applications of Dr. Oron’s research include the development of advanced laser technologies, optical ampli ers and highly e cient solar cells made of materials that e ectively convert sunlight into electricity.
Dr. Roee Ozeri Education Roee Ozeri earned a B.Sc. in physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1994. He went on to earn his M. Sc. (1998) and Ph.D. (2003) degrees in physics from the Weizmann Institute, working with Prof. Nir Davidson in the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Physics of Complex Systems to design and build sophisticated devices to trap and measure ions and their quantum properties. Dr. Ozeri conducted his postdoctoral research in quantum information Dr. Ozeri’s research is processing at the Time and Frequency Division, National Institute supported by the Chais Family of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado. He joined the Fellows Program for New Institute’s Department of Physics of Complex Systems in 2007. Scientists
Research eld To trap an ion and observe its quantum information, such as its spin, Dr. Roee Ozeri chills and slows atoms down to ultra-cold temperatures near absolute zero (0° K) using laser-driven cooling devices, and then isolates them in the electro-magnetic equivalent of a vacuum. This enables Dr. Ozeri and other researchers to measure and manipulate the ion’s quantum state. Quantum physicists like Dr. Ozeri are con dent that the next generation of computers will be based on quantum bits, where the quantum state of an atom can be “read” as spinning one way, the opposite way, or “both,” since such contradictions are possible in the world of quantum physics.
9 Dr. Rony Paz Education Rony Paz received his higher education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem: a B.Sc. in mathematics and a B.A. in philosophy magna cum laude in 1997; an M.Sc. in 1999, and a Ph.D. summa cum laude in 2004, both in computational neuroscience. He also studied at the Marine Biological Laboratories in Woods Hole, MA, and conducted postdoctoral research at Rutgers University, NJ. The recipient of a number of honors, including a Fulbright Fellowship, he served as Dr. Paz’s research is an instructor in physiology in the Medical Faculty of the Hebrew supported by: University, and worked in the Research and Development Division Nella and Leon Benoziyo at Amdocs (Israel) Ltd. and NetCustomize (Israel) Ltd. He joined the Center for Neurological Weizmann’s Institute’s Neurobiology Department in 2007. Diseases Estelle Funk Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Gary Le , Research eld Calabasas, CA Dr. Rony Paz combines computational and physiological approaches Ms. Lois Rosen, Los Angeles, CA to brain studies. He explores the brain mechanisms that underlie Mr. and Mrs. Louis Rosenmayer, learning and memory formation, focusing on the interactions Beverly Hills, CA between rational decision making and emotional and motivational Estate of Paul Ourie contexts. Candice Appleton Family Trust
Dr. Gilad Perez Education Gilad Perez completed a B.Sc. in physics at Bar-Ilan University, and completed his M.Sc. (1999) and Ph.D. in theoretical high energy physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2003. Dr. Perez conducted postdoctoral research at the Lawrence-Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley, and served as an assistant professor at the C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He also held visiting professorships at Boston University and Harvard University in 2007. He joined the Department of Particle Physics at the Weizmann Institute in 2008.
Research eld As a theoretical physicist, Dr. Gilad Perez works on a wide variety of topics in high energy particle physics and cosmology. He developed theoretical tools to help understanding physics beyond the Standard Model, such as a universe without “weak force” interactions. When the Large Hadron Collider starts producing new data about particles at CERN, Dr. Perez will have a number of theories and predictions for the experimental physicists to test about the nature of quarks, neutrinos, and the elusive “dark matter” that are part of the current Standard Model.
10 Dr. Boris Rybtchinski Education Boris Rybtchinski received his B.Sc. from Kiev State University in 1992. He received his M.Sc. in 1996, and his Ph.D. in 2002 at the Weizmann Institute, where he was awarded the school’s Kennedy Prize for excellence. He conducted postdoctoral research as a fellow at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He joined the Institute’s Department of Organic Chemistry in 2005. Dr. Rybtchinski’s research is supported by: Research eld Helen and Martin Kimmel Drawing inspiration from nature, where self-assembling molecular Center for Molecular Design structures (such as enzymes) carry out elaborate functions, Dr. Boris Robert Rees Applied Research Rybtchinski investigates the creation of molecular assemblies and Fund Sir Harry Djanogly, CBE, UK devices that can be precision-built to order, with unique, speci c, Mr. and Mrs. Yossie Hollander, and desired functions, and that can made to “self-assemble.” He Israel aims to produce such systems for more e cient conversion of solar Mr. and Mrs. Larry Taylor, Los energy and the development of arti cial enzymes. Angeles, CA He is the incumbent of the Abraham and Jennie Fialkow Career Development Chair
Dr. Oren Schuldiner Education Oren Schuldiner graduated cum laude with a B.Sc. in biology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1995), where he also completed an M.Sc. (1997) and a Ph.D. in genetics (2002). He worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University, using molecular genetics to study the logic of neural circuit organization and assembly in the textbook genetic model – the Drosophila (fruit y). He joined the Institute’s Department Dr. Schuldiner’s of Molecular Cell Biology in 2008. research is supported by the Adelis Foundation Research eld Dr. Oren Schuldiner plans to identify more of the genes involved in nerve axonal pruning. During his postdoctoral work, Dr. Schuldiner identi ed several of these genes using genetic screening techniques. He hopes to arrive at a holistic understanding of the very precise neuronal pruning process: its role in cell-to-cell interactions; in the biochemical signaling within and between cells; in the transport of various biochemical “cargo” between cells; and to learn how nerve cells organize themselves into such precise networks using this pruning as part of the process.
11 Dr. Maya Schuldiner Education Maya Schuldiner graduated magna cum laude with a B.Sc. in biology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1998. She went on to complete both her M.Sc. (1999) and Ph.D. in genetics (2003) there. Dr. Schuldiner conducted research as a postdoctoral fellow at the Quantitative Biology Institute at the University of California, San Francisco. She joined the Department of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute in 2008.
Research eld Dr. Maya Schuldiner is fascinated by the cell’s largest organelle, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). A dysfunctional or over-functional ER had been shown to contribute to the progression of many conditions such as heart disease, neurodegeneration, and diabetes, and to a ect the development of dedicated secretory cells such as plasma cells, insulin-secreting cells, and liver cells. Therefore, understanding how the ER ensures the accurate reproduction of its complex biochemistry is of major importance in understanding the progression of such diseases, and in considering potential therapies for them.
Dr. Eran Segal Education Eran Segal completed a B.Sc. in computer science at Tel Aviv University in1998, and went on to earn a Ph.D. in computer science at Stanford University. He also studied genetics at Stanford, where he began to explore how probabilistic models can answer biological questions. After leaving Stanford in 2004, Segal spent a year as a postdoctoral Fellow at Rockefeller University. He returned to Israel in 2005 and joined the Department of Computer Science and Applied Dr. Segal’s research is Mathematics at the Weizmann Institute. supported by: Willner Family Leadership Research eld Institute for the Weizmann Dr. Eran Segal develops computational models aimed at Institute of Science understanding how various molecular components interact within Abisch-Frenkel Foundation for the Promotion of Life Sciences the cell to perform such sophisticated functions as the organism’s Chais Family Fellows Program development. These models allow scientists to make sense of the for New Scientists vast amounts of information that have recently become available Hana and Julius Rosen Fund about the structure and activity of various genes. His goal is to reveal Arie and Ida Crown Memorial the underlying principles that control cellular processes. Since errors Charitable Fund in these control mechanisms are involved in many diseases, including Estelle Funk Foundation cancer, this research may also lead to an improved understanding of Cecil & Hilda Lewis Charitable Trust a variety of disorders. He is the incumbent of the Soretta and Henry Shapiro Career Development Chair
12 Dr. Michal Sharon Education Michal Sharon earned a B.Sc. cum laude at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1996) and a Ph.D. in the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Structural Biology in 2003, working on uncovering the mechanism of selectivity of di erent biological variants of HIV-1 using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). She conducted her postdoctoral research at University of Cambridge, UK, where, in 2006, she was elected Research Fellow at Clare Hall College. She joined the Department of Dr. Sharon’s research is Biological Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute in 2007. supported by: Y. Leon Benoziyo Institute for Research eld Molecular Medicine Dr. Michal Sharon uses novel techniques in mass spectrometry to Helen & Milton A. Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular examine large protein complexes in the cell, such as the proteasome, Structure & Assembly which is involved in the cell’s waste disposal system. Proteins to be Chais Family Fellows Program for broken down are tagged with a molecule called ubiquitin, and then New Scientists fed into the proteasome where they are recognized by their tags, Wolfson Family Charitable Trust chopped into small pieces and recycled. Over 80% of the proteins Ms. Karen Siem, UK in the cell are degraded via the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Estate of Shlomo (Stanislav) & Examples of processes governed by ubiquitin-mediated protein Sabine Bierzwinsky She is the incumbent of degradation are cell division, DNA repair, quality control of newly the Elaine Blond Career produced proteins, and important parts of the immune defense. Development Chair in Perpetuity
Dr. Yoav Soen Education Yoav Soen received a B.Sc. in electrical engineering (1992), an M.Sc. in theoretical physics (1996), and a Ph.D. in physics-biophysics at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa (2000), where he also conducted postdoctoral research in nanotechnology. He was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford from 2001-2006. He joined the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Biological Chemistry in 2006. Dr. Soen’s research is supported by: Research eld Kahn Family Research Center Dr. Yoav Soen combines genomics, proteomics, and ow cytometry for Systems Biology of the tools with di erentiation models of human embryonic stem cells Human Cell (hESCs) to explore the hierarchy and the molecular mechanisms Helen and Martin Kimmel Institute for Stem Cell Research underlying their early di erentiation. He anticipates that this e ort Ruth and Herman Albert could promote better understanding of mechanisms underlying Scholars Program for New early human development and lead to dramatic progress in de ning Scientists and characterizing unmarked, therapeutically relevant cells derived Sir Harry Djanogly, CBE, UK from human embryonic stem cells. Wolfson Family Charitable Trust He is the incumbent of the Daniel E. Koshland Sr. Career Development Chair
13 Dr. Rotem Sorek Education Rotem Sorek completed his B.Sc. summa cum laude in life sciences at Tel Aviv University in 2000. While working at Compugen, Ltd., a leading Israeli biotechnical rm, he completed an M.Sc. summa cum laude in molecular evolution in 2002, and a Ph.D. in human genetics, with distinction, in 2006, also at Tel Aviv University. Starting in 2006, Dr. Sorek conducted his postdoctoral research in the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab at Berkeley, CA. He joined the Department of Dr. Sorek’s research is Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute in 2008. supported by the Sir Charles Clore Research Prize Research eld Dr. Rotem Sorek is interested in harnessing the power of modern genomics and large scale DNA sequencing toward solving pressing biomedical and biotechnological needs, such as drug resistance among bacteria. He has invented a computational method that discovers hundreds of “peptide antibiotics,” proteins that can kill bacteria, which are naturally produced by microorganisms. Dr. Sorek’s method nds these killer proteins directly in the genomes of the producing organisms, and may lead to the development of new antibiotics.
Dr. Amos Tanay Education Amos Tanay received his B.Sc. (1996) magna cum laude, M.Sc. summa cum laude in pure mathematics (2001), and Ph.D. in computer science in 2005, all from Tel Aviv University. After spending two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Studies in Physics and Biology at Rockefeller University in New York, he joined the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics in 2007. Dr.Tanay’s research is supported by the Asher and Research eld Jeannette Alhade Research Cells regulate the activity of their genomes by turning genes on Award and o according to a complex script. Dr. Amos Tanay combines mathematics with experimental data to study the mechanics and evolution of how this genetic script is written, and how it is followed in the subsequent acts of DNA transcription and copying. He is applying this evolutionary modeling to the study of genome regulation and deregulation, with a particular interest in cancer.
14 Dr. Nachum Ulanovsky Education Born in Moscow, Nachum Ulanovsky made aliyah to Israel as a baby. He received his B.Sc. magna cum laude in physics at Tel Aviv University (1992), served for ve years in the IDF, and, in parallel, continued his graduate studies in biology (focusing on neuroscience and molecular biology) at the Weizmann Institute of Science and at Tel Aviv University. In 2004, he completed his Ph.D. degree in neuroscience and neural computation summa cum laude at the Hebrew University Dr. Ulanovsky’s research of Jerusalem. From 2004-2007, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the is supported by: Department of Psychology and Institute for Systems Research at A.M.N. Fund for the Promotion the University of Maryland, USA. He joined the Weizmann Institute’s of Science, Culture and Arts in Israel Department of Neurobiology in 2007. Chais Family Fellows Program for New Scientists Research eld Dr. Nachum Ulanovsky is interested in the relation between brain activity and behavior, and nds the echo-locating, visually adept fruit bat a perfect subject for studying how the brain reacts to both spatial and episodic information. He has concentrated his research on the neural activity in the hippocampus, a brain region that is crucial for episodic and spatial memory in animals and humans.
Dr. Karina Yaniv Education Karina Yaniv completed her B.Sc. in chemistry and biology (1994) and an M.Sc. in biological chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She completed her Ph.D. in developmental biology at the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical School (2004). She conducted her postdoctoral research at the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics at the (US) National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, where she was supported by an EMBO fellowship, and won the prestigious Werner-Risau-Prize in 2007. She will join the Institute’s Department of Biological Regulation in 2009.
Research eld Dr. Karina Yaniv studies the lymphatic system, which is essential for immune responses, uid homeostasis, and fat absorption, and is involved in many pathological processes, including tumor metastasis. Using zebra sh as a model organism, combined with highly sophisticated microscopy techniques, she was able to observe the formation of the lymphatic vessel system during embryonic development, and provide evidence for the hypothesis that lymphatic vessels develop in a similar manner to blood vessels.
15 Dr. Edit M. Yerushalmi Education Edit Yerushalmi received her B.Sc. in physics cum laude from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, where she completed her M.Sc. studies on the subject of surface tension of solid-liquid Helium 4 interfaces. She earned her Ph.D. in 2001 in the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Science Teaching. She went on to conduct postdoctoral research in physics education at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. In 2001, she returned to the Weizmann Institute, as a postdoctoral fellow, and became a senior scientist in the Physics Group in the Department of Science Teaching in 2007.
Research eld Dr. Edit Yerushalmi is involved in curricular development, professional development, and research that focuses on developing learning skills in the context of problem solving in high school physics. Her Physics Group runs a National Teacher Center responsible for coordinating the professional development of physics teachers throughout Israel. The Center hosts an internet site for teachers and develops innovative methods for professional development through the internet.
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