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For his Research Proposal: Biophysical and Medical Applications of ESR Microscopy Carried out together with Prof. Periannan Kappusamy, Ohio State University Medical Center
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2006 Bergmann Memorial Award to Dr. Aharon Blank, Department of Chemistry, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa |
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Dr. Blank received his B.Sc. in Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry from the Hebrew University, M.Sc.in Electrical Engineering from the Tel-Aviv University, and Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the Hebrew University. He served in the Israeli Air Force for six years while continuing his studies. He spent several years as a Chief Scientist of TopSpin, an Israeli start-up company developing intravascular MRI techniques. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Cornell University from 2002 to 2005.
Dr. Blank pointed out how he was particularly moved at being given this Award since his own father had worked as a chemist with Prof. Bergmann. He also thanked his Ph.D. Supervisor Prof. Haim Levanon, who was present at the Dinner. An indication of the importance of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technique is “that seven Nobel Prizes have been awarded in this field,” said Dr. Blank. He claimed that MRI for medical applications suffers from two major problems: the large sample size required and the expense. In his BSF project, together with Prof. Kappusamy, he is developing the similar ESR (electron-spin resonance) technique that works on miniature samples, and provides information that is not available by any other methods.
Dr. Blank speaking at this year’s BSF Dinner |
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The Neufeld Memorial Award
Prof. Henry Neufeld was a cardiologist and researcher of international repute. He served as Chief Scientist of the Israel Ministry of Health and was Founder and Director of the Cardiac Clinic at the Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer. He was also Chairman of the BSF Board three times and served as a Board Member from its foundation until his death in 1986. He showed particular interest in helping young scientists make their way, and in promoting interdisciplinary ventures at the cutting edge of scientific research. To honor his memory, the BSF established the Neufeld Memorial Research Award 20 years ago, which is given annually for the most outstanding and original project in the Health Sciences.
2006 Neufeld Memorial Award to Dr. Ronit Sharon, Department of Biochemistry and Human Genetics, the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School and Prof. Dennis Selkoe, Center for Neurological Diseases, Harvard Medical School, and Brigham and Women's Hospital
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Dr. Sharon speaking at this year’s BSF Dinner |
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Dr. Sharon, the initiator in this BSF project, completed her B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Genetics at the Hebrew University, and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the Weizmann Institute. She then spent many years carrying out Post-Doctoral research with Prof. Selkoe's group at the Harvard Medical School (HMS). On her return to Israel, she established her own laboratory at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School.
Prof. Selkoe, one of the world’s leading experts on neurodegenerative diseases (NDD), received his B.Sc. degree from Colombia University, and M.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 1969. In 2000, he was appointed as the Vincent and Stella Coates Professor in Neurology at the HMS, where he has been for the past 32 years. His laboratory developed a pioneering method to isolate the abnormal tangles of nerves, which characterize AD (Alzheimer's Disease). He also works as a neurologist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. He was high on the list of the 'Best Brains of the Brain Decade (1989-1998)' for writing some of the most cited articles on Neuroscience, and has received many other prestigious honors and awards. Dr. Sharon’s research project, carried out in cooperation with Prof. Selkoe, aims to find out how Lewy bodies, which characterize Parkinson's Disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) related to aging of the mammalian brain, are formed. They are particularly interested in the role played by PUFA (which is found in rich fish oil, for example). Their research project is described more fully as one of the featured projects in Focus: Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases |
