See below for a list of potential mentors at Hadassah Hospital as part of the SHINE program.
| Researcher | Description | Contact information |
|---|---|---|
| Prof. Itay Chowers | AMD genetics and inflammation: this research group has established a large database of genetic, clinical and imaging data. Using both clinical and basic science approaches, this group studies the role of macrophages in the pathogenesis of AMD and is working on novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of AMD. | chowers@hadassah.org.il |
| Prof. Jaime Levy | AI for retinal diseases: We extract relevant clinical and imaging data, including medical history as well as disease progression and treatment outcome over time, from the patients’ electronic medical records. This information allows us to analyze a broad database and search for interactions between factors such as systemic drugs, local drugs, treatment modality, and the success of treatment. Research focus: retinal pathologies, particularly diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusion. Note: there is possibility for collaboration with leading computer science researchers from Hebrew University. | ljaime@hadassah.org.il |
| Prof. Eyal Banin | Eyal Banin is a clinician-researcher at the Department of Ophthalmology, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center and director of the Center for Retinal and Macular Degenerations (CRMD). His main field of interest lies in degenerative retinal diseases, and his team in involved in basic, translational and clinical research that aims to develop and implement novel therapeutic interventions for these blinding diseases. These include gene- and cell-based approaches: as one examples, gene augmentation therapy for Achromatopisa caused by mutations in the CNGA3 gene was developed in a sheep model of this disease, and this treatment is now applied within an international Phase I/IIa clinical trial. As a second example, in collaboration with Prof. Benjamin Reubinoff at Hadassah, a protocol was developed to derive retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and such cells are now being transplanted in patients with the dry form of age-related macular degeneration AMD as part of a clinical trial. Currently, at the basic research level, gene therapy is being developed for a gene causing retinitis pigmentosa using a mouse model of the disease, and attempts to derive retinal and photoreceptor progenitors from hESCs is ongoing. At the Clinical Research Center, phenotype and natural course of disease are characterized in patients with different forms of retinal degeneration, and a number of gene- and cell-therapy trials are ongoing. | banin@hadassah.org.il |
| Prof. Shahar Frenkel | The Ocular Oncology and Ophthalmic Pathology Laboratory has several projects mostly focused on the development of novel biological treatments for metastatic cancer, for both ocular and systemic malignancies. In addition, we have projects on the early detection of metastatic diseae. In the coming year we hope to start a new avenue of research in genetic pathology. | Shahar@hadassah.org.il |
| Prof. Dror Sharon | Identification of retinal disease genes in the Israeli population | drorsh@ekmd.huji.ac.il |
| Dr. Liran Tiosano | Advanced retinal imaging analysis and artificial intelligence. Clinical research combined with quantitative and qualitative analyses of retinal images from a range of modalities for the development of automated AI systems. | tiosano@hadassah.org.il |
| Dr. David Smadja | Clinical studies with large database to work on for retrospective studies in the field of refractive surgery and laser vision correction. Development of AI based algorithms for refractive surgery purposes: early diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making support tool. Investigation of new nano-molecules for diagnostic purposes; ex-vivo experiments using pig eyes. | davidsma@hadassah.org.il |
| Dr. Josh Kruger | Clinical research focusing on developments of better methods for performing visual field testing in patients (neuro-ophthalmology). | Kruger@hadassah.org.il |
| Dr. Samer Khateb | My lab focuses on researching and developing new therapies and medications for the treatment of vascular retinal diseases, in general, and angiogenesis, in particular. Our research combines different working methods including basic molecular biology techniques (PCR, western blot, gene cloning, etc…), cell culture, histological staining and advanced microscopy, animal models of various vascular retinal diseases and many other research techniques in pharmacology. The research is considered translational, aiming to develop novel and highly effective treatments with extended efficacy compared to the existing drugs in clinical use today, in order to expand the armamentarium of treatments in ophthalmology. In addition, I conduct many other prospective and retrospective clinical studies focusing on variable aspects of retinal diseases including disease pathophysiology, natural history, treatment regimens and development of novel treatments. The studies are both observational and interventional. | ksamer@hadassah.org.il |
| Prof. Netta Levin | The fMRI unit in Hadassah aims to combine both research and clinical work in a multi-disciplinary approach combining psychophysics, electrophysiological and neuroimaging methods. The main field of research in the unit is to study the changes in functional organization of the cortex following peripheral or central insults, especially in the visual system. To that end, we study patients following an optic neuritis attack, which is a common manifestation of Multiple Sclerosis. We also study patients suffering from posterior cortical atrophy (a visual variant of Alzheimer disease). We are also evaluating patients suffering from congenital achromatopsia, a disease causing color perception blindness that received gene augmentation experimental treatment. Using novel imaging methods, we described the promise and the limits of this pioneering therapy. | netta@hadassah.org.il |
| Prof. Shai Carmi | We develop methods and theory in statistical and population genetics, with applications to medicine, biology, and history, in particular in the context of the Jewish population. | shai.carmi@huji.ac.il |
| Prof. Ofra Benny | Our multidisciplinary lab focuses on developing novel therapies and drug-delivery systems based on nanotechnology and functional biomaterials. | ofra.benny@mail.huji.ac.il |
| Dr. Adi Inbal | We use genetic and chemical manipulations of zebrafish embryos to generate and study the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie normal development and congenital malformations of eyes and forebrain in vivo in a vertebrate model organism. | adi.inbal@mail.huji.ac.il |
| Prof. Baruch Minke | Our major aim is to decipher the critical roles of TRP channels in invertebrate vision and of TRPV1 in human somatosensory physiology. Note: research may involve using Drosophila flies | baruchm@ekmd.huji.ac.il |
| Dr. Shai Sabbah | Visual neuroscience, behavior and mood | shai.sabbah@mail.huji.ac.il |