Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
WEIZM
ANN
INSTITUTE O
F SCIENCE
IntroducingNew Scientists2018-2019
Introducing New Scientists 2018-2019
5 INTRODUCTION
Hiringthebestandbrightest
6 DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND APPLIED MATHEMATICS
Dr.AmirAbboud SolvingcomplexproblemsfromAtoZ
8 DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE TEACHING
Dr.GioraAlexandron Personalizedscienceeducation
10 DEPARTMENT OF MOLECULAR GENETICS
Dr.YaronAntebi Learningthelanguageofcells
12 DEPARTMENT OF BIOMOLECULAR SCIENCES
Dr.NaamaKanarek Eradicatingsideeffectsofcancertreatment
14 DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES
Dr.YaelKiro Keepingourwaterplentifulandclean
16 SCIENTIFIC ARCHAEOLOGY UNIT Dr.FilipeNatalio Materialsoftheearth
18 DEPARTMENT OF MATERIALS AND INTERFACES
Dr.SivanRefaely-Abramson Harvestingharmoniousenergy
20 DEPARTMENT OF CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
Dr.SergeRosenblum Quickercomputerswithqubits
22 DEPARTMENT OF NEUROBIOLOGY
Dr.RitaSchmidt Zoominginonthebrain
Introducing New Scientists 2018-2019 is published by
the Department of Resource Development
at the Weizmann Institute of Science
P.O. Box 26, Rehovot, Israel 76100
Tel: 972 8 934 4582
e-mail: [email protected]
Design and production: Dina Shoham Design
Photography: Itai Belson and Ohad Herches
of the Weizmann Institute Photo Lab
Joshua Touster
5
track students’ knowledge, while our
newest biomolecular scientist is working
on a solution to chemotherapy resistance.
We also welcome a young computer
scientist shedding new light on complexity
theory; an organic chemist probing the
catalytic processes that support life; and a
computational scientist focused on energy-
efficient materials.
Together, this exceptional new group of
up-and-coming scientists brings energy,
diversity, and a world of new ideas to our
Institute.
As always, I’m very proud that
these individuals have chosen to join
the Weizmann Institute, and I am
certain that you will enjoy reading
about their innovative ideas and early
accomplishments in their respective
research areas.
Sincerely,
Prof. Daniel Zajfman
President, Weizmann Institute of Science
INTRODUCTION
Hiring the best and brightestDear Friends,
Recruiting bright young scientists is
vital to the health and renewal of the
Weizmann Institute of Science. This
booklet will introduce you to 13 exceptional
investigators who have recently signed
on with our faculty. They join an institute
that is consistently at the top in attaining
research grants: Weizmann scientists
receive the most European Research
Council grants per capita, compared to
other institutions in the EU. Our research
is truly advancing science for the benefit
of all humanity.
Apart from their curiosity, talent,
and brilliance in their chosen fields, no
two of these new scientists are alike
in their research interests. We have a
mathematician who works both in physics
and quantum theory, and an archaeologist
with patents for new materials—from
marine paint to fluorescent cotton. Also
joining us is a scientist with a PhD in
physics and mathematics who is breaking
new ground in molecular genetics, and a
structural biologist who has discovered
new drugs that could potentially
combat parasitic infection. We have also
recruited a geochemist who can read
the environmental record preserved in
groundwater, sediments, and rocks, along
with a condensed matter physicist working
on the building blocks needed to create
quantum computing.
We hired a particle physicist who is on
the hunt for the graviton—a hypothetical
massive particle that might explain
gravity, and a neurobiologist developing
next-generation magnetic resonance
technology for brain imaging. Our
newest science education specialist is
developing algorithmic approaches to
24 DEPARTMENT OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Dr.SergeySemenov Sustaininglife,organically
26 DEPARTMENT OF STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
Dr.MoranShalev-Benami Molecularstorytellers
28 DEPARTMENT OF PARTICLE PHYSICS AND ASTROPHYSICS
Dr.NoamTalHod Stretchingourunderstandingoftheuniverse
30 DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
Dr.RanTessler Thenewhybridmathematician
32 Newscientistfundsandgifts
7
DR. AMIR ABBOUD DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND APPLIED MATHEMATICS
This “complexity theory” took the form of a kind of alphabet soup: problems that could be solved by a reasonably fast program—like multiplication, or the alphabetizing of a list of names—were denoted by the letter “P”. Further up the complexity ladder was “NP”—problems that might not be solvable, but could be verified in a reasonable amount of time when a potential solution was provided.
As complexity theory advanced, it became clear that many NP challenges were actually variations on the same problem; this was good news, because solving one would clear the path for solving all of the others. But bad news as well, because this subset of similar NP problems—categorized under the new moniker “NP complete”—was still unsolvable by known programming methods. And this was just the tip of the complexity iceberg. Soon, a new set of challenges was identified, distinguished by being “at least as hard as” NP complete problems. This new category was named “NP hard.”
Solving complex problems from A to ZBack in the 1970s, when programming pioneers were still figuring out how to use their oversized computers, theorists developed a system for categorizing computer science problems based on how fast they could be solved.
This is where the work of Dr. Amir Abboud comes in. Building on the theory that underlies NP hardness—the property shared by a subset of those problems that cannot necessarily be solved by computers— Dr. Abboud set about defining “hardness” as it applies to P: those problems that can be solved with a reasonable amount of efficiency.
Located at the intersection of complexity theory and algorithm science, Dr. Abboud’s research uses a rigorous, theory-based approach to examine and improve the way algorithm designers tackle real-life computational problems.
“During my doctoral work, I was surprised to realize that this valuable and obvious agenda had been largely overlooked by the theory community,” says Dr. Abboud. “Since then, things have changed—today, ‘hardness in P’ is being studied by dozens of research groups around the world.”
While there is still much work to do, he says, this theoretical approach is important enough—and simple enough—to be incorporated into mainstream computer science education for undergraduates.
“As computer scientists, finding the best path forward is sometimes a process of elimination,” he says. “The overall goal of my research is to help computer science move forward by providing hard evidence about the problems that can—and cannot—be solved.”
Dr.Amir Abboud
A native of Haifa, Dr. Amir Abboud was just 12 years old when he began studying
mathematics at The Open University of Israel, and 15 when he entered the University
of Haifa, where he earned his BSc, summa cum laude, in computer science in 2010.
He completed his MSc (2012) summa cum laude at the Technion—Israel Institute of
Technology and his PhD (2018) at Stanford University, both in computer science as
well. Since finishing his doctorate, Dr. Abboud has been employed by IBM Research’s
Almaden Lab in San Jose, California, where he has been examining the computational
complexity of fundamental computer science problems.
Dr. Abboud has earned awards for excellence throughout his academic career and
has held visiting researcher appointments at MIT, the Simons Institute at UC Berkeley,
and the University of Haifa. An invited speaker at professional conferences around the
world, Dr. Abboud serves on the program committee of various gatherings, including
the Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science, the International Colloquium
on Automata, Languages and Programming, and the Symposium on Discrete
Algorithms—conferences at which his submissions became the top-cited papers.
He is fluent in Arabic, Hebrew, and English. He is an avid soccer fan and a former
member of Maccabi Haifa’s junior team.
9
DR. GIORA ALEXANDRON DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE TEACHING
Dr. Alexandron’s work draws on learning theory, artificial intelligence, data mining, and human-computer interaction, as well as the cognitive and behavioral sciences, in order to build better online content and more effective digital learning environments. Seeking to improve computer-based instruction while lowering its cost, Dr. Alexandron’s methods can be applied to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) attended virtually by an unlimited number of students, as well as to mixed online-offline settings like K-12 classrooms.
He is developing algorithmic approaches to track students’ knowledge based on their digital footprint. Such “smart” tracking enables a system to generate real-time recommendations for personalized learning activities, based on students’ level of understanding as well as teacher-defined goals. Similar algorithms provide feedback to content developers, allowing them to optimize the course design.
Dr. Alexandron recently collaborated on a computational approach for detecting and preventing large-scale
Personalized science educationCan data mining and artificial intelligence techniques—which have been so profitable for the business world—make a positive contribution to the world of education? According to Dr. Giora Alexandron, the answer is yes.
cheating in MOOCs. While most people who sign up for MOOCs usually do so in good faith, Dr. Alexandron and his colleagues discovered that a significant number of users hack the system, use fake accounts to harvest correct answers, and then submit them for credit. By combining data mining and intervention in course design, their research demonstrated how such cheating can be reduced.
Dr. Alexandron is also promoting computer science education. He recently developed a pilot course that was shown to improve high school students’ understanding of fundamental computer science concepts.
An industry veteran who has been associated with a number of start-up companies, Dr. Alexandron served as a leader of Green Course, a student-run environmental organization, during his PhD studies at the Institute. Together with scientists, dieticians, and public health experts, he helped establish the Israeli Forum for Sustainable Nutrition, a think tank for developing sustainable food policies.
In his new position in the Department of Science Teaching, he is looking forward to further collaborations. “The meeting point between science education, data science, and artificial intelligence is filled with people who, together, are creating a better model for the effective transmission of knowledge,” he says. “By developing the next generation of learning technologies, we can help the next generation of students to succeed.”
Dr.Giora Alexandron Dr. Giora Alexandron joined the Department of Science Teaching in
November 2017 after working as the Principal Data Scientist of the Center
for Educational Technology in Tel Aviv. Prior to that, he was a postdoctoral
researcher in the Physics Department at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology. He holds a PhD in computer science education from the
Weizmann Institute of Science (2014), an MSc in computer science from
Tel Aviv University (2005), and a BA in computer science from the
Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo (2001).
His academic honors include a Feinberg distinction award for PhD studies
at the Institute in 2015, a two-year PhD fellowship grant from the Azrieli
Foundation from 2012 to 2014, and the Award of Excellence in MSc studies
from the School of Computer Science at Tel Aviv University in 2005. He
serves on the program committee of several international conferences in
the fields of educational data mining and learning technologies.
Dr. Alexandron is married and has two daughters. He was born and raised
on a kibbutz in the Upper Galilee.
11
DR. YARON ANTEBI DEPARTMENT OF MOLECULAR GENETICS
Just as humans use letters to create messages, cells release molecules called ligands to send information to their neighbors. These ligands bind to receptors on the surface of other cells, which interpret the messages and trigger the appropriate response. Under traditional models of cellular communications, each ligand was thought to serve as key to opening a specific receptor lock.
But scientists have found that it is not that simple: all of the different ligands appear to interact with all of the different receptors. In this way, communication between cells is like a conversation in a crowded room with everyone talking
Learning the language of cellsWhile studying physics at the Weizmann Institute, Dr. Yaron Antebi became captivated by exciting developments in biology. Radically changing direction toward the end of his graduate work, he began to apply his understanding of string theory and physics to the challenges of deciphering how cells communicate.
at once. This seems to contradict the possibility of individual cells properly interpreting and responding to specific signals.
Dr. Antebi did not set out to study intercellular communications. His first loves were mathematics and high-energy theoretical physics, and during his PhD work with Profs. Ofer Aharony and Micha Berkooz in the Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics at the Weizmann Institute, he was drawn to the study of string theory and supersymmetry.
Then he changed tracks to biology, and in Prof. Nir Friedman’s lab in the Department of Immunology sought to understand how conflicting signals are processed by the body’s T-cells. He also collaborated with Prof. Uri Alon in the Department of Molecular Cell Biology and contributed new insights into the study of the control circuits governing cell population levels. Dr. Antebi then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech, combining experimental biology with the mathematical modeling learned in his physics training.
His research led him to the surprising conclusion that cells aren’t “listening” to individual ligands, but rather to combinations of ligands, and that different cell types can interpret the same set of signals in different ways. This view is a radical departure from the conventional understanding of how cells communicate with each other. In his new lab in the Department of Molecular Genetics, Dr. Antebi hopes to advance his understanding of how information is communicated through signaling molecules and their receptors.
Dr.Yaron Antebi After studying for a year at MIT in 1995-1996, Dr. Yaron Antebi
completed a BSc in physics and mathematics magna cum laude
at Tel Aviv University in 1998. He completed a PhD in theoretical
high-energy physics at the Weizmann Institute under Profs. Ofer
Aharony and Micha Berkooz in the Department of Particle Physics
and Astrophysics in 2008. Dr. Antebi then spent two years studying
biology as a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Nir Friedman’s lab in the
Department of Immunology. From 2010 until joining the Institute’s
Department of Molecular Genetics in 2018, Dr. Antebi conducted
research as a postdoctoral fellow in biology and biological
engineering at the California Institute of Technology.
Dr. Antebi is a frequently invited speaker at conferences on
everything from string theory, to gene circuit design, to systems
biology and immunology. His awards and honors include a physics
department prize at Tel Aviv University in 1996, an Amos de Shalit
Foundation Scholarship in 1997, and the BSc Award of Excellenc at
Tel Aviv University in 1998.
13
DR. NAAMA KANAREK DEPARTMENT OF BIOMOLECULAR SCIENCES
Eradicating side effects of cancer treatment
Dr.Naama Kanarek A native of Jerusalem, Dr. Naama Kanarek trained at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, where she earned a BSc in medical science (2004), an MSc in proteomics
and microbiology (2008), and—in studies that included a year at Columbia University
Medical Center in New York—a PhD in immunology and cancer research (2012).
Her postdoctoral research (2012–2018) was performed under the supervision of
Prof. David Sabatini at MIT’s Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.
Dr. Kanarek is the recipient of a number of awards and honors, including the
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society New Idea Award (2017), the Hebrew University
women in science postdoctoral award (2014), the Weizmann Institute’s Israel National
Postdoctoral Award for Advancing Women in Science and a Revson Fellow of that
program (2012), and the James Sivartsen Prize in Pediatric Cancer Research (2010).
Her postdoctoral work was supported by fellowships from the American Association
for Cancer Research (2016) and the European Molecular Biology Organization (2012).
During her postdoc, Dr. Kanarek established No Empty Bedsides
(www.noemptybedsides.com), a charitable organization that works in direct
partnership with Mass General Hospital for Children to find solutions for parents
who, for personal or financial reasons, have difficulty remaining in hospital while
their children undergo medical treatment.
Dr. Naama Kanarek has long been fascinated by the unwanted side effects of cancer therapy. As a doctoral student, she discovered a molecular interaction involved in the onset of mucositis— a painful inflammation associated with cancer radiation treatment. Her findings, published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, may
lead to new treatments for radiation-related damage.
As a postdoc, Dr. Kanarek studied the damaging side effects of methotrexate-based chemotherapy. Using the genome editing system known as CRISPR, she discovered why some patients have a stronger reaction to this drug than others.
Almost 70 years ago, Dr. Sidney Farber—after whom the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston is named—created the world’s first chemotherapy drug: methotrexate. Still used today, this drug is powerful yet problematic. As it attacks cancer cells, methotrexate also inflicts significant damage on healthy tissues.
At the time, it was already known that methotrexate inhibits the production of folate, a B vitamin that helps make and repair DNA, and is also involved in cancer proliferation. But Dr. Kanarek’s research, published in Nature, revealed another influential factor: an enzyme called FTCD.
The job of FTCD is to degrade an amino acid known as histidine. To complete this task, the FTCD enzyme gobbles up folate—the very same metabolite targeted by Dr. Farber’s chemotherapy drug. Dr. Kanarek suspected that, if methotrexate were administered alongside an additional “shot” of histidine, FTCD activity would kick into high gear, reducing folate levels still further—something that would allow chemotherapy to be clinically effective at lower doses. In fact, this is precisely what Dr. Kanarek and her colleagues observed in a mouse model of leukemia, and the implications were huge.
“By creating a ‘cocktail’ comprising both methotrexate and histidine—an amino acid found in almost everything we eat—it may be possible to lower the clinical dosage of methotrexate. This would provide a natural, metabolic strategy for reducing chemotherapy’s damaging side effects,” Dr. Kanarek says.
Her research may also help doctors determine which cancer patients would derive the greatest benefits from methotrexate treatment, and which of them would be non-responders, allowing doctors to steer the latter away from painful and ineffective therapy.
“The goal of oncology is to kill the cancer, not the patient,” Dr. Kanarek says. “With modern genetic techniques, we can reach a better understanding of how the world’s first chemotherapy drug works, and make it work better. It’s a win-win situation.”
15
DR. YAEL KIRO DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES
Dr. Yael Kiro is a geochemist who uses chemical clues to read the environmental record preserved in groundwater, sediments, and rocks in order to answer these kinds of questions.
As a PhD student, Dr. Kiro developed a new concept for using radioactive isotopes to estimate the age of groundwater systems and to track the circulation of water in aquifers deep underground.
Geologists and geochemists like Dr. Kiro can also read layers of sedimentary rock like a book that reveals hundreds of thousands of years of history. Using 1,500 feet of core samples from the bottom of the Dead Sea, Dr. Kiro co-led an international study that showed evidence of two “mega” droughts: one that began approximately 120,000 years ago, when average global temperatures rose about
Keeping our water plentiful and cleanGroundwater is a precious resource for humankind and presents a fascinating challenge for scientists. How much is there? How salty is it? What kinds of minerals and pollutants are present? How long does it take to circulate and recharge? These are all vital questions for a world dependent on water, and especially for the Middle East, where fresh water is scarce.
four degrees Fahrenheit, and another from about 10,000 years ago, following the last ice age. With water levels in the Dead Sea dropping since the 1960s, at a rate of more than one meter per year in the past few decades, and rainfall down about 10 percent on average, her research suggests that the region could be headed for another severe dry spell.
In the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Dr. Kiro will be expanding her research to study the circulation of seawater and groundwater in aquifers beneath the coastline of Israel and the Mediterranean, and compare these findings to other coasts around the world. About half of the world’s population lives in coastal regions and relies in part on groundwater from coastal aquifers. The interface between land and sea, and the interaction between groundwater and seawater, presents a complex and interconnected system. Understanding these dynamics is important for practical purposes, such as water management, but there are still many unanswered questions for geochemists.
The geologic record can also reveal past climate changes and provide solid information for environmental and climate models that are essential for making predictions.
Dr.Yael Kiro
Born in Israel, Dr. Yael Kiro completed
her BSc (2003) and MSc magna cum
laude (2006) at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, both in geology. She completed
her PhD there as well (2013), studying the
hydrology of the Dead Sea. Since 2013, she
has worked as a postdoctoral fellow and as
an associate research scientist at Columbia
University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth
Observatory. She will open her new lab at the Weizmann Institute in August 2019.
Dr. Kiro’s awards and honors include the Prof. Raphael Freund Award from the Israel
Geological Society for outstanding papers in the geological sciences in 2017, and the Prof.
Yaacov Bentor Award in 2014 for outstanding PhD work on the geology of Israel. She was
awarded a postdoctoral fellowship for Excellent PhD Students from the Hebrew University in
2014, a Wolf Foundation Scholarship for Excellence in 2011, and a Harry and Sylvia Hoffman
Leadership and Responsibility Program Scholarship for Excellent PhD Students from 2009
to 2012. In 2009 and 2010, she was granted a Rieger-Jewish National Fund Fellowship in
Environmental Studies and received the Israel Association of Water Resources Goldschmidt
Award for Young Scientists in 2010. In 2009, she did a three-month internship with the U.S.
Geological Survey funded by the United States – Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF),
and in 2008 she won the Israel Association of University Women prize.
17
DR. FILIPE NATALIO SCIENTIFIC ARCHAEOLOGY UNIT
As befits any introduction to a new member of the Weizmann Institute’s Scientific Archaeology Unit, getting to the answer to this question requires a bit of digging.
Today, Dr. Natalio studies stone tools used by our pre-human ancestors. But he began his career studying spicules—microscopic fibers that give deep-sea sponges strength and flexibility,
and have unique optical properties. As a postdoc, Dr. Natalio used sponge proteins to synthesize self-assembling spicules that were strong and flexible enough to use as optical waveguides.
Earlier on, Dr. Natalio created another material related to the sea: a nanoparticle-enriched paint that prevents biofouling—the colonization of microorganisms on surfaces directly exposed to seawater, like ships’ hulls. It is now patented and being developed by the German chemical company BASF.
Water is central to another investigation demonstrating how novel materials can be “farmed” from plants grown in water only. Seeding water with nanoparticles,
Materials of the earthDr. Filipe Natalio grew up near the beach and has been riding a wave of water-related discoveries ever since. How then did he become fascinated with the dry stone tools left behind by our prehistoric, desert-dwelling ancestors?
Dr. Natalio generates reproducible plant strains with different colors, or even properties like fluorescence and magnetism—using non-genetic, natural pathways that evolved over thousands of years.
Inspired by his love of water—as well as the work of his brother, an archaeologist—Dr. Natalio examined how, 5,000 years ago, Amazon River societies incorporated tree sponge needles into the clay used for ceramics, which helps explain his career shift toward a focus on the ancient world.
“New technologies not only help people—they change behavior,” says Dr. Natalio. “Amazonian potters were the first known to employ biological materials to generate composites with enhanced fracture resistance and high stiffness. This technology, which spread from the riverbed to communities further inland, changed how people lived.”
His current work uses atomic-level imaging to tease out stone tools’ chemical and physical properties, as well as single-cell analysis to study trace organic materials. He also plans to employ artificial intelligence—computer vision and machine learning technologies capable of linking specific artifacts to individual, prehistoric tool makers—to make inferences about behavior, migration patterns, and inter-community cultural transmission.
“Stone tools are amazingly interesting,” Dr. Natalio says, while shifting the substantial weight of a 1.2-million-year old flint hand axe from one palm to the other. “It’s hard enough to explain human behavior when the humans we’re studying are alive. Solving the behavior of our long-dead, human-like ancestors—now that’s a challenge!”
Dr.Filipe Natalio
Born in Portugal, Dr. Filipe Natalio earned a BSc from the University of Lisbon and
an MSc from the University of Amsterdam, both in chemistry. In 2010 he completed
his doctorate summa cum laude at the Institute of Physiological Chemistry at Johannes
Gutenberg University (JGU) in Mainz, Germany. During his doctoral studies, he was
a guest researcher both at the National Research Council’s Institute of Biomolecular
Chemistry in Naples, Italy (2006-2007), and at the Chinese Academy of Geological
Sciences in Beijing (2009).
Between 2010 and 2012, Dr. Natalio was a post-doctoral fellow at JGU, and in 2012
moved to the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg in Germany, where he
served as a group leader in biomimetics and bioinorganic chemistry. Dr. Natalio joined
the Weizmann Institute in 2017 as a Visiting Scientist, and was recruited to the faculty
in 2018. He is a member of the Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science.
Dr. Natalio received a research scholarship from the University of Lisbon (1998-2005)
and the EU-Marie Curie Fellowship (2005-2010).
He is married to Dr. Raquel Maria, a chemist who joined the Weizmann Institute in
2017 as a postdoctoral researcher. Dr. Natalio is an avid surfer—a sport he has enjoyed
since childhood—and recommends Palmachim Beach for the best waves in Israel.
19
DR. SIVAN REFAELY-ABRAMSON DEPARTMENT OF MATERIALS AND INTERFACES
Research to improve such photovoltaic efficiency requires complex computational models of advanced new materials to find just the right mix of features—e.g., temperature, structural arrangement, phase—to discover new methods for harvesting, converting, and storing sunlight as a renewable energy source.
“Symmetry is beautiful,” says Dr. Sivan Refaely-Abramson, a computational scientist and theoretician, working at the intersection of chemistry, physics, and materials science. Symmetry lies at the heart of molecular interactions and is fundamental to observations in quantum science. An elegant, harmonious arrangement of material properties lies at the heart of Dr. Refaely-Abramson’s research on applying theoretical computational approaches to questions in quantum science for various purposes. These include renewable energies, light-matter interactions, and machine learning.
Dr. Refaely-Abramson characterizes the back and forth between theoreticians (like herself) and experimentalists in chemistry and physics as a collaborative game. The players are trying to determine how
different material properties and observable dynamic variables
Harvesting harmonious energyThe best superconducting, solar-powered devices, operated under ideal laboratory conditions, can only convert about a third of the energy they collect from sunlight into usable electricity.
can be selected, organized, and arranged to produce the most effective materials.
In many superconducting materials with photovoltaic potential, the absorption of a photon excites an electron, which in turn leaves behind a positively charged “hole” (saying “electron X was here”). The excited electron and its hole attract and bind one another, generating what is known as an “exciton.” Excitons, for their part, serve as carriers in the energy transfer process. Dr. Refaely-Abramson aims to assist in the
worldwide effort to increase the conversion yield of solar devices by developing a better understanding of the properties and dynamics of excitons.
Exploring these complex properties and dynamics requires powerful computational resources and sophisticated algorithms to seek out accuracy. Dr. Refaely-Abramson will lead efforts to harness and enhance computational infrastructure at the Weizmann Institute, and thereby take the theoretical/experimental game to the next level. Using a combination of computational approaches, she aims to track the dynamic quantum properties of materials and innovate design rules for structures and symmetries that optimize those properties. Her experimental colleagues can then apply these properties to a range of applications, including renewable energies, time- resolved optical measurements, and even quantum computing.
Dr. Refaely-Abramson, who earned her PhD in the department she just joined, is thrilled to get back into the game at the Weizmann Institute. As she says, “Weizmann nurtures the whole scientist—from providing a respectful and collegial environment, to supporting family life as well.”
Dr.
Dr. Sivan Refaely-Abramson earned her BSc magna cum laude in the Exact Sciences Combined
Honors Program (chemistry and physics) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2007.
She earned her MSc (2011) and PhD (2015) at the Weizmann Institute of Science, under the
supervision of Prof. Leeor Kronik in the Department of Materials and Interfaces. She then
completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, and at the Lawrence
Berkeley National Lab, where she studied advanced first-principles calculations of excited-state
phenomena in complex systems, under the guidance of Prof. Jeffrey Neaton.
Dr. Refaely-Abramson has published and presented extensively on excited-state phenomena,
and has received numerous awards and honors for her research, including the Rothschild
Foundation and Fulbright-Ilan Ramon postdoctoral fellowships, as well as the Israel National
Postdoctoral Award for Advancing Women in Science. She is married with three children.
Sivan Refaely-Abramson
18
21
DR. SERGE ROSENBLUM DEPARTMENT OF CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
Such quantum states are the focus of Dr. Serge Rosenblum’s research.
He studies qubits—a fundamental platform for quantum information processing.
Compared to classical computing’s binary language of zeroes and ones, qubits have a much richer vocabulary: each individual qubit can be a zero, a one, or a superposition of zero and one at the same time. This could lead to the development of processors capable of solving certain problems millions of times faster than today’s computers.
Quicker computers with qubitsVery tiny objects—on the scale of atoms and electrons—behave in strange ways that do not conform to the laws of classical physics. But few people are aware that such “quantum weirdness” can also apply to objects big enough to be seen with the naked eye.
The qubits that Dr. Rosenblum investigates include materials that are colder than temperatures found in outer space. Called superconducting qubits, they have the advantage of encoding data with no electrical resistance. IBM and Google are focusing intense research on superconducting qubits, in the hope that they will lead to the “scaled up” architecture needed for future quantum computing.
While a PhD student in the Weizmann laboratory of Prof. Barak Dayan of the Department of Chemical and Biological Physics, Dr. Rosenblum led a team that developed a method for manipulating individual photons. Called Single-Photon Raman Interaction, or SPRINT, this system made it possible to propel photons selectively in one of two directions, creating the world’s first photonic “router.” Later, Dr. Rosenblum (who also completed a postdoc in the Dayan lab) increased the lab’s photon manipulation repertoire, showing how atoms can be activated to “snatch” individual photons from a light beam, and also how photon-atom interaction can form the basis of a “logic gate” for quantum computation.
In a second postdoc at Yale University, Dr. Rosenblum took aim at another challenge that prevents the construction of large-scale quantum processors: the problem of error propagation in quantum systems.
Dr.Serge Rosenblum A native of Belgium, Dr. Serge Rosenblum completed his BA in physics and BSc in
electrical engineering simultaneousy, earning both of these degrees summa cum
laude from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in 2008. He remained at the
Technion for his MSc in quantum optics (2010), then moved to the laboratory of
Prof. Barak Dayan in the Weizmann Institute Department of Chemical and Biological
Physics, where he completed his PhD in 2014. After serving as a postdoctoral fellow
in the Dayan lab, Dr. Rosenblum undertook a second postdoc at Yale University’s
Department of Applied Physics, under the supervision of Prof. Robert Schoelkopf.
Dr. Rosenblum is the winner of the John F. Kennedy PhD Excellence Award
(2015), the Weizmann Institute’s highest academic honor for students. At the
Technion, he earned the Norman and Barbara Seiden Family Prize (2008), a Dean’s
Excellence Scholarship (2007), and was named to the President’s Honor List every
semester of his studies.
Dr. Rosenblum speaks six languages (Dutch, French, English, Hebrew, Yiddish,
and Swedish).
20
23
DR. RITA SCHMIDT DEPARTMENT OF NEUROBIOLOGY
Back then, most brain imaging studies involved magnets with field strengths of 1.5 Tesla (T) or at most 3T. Today, field strengths of 7T and higher are regularly used on small mammals, and the Weizmann Institute is pioneering efforts to apply 7T strength to research involving human study participants—safely and effectively—at the Azrieli National Institute
Zooming in on the brainThe face of biomedical imaging is changing, thanks to advances in the use of ultra-high magnetic fields in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Studies of the functional activity of the brain are using this increased capability to observe, for the first time in humans, fine-grain details of the visual, auditory, and somatosensory (touch) systems, with an accuracy and resolution unthinkable a decade ago.
for Human Brain Imaging and Research on campus. The Azrieli Institute’s new 7T magnet arrived and was installed in early 2018, only the second of its type to be installed in the world, and the first in the Middle East.
Dr. Schmidt—who worked for several years with the Azrieli Institute as a visiting scientist—was recruited so that she may apply her expertise in MRI technology to the range of neuroscience experiments planned for the 7T system. From her perspective, of the many offers she received, the Weizmann Institute provided the clearest incentive: access to its very own 7T magnet.
“I’m an ‘integration-person,’” says Dr. Schmidt. “I love to develop tools that integrate different disciplines, such as combining physics and chemistry to study the brain. And I was eager to return to Israel—not only to be near my family, but also because the Weizmann Institute is the only place where I have the opportunity to develop integrated neuroscience tools and apply them to a 7T system.”
Dr. Schmidt’s research interests also include changes in the brain’s electrical conductivity. She aims to capitalize on these changes to develop a novel, more direct method of measuring neuronal activation. She is also interested in using metabolic spectroscopic imaging to shed light on healthy and diseased brain circuit function. These topics go hand in hand with her study of fast and high-resolution spectroscopic brain imaging, as well as her pursuit of advanced and intelligent materials for MRI that allow researchers to zoom in, as with a magnifying lens, on the brain.
Dr.Rita Schmidt Dr. Rita Schmidt was born in Moldova and immigrated with her family to Israel
when she was 12. She earned her BSc in physics (2000) and her MSc in medical
physics (2005) from Tel Aviv University. After working for several years as a
systems engineer at the medical device company Insightec, Dr. Schmidt returned
to academia to earn her PhD in chemical physics at the Weizmann Institute (2014).
Her doctoral research on spatiotemporal encoding in 3D ultrafast magnetic
resonance imaging was conducted under the guidance of Prof. Lucio Frydman
of the Department of Chemical and Biological Physics. Dr. Schmidt then moved
to the Netherlands to conduct a postdoctoral fellowship at the CJ Gorter Center
for High-Field MRI at Leiden University, under Prof. Andrew Webb. She has been
a visiting scientist at the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Neurobiology, and
joined the Institute faculty in 2018.
Dr. Schmidt has received several academic awards and honors for her research
on magnetic resonance imaging. She is the co-inventor of four patented systems
and methods related to magnetic resonance and ultrasound.
25
DR. SERGEY SEMENOV DEPARTMENT OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
This leads scientists to ponder how life first formed, and to take on the challenge of creating the first self-replicating molecules.
Organic chemists like Dr. Sergey Semenov see living systems as an interconnected network of chemical reactions. Life depends on the ability to self-sustain these reactions, a process called autocatalysis.
Dr. Semenov’s studies in autocatalysis and biological networks provide new insights to understand the emergence of life from its organic roots.
To grasp how an autocatalytic process works, Dr. Semenov and colleagues helped create the first experimental example of a simplified, autocatalytic network that could regulate itself and respond to changes in its environment. This network could not only produce and replenish its own supply of catalysts, but also respond to changes in conditions, such as the shortage or excess of raw materials,
Sustaining life, organicallyA hallmark of life is its ability to self-replicate at every level, from individual molecules to whole organisms. Our skin and blood and hair cells—not to mention our DNA—are constantly renewing themselves. However, what appears simple to a living cell or bacteria is nearly impossible to reproduce in a lab using only chemicals and organic (but not living) compounds.
by slowing down or speeding up the production of the end products.
Self-regulating systems like the one Dr. Semenov and his colleagues created offer scientists a chance to experiment with the chemical compositions that could make self-replication more probable. Moreover, his work can bolster efforts to describe the basic mechanisms of self-replication, on the molecular level. In his new lab in the Department of Organic Chemistry, Dr. Semenov plans to create ever more complex chemical reaction networks.
Although such an artificial network is still a long way from producing life in a test tube, Dr. Semenov believes it may lead to a better understanding of the factors that led to the formation of life on Earth. The chemistry of autocatalysis is key.
Creating and fine-tuning artificial autocatalytic systems that can react appropriately to changing environmental conditions are also a basic building block needed to create advanced and intelligent materials that can respond to their surroundings.
Dr.Sergey Semenov Dr. Sergey Semenov earned an MSc in chemistry with honors at Moscow
State University in 2006, and a PhD in chemistry with honors at the
University of Zurich in 2010. He conducted a postdoctoral fellowship at
Radboud University Nijmegen, in the Netherlands (2010-2014), and another
at Harvard University (2014-2017). He joined the Department of Organic
Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute in 2018.
Dr. Semenov’s awards and honors include a grant for talented
young scientists at Moscow State University in 2006 and an award
in the international Samsung “Ideas” contest in 2005. He received a
Forschungskredit research grant in 2008 and an Auszeichnung grant in
2010, both from the University of Zurich. He was awarded a Marie Curie
Intra-European Fellowship in 2012, and was a keynote speaker at the 2017
International Conference on BioNano Innovation in Brisbane, Australia. In
2018, Dr. Semenov received the Clore Prize for Outstanding Appointment as
Senior Scientist in the Experimental Sciences from the Weizmann Institute.
27
DR. MORAN SHALEV-BENAMI DEPARTMENT OF STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
Dr. Moran Shalev-Benami studies the regulatory roles and 3D structure of ribosomes—the cellular machines responsible for protein production. She aims to determine the unique, time- and location-dependent roles played by specialized subsets of ribosomes in controlling which genes are expressed in different types of cells. She also aims to determine how ribosomes help to surveil the cell for messenger RNA (mRNA) carrying aberrant or nonsensical protein-production instructions, and then target those mRNAs for degradation.
During her postdoctoral studies, Dr. Shalev-Benami developed her expertise in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM)—a state-of-the-art technology capable of visualizing molecular interactions with near-atomic resolution.
“What I like most about cryo-EM is that it allows you to capture direct snapshots of molecules in action—snapshots that when put together,
tell the story of how molecules work,” she says.
Molecular storytellersProteins are the essential building blocks of life. Proper regulation of the proteome—the complete set of proteins that are produced in an organism—is vital to the organism’s survival. The key to understanding this process is to find the right lens with which to read a complex and dynamic molecular story as it unfolds in the cell.
Having previously focused on interactions between therapeutic drugs and their cellular membrane targets in the brain, Dr. Shalev-Benami now plans to use cryo-EM to explore how tiny, specific differences in amino acid sequences or RNA lead to significant variability in ribosome function. By combining cryo-EM with biochemistry, molecular biology, and mass spectroscopy, her research is expected to inform our understanding of how errors in cellular genetic and proteomic machineries contribute to a variety of diseases and disorders.
Her research also has important implications for combatting parasitic infection. Parasitic ribosomes are modified throughout the parasite’s life cycle. These modifications are linked to the parasite’s ability to control the host’s proteome. Thus, finding a way to control these specialized ribosomes could point the way towards defeating parasitic diseases.
Dr. Shalev-Benami will use cryo-EM to determine the structure of different types of ribosome populations in parasitic protozoa, such as Leishmania, a single-cell parasite transmitted via fly bite. More than 12 million people are currently infected with leishmaniasis in more than 90 countries in which the parasite is endemic; over 20,000 deaths are reported annually. Dr. Shalev-Benami aims to pinpoint the tiniest of changes in Leishmania ribosome populations and design drugs capable of targeting ribosome hotspots at the most vulnerable stage of the parasite’s life cycle.
Dr.Moran Shalev-Benami Dr. Shalev-Benami received her BSc in molecular biochemistry from the Technion–Israel Institute
of Technology (2006) and her MSc in biochemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
(2008). She returned to the Technion to complete her PhD in chemistry (2013) with a focus on
structural biology, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship under Nobel Prize laureate Prof. Ada
Yonath at the Weizmann Institute. Dr. Shalev-Benami undertook a second postdoctoral fellowship
at the University of Michigan, dividing her time between Israel and the United States from 2015-
2017. In 2017, Dr. Shalev-Benami joined the lab of Prof. Georgios Skiniotis at Stanford University to
continue her postdoctoral training in structural biology, specializing in the cutting-edge technology
of cryogenic electron microscopy in single particles. She will join the Weizmann Institute’s
Department of Structural Biology in 2018.
Dr. Shalev-Benami has received numerous awards for academic, research, and teaching
excellence, including: the Rector’s Prize (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2007); the Schulich
Award for Scientific Excellence (2012), the Klartag Memorial Prize for Excellence in Biochemistry
(2013), and the Sego Award for Excellence in Teaching (2013), all from the Technion; and the Sir
Charles Clore Prize for postdoctoral fellows at the Weizmann Institute (2014). She was the first
awardee of the Combined Weizmann-Abroad Postdoctoral Fellowship for Advancing Women in
Science (2015-2017).
29
DR. NOAM TAL HOD DEPARTMENT OF PARTICLE PHYSICS AND ASTROPHYSICS
Specializing in experimental high-energy physics, Dr. Tal Hod is developing new generations of particle detectors. He will be searching for answers about the existence of dark matter, the makeup of matter versus antimatter, the quantum nature of gravity, and whether there is evidence of a realm of physics yet unexplained
by the so-called Standard Model of particle physics.
The Standard Model, finalized in the 1970s, explains how elementary particles interact through three out of four fundamental forces at work in the universe: the strong force, the weak force, and the electromagnetic force. Although the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson particle verified one of the last unsolved components of this theory, scientists have yet to reconcile the connection of the fourth force—gravitational force—with the standard model.
“Gravity is still out there without any unification with the Standard Model,” Dr. Tal Hod says. “And gravity is a fundamental force that we feel in nature.”
Stretching our understanding of the universeAs he seeks to identify some of nature’s most elusive building blocks, Dr. Noam Tal Hod is keen on pushing past the physical limits of the universe as we know it.
One of the particles Dr. Tal Hod is looking for is the graviton, a hypothetical massive particle that scientists have predicted in a number of quantum theories. A discovery of the graviton could provide an essential link between quantum physics and the Standard Model.
“The existence of such new particles, heavier than what we could reach until today, will essentially validate that there is something beyond what we know today, beyond our current understanding of the universe,” he says.
Dr. Tal Hod carried out a postdoctoral fellowship at TRIUMF, Canada’s Vancouver-based national particle accelerator center, although he spent the entirety of that fellowship physically located at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research), in Geneva. He has been an active contributor and leader of a number of research teams at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, since the early days of his PhD studies at Tel Aviv University.
In his new lab, Dr. Tal Hod will expand existing detector development efforts and integrate modern solid-state based technologies. He is also a co-coordinator of CERN’s Small-Strip Thin Gap Chambers (sTGC) project, within the upgrade program of the ATLAS detector. ATLAS is one of four major ongoing experiments at the LHC.
“When you search for new things, you have to be open minded,” Dr. Tal Hod says. “New physics can surprise you and come at you in a very weird way.”
Dr.Noam Tal Hod
Raised in the southern Israeli community of Bitzaron, Dr. Noam Tal Hod
completed his BSc and MSc in physics at Tel Aviv University in 2006 and 2007,
and completed his PhD there in experimental high-energy physics in 2012. From
2012-2015, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Dutch National Institute
for Subatomic Particles, and did a second postdoctoral position at TRIUMF
(Canada’s particle accelerator center) from 2016-2018. During both of these
fellowships, he was based primarily at the European Organization for Nuclear
Research (CERN) in Switzerland, working on the ATLAS particle detector
experiment at the Large Hadron Collider there.
Repeatedly recognized for his drive to break the traditional boundaries of
physics, Dr. Tal Hod has received numerous accolades, including the Prof. Judah
Eisenberg Award for Academic Achievement in 2012, and the Cohen Avraham
and Dvora Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 2011, both from TAU. He also
earned the Anne and Morris Cohen Prize for excellence in research in 2009.
Dr. Tal Hod is married and has two sons, ages five and eight. Together with
his family, he enjoys traveling, skiing, and hiking, and is an avid guitarist.
31
DR. RAN TESSLER DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
That’s just the kind embodied by Dr. Ran Tessler. If you’ve ever faced the frustration of trying to reconstruct a puzzle box—getting all the pieces to fit back together just perfectly, with no empty spaces—then you can appreciate the beauty of enumerative geometry. Enumerative geometry asks the question, “How many geometric structures of a given type satisfy a given collection of geometric conditions?”
Like so many mathematical concepts, this seemingly straightforward question is not so easily answered. Enumerative geometry was an active field in the 19th century, but many of its problems remained unsolved until a boost in the 20th century from a most unexpected source: string theory in physics.
The new hybrid mathematicianThe idea of combining mathematics and physics to understand the world is as old as ancient shepherds contemplating the cosmos, Galileo considering space and time, and Newton applying calculus to study the laws of gravity. Nevertheless, as we enter the quantum age and begin to consider the space-time-gravitational properties of atoms and electrons, we need a new species of hybrid mathematician.
Dr. Tessler, who specializes in physics-inspired mathematics, is interested in answering mathematical questions that arise from string theory and statistical mechanics. He has developed mathematical models for two-dimensional quantum gravity, a field of theoretical physics that seeks to unite Einstein’s theory of gravity with quantum physics.
“What I love about working on problems that unite mathematics and string theory is that one can be guided by elegance,” says Dr. Tessler. “The correct solution will combine deep geometry, remarkable algebra, and surprising combinatorics. If the model I suggest isn’t elegant enough, it probably isn’t the correct solution to the problem.”
In other aspects of his research, Dr. Tessler analyzes models of atomically disordered magnets (called spin glasses) and interacting particles, and uses ideas and tools from physics to solve problems in statistics and combinatorial mathematics. At the Weizmann Institute, in addition to continuing work on these topics, he plans to explore new physical theories that do not yet stand on rigorous mathematical grounds.
Dr.Ran Tessler
Dr. Ran Tessler earned his BSc summa cum laude in mathematics and magna
cum laude in computer science from Tel Aviv University in 2002. After
completing military service as an officer in the IDF Intelligence Corps and in the
IDF officers’ training course, he entered the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
for graduate studies. He completed an MSc (2010) and a PhD (2015) both in
mathematics at the Hebrew University. From 2016-2018, Dr. Tessler was a Junior
Fellow at the Institute for Theoretical Studies at ETH Zurich (the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology). He is joining the Department of Mathematics at the
Weizmann Institute in 2018.
Dr. Tessler has received numerous academic awards and honors, including
Rothschild Yad Hanadiv fellowship for postdoctoral studies (declined); the
Yashinski Award from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for his PhD (2013)
and MSc work (2010); the Zafriri Award (2012); the Springer Award (2011); and
the Klein Award (2009). He received a scholarship from Check Point Software
Technologies for distinguished BSc studies in 2000.
Dr. Tessler is married, with one daughter. He enjoys trekking and water sports.
32 33
New scientist funds and gifts
TheWeizmannInstituteofSciencehasreceivedsubstantialgiftsforthebenefitofnewscientistsfromthefollowingindividuals,families,andfunds,andwishestoexpressitsdeepestappreciationtothem:
EndowmentsandCenters
Ordered alphabetically
• The Abramson Family Center for Young Scientists
• Ruth and Herman Albert Scholars Program for New Scientists
• A.M.N. Fund for the Promotion of Science, Culture and Arts in Israel
• The Asher and Jeannette Alhadeff Research Award
• Appleton Family Trust
• Estate of David Arthur Barton
• Froma & Andrew Benerofe New Scientist Fund
• Irma & Jacques Ber-Lehmsdorf Foundation
• Estate of (Shlomo) Stanislav & Sabine Bierzwinsky
• Frances Brody Young Scientists Fund
• Raymond Burton Endowment for Prizes
• The Sir Charles Clore Research Prize
• Crown Endowment Fund for Immunology Research
• Cymerman-Jakubskind Prize
• Estate of Ernst and Anni Deutsch
• Rena Dweck New Scientist Endowment
• Eranda Foundation
• Estelle Funk Biomedical Research Fund
• Fusfeld Research Fund
• Peter and Patricia Gruber Awards
• The Harmstieg New Scientists Fund
• IPA Prize for a Promising New Scientist
• Susan and Dan Kane
• Marlene and Bruce Kanter
• The late Sanford Kaplan
• The Koret Foundation
• The Larson Charitable Foundation
• Katy and Gary Leff
• Judith Marks
• Rina Mayer
• Ernst Nathan Biomedical Fund
• The Jordan and Jean Nerenberg Family Foundation Young Scientist Endowed Fund
• William Z. & Eda Bess Novick New Scientists Fund
• Estate of Paul Ourieff
• Estate of Victor Pastor
• Rayne Foundation
• Robert Rees Applied Research Fund
• Abraham and Sonia Rochlin Foundation
• Lois Rosen
• Hana and Julius Rosen Fund
• Cathy and Louis Rosenmayer
• Rosenzweig-Coopersmith Foundation
• Alice Schwarz-Gardos New Scientist Fund
• The Lord Sieff of Brimpton Memorial Fund
• Soref New Scientists Start up Fund
• The Charles and David Wolfson Charitable Trust
CareerDevelopmentChairs
Ordered alphabetically
• The Lisa and Jeffrey Aronin Family Career Development Chair
• The Ernst and Kaethe Ascher Career Development Chair
• The Enid Barden and Aaron J. Jade President’s Development Chair for New Scientists in
Memory of Cantor John Y. Jade
• The Beracha Foundation Career Development Chair
• The Leonard and Carol Berall Career Development Chair
• The Miriam Berman Presidential Development Chair
• The Jenna and Julia Birnbach Family Career Development Chair
• The Elaine Blond Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
• The Adolfo and Evelyn Blum Career Development Chair of Cancer Research in Perpetuity
• The Anna and Maurice Boukstein Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
• The Roel C. Buck Career Development Chair
• The Delta Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
• The Aryeh and Ido Dissentshik Career Development Chair
• The Dr. Victor L. Ehrlich Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
• The Abraham and Jennie Fialkow Career Development Chair
• The Alan and Laraine Fischer Career Development Chair
• The Judith and Martin Freedman Career Development Chair
• The Samuel and Isabelle Friedman Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
• The Dr. A. Edward Friedmann Career Development Chair in Mathematics
• The Edith and Nathan Goldenberg Career Development Chair
• The Rina Gudinski Career Development Chair
• The Walter and Elise Haas Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
• The Madeleine Haas Russell Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
• The Frances Hersh and Max Hersh Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
• The Henry Kaplan Career Development Chair of Cancer Research in Perpetuity
• The Joyce Eisenberg Keefer and Mel Keefer Career Development Chair for New Scientists
• The Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Career Development Chair
• The Carl and Frances Korn Career Development Chair in the Life Sciences
• The Corinne S. Koshland Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
• The Dr. Daniel E. Koshland Career Development Chair
• The Jacob and Alphonse Laniado Career Development Chair of Industrial and Energy
Research in Perpetuity
34 35
• The Ruth and Louis Leland Career Development Chair
• The Alvin and Gertrude Levine Career Development Chair
• The Dewey David Stone and Harry Levine Career Development Chair
• The Lillian and George Lyttle Career Development Chair
• The Robert Edward and Roselyn Rich Manson Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
• The Monroy-Marks Career Development Chair
• The Gertrude and Philip Nollman Career Development Chair
• The William Z. and Eda Bess Novick Career Development Chair
• The Leah Omenn Career Development Chair
• The Friends of Linda and Richard Price Career Development Chair
• The Recanati Career Development Chair of Cancer Research in Perpetuity
• The Recanati Career Development Chair of Energy Research in Perpetuity
• The Pauline Recanati Career Development Chair
• The Joseph and Celia Reskin Career Development Chair
• The Louis and Ida Rich Career Development Chair
• The Philip Harris and Gerald Ronson Career Development Chair
• The Aser Rothstein Career Development Chair
• The Helena Rubinstein Career Development Chair
• The Martha S. Sagon Career Development Chair
• The Rowland and Sylvia Schaefer Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
• The Lewis and Alice Schimberg New Scientist Chair
• The Sara Lee Schupf Family Chair
• The Skirball Chair in New Scientists
• The Benjamin H. Swig and Jack D. Weiler Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
• The Sygnet Career Development Chair for Bioinformatics
• The Tauro Career Development Chair in Biomedical Research
• The Shlomo and Michla Tomarin Career Development Chair
• The Morris and Ida Wolf Career Development Chair in Perpetuity
• The Dr. Celia Zwillenberg-Fridman and Dr. Lutz Zwillenberg Career Development Chair
GeneralSupportOrdered alphabetically
• Daniel C. Andreae
• The Applebaum Foundation
• Robert H. and Mary Jane Asher
• The Berlin Family Foundation
• Blythe Brenden-Mann New Scientist Fund
• Carolito Stiftung
• Clore Israel Foundation
• Enoch Foundation
• The Fabrikant-Morse Families Research Fund for Humanity
• Anne-Marie Boucher and Mitch Garber
• Ilan Gluzman
• Paul Goldensohn
• The Gurwin Family Fund for Scientific Research
• The Laura Gurwin Flug Family Fund
• Iancovici and Fallmann Memorial Fund, established by Ruth & Henry Yancovich
• Kahn Foundation
• Fondazione Henry Krenter
• Alan I. Leshner
• Estate of David Levidow
• Estate of David Levinson
• Charles Milgrom
• Monroy-Marks Career Development and Staff Scientist Start Up Fund
• Cherna and Irving Moskowitz New Scientist Fund
• Hilda Namm
• The Henry S. and Anne Reich Family Foundation
• Monroe and Rella Rifkin
• Rising Tide Foundation
• Hanna and Julius Rosen Fund
• Vera and John L. Schwartz, M.D.
• The late Rudolfine Steindling
• Sam Switzer
• Estate of David Turner
• Zumbi Stiftung
• Celia Zwillenberg-Fridman
36
Scientist-SpecificFunding
Giora Alexandron
• The Willner Family Leadership Institute for the Weizmann Institute of Science
Yaron Antebi
• Estate of David Levinson
• The Jeanne and Joseph Nissim Center for Life Sciences Research
• Estate of Bella Ockman
• David M. Polen Charitable Trust
• Abraham & Sonia Rochlin Foundation
• Ruth and Samuel J. Rosenwasser Charitable Fund
Naama Kanarek
• Charles H. Revson Foundation
Filipe Natalio
• Estate of Olga Klein Astrachan
• The Benoziyo Endowment Fund for the Advancement of Science
• Helen and Martin Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science
Sergey Semenov
• The Benoziyo Endowment Fund for the Advancement of Science
• The Sir Charles Clore Prize
• The Ilse Katz Institute for Material Sciences and Magnetic Resonance Research
• Irving and Azelle Waltcher Endowed Research Fund in honor of Professor Moshe Levy
Moran Shalev-Benami
• The Pearl Welinsky Merlo Foundation
WEIZM
ANN
INSTITUTE O
F SCIENCE
IntroducingNew Scientists2018-2019
