Author: AUFTAU

New Perspectives on Tackling Human Trafficking

Written by AUFTAU on 28 July 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

In light of the World Day against Trafficking in Persons on July 30, we caught up with Prof. Hila Shamir to discuss her trailblazing legal research aimed at combating human trafficking in Israel and around the globe.

According to the latest estimates, over 40 million people are victims of modern slavery in which individuals perform labor or services under highly exploitative conditions. Their vulnerability to exploitation is often the result of poverty, exclusion or migratory status.

While trafficking is generally thought of as the exploitation in the sex industry, Shamir is among scholars helping to expand the understanding of the phenomenon to include severe forms of labor market exploitation in other labor sectors. For example, this includes the exploitation of workers in industries such as domestic and care work, construction, agriculture, mining, and fishing who are forced to work in inhumane conditions. Such circumstances include working for long hours, in physically unsafe work environments with little to no pay, and with limitations on their liberties and freedom of movement.

Top-Down Approach

“While it is possible to effectively combat human trafficking, to do so requires a willingness to address structural elements, such as restrictive migration regimes and harmful labor market regulation,” says Shamir.

She heads the TraffLab research group at the Buchmann Faculty of Law. Her interdisciplinary team includes students and researchers as well as lawyers from TAU’s Workers’ Rights Clinic, where she serves as the academic advisor. The Clinic supports Shamir’s research through the cases it represents in court.

Shamir won a competitive grant from the EU’s European Research Council for TraffLab’s research. She was the first legal scholar in Israel to win the ERC Starting Grant for outstanding early-career researchers. The ERC also nominated her lab as a finalist for its 2022 Public Engagement with Research Award for its activity building bridges between research and policymaking.

Prof. Hila Shamir. (Photo: Hadas Parush/Haaretz)

New Legal Tools

Shamir’s research seeks to formulate new legal tools to fight human trafficking with labor-based strategies alongside traditional approaches focused on criminal law, border control, and human rights. These strategies target the underlying economic, social and legal structures of labor markets prone to severely exploitative practices.

With her work, Shamir aims to transform the way trafficking is researched and, as a result, the way anti-trafficking policy is devised.

While this is no simple feat, she remains optimistic: “There are examples around the world showing us that this can be done if we are willing to move beyond criminalization and expand anti-trafficking toolkit towards strengthening the bargaining power and improving the rights of the most vulnerable workers.”

She explains that migrant and non-citizen workers are among those most vulnerable to labor trafficking, often due to their legal or social status and institutionalized corruption among employers.

Impacting the National Debate

In a significant project, Shamir’s team devised a comprehensive policy plan that proposes alternative recommendations to Israel’s current national plan on trafficking. Shamir recently presented the strategy suggestion to various Israeli government stakeholders and Knesset committees, and held a public roundtable about the plan with the UN Rapporteur on trafficking. The project also led her team to submit several branch-off policy papers over the past year to Israeli policymakers overseeing foreign workers’ rights and related topics.

Going forward, Shamir is pushing full force ahead with her research as well as public and policy engagement on trafficking. This includes several recent and impending publications based on her research on Israel, modern slavery in global value chains, and bilateral labor agreements, which are among the types of structural frameworks that affect the recruitment practices and labor conditions that can lead to trafficking.

Combating Stigmas, Helping Others Thrive

Written by AUFTAU on 28 July 2022. Posted in Scholarship stories.

Coming from the Israeli-Ethiopian community, TAU student Bat El Bogala is intimately familiar with the challenges surrounding mental health care among its population.

“My ultimate goal is to raise mental health awareness and help people in the Israeli-Ethiopian community, where the subject is taboo,” says Bogala, who recently finished her first year of a bachelor’s degree, double-majoring in psychology and English literature.

“I hope to apply my studies to become a clinical psychologist and combat the intergenerational stigma and feelings of shame which deter a lot of people from seeking mental health care,” she says. “It’s very important for me to help overcome this challenge so people don’t keep feeling like something is wrong with them for seeking help.”

Bogala is pursuing the first step toward her aspirations with a scholarship funded by French philanthropists André and Thérèse Harari. The Thérèse and André Harari Foundation funds a program which provides full degree support for a total of 20 TAU students of Ethiopian descent each year. It was established in association with the French Judaism Foundation and French Friends of TAU.

André Harari explains: “Our scholarship program aims to increase the low representation of Israeli-Ethiopian students within the general student body and to enable them to pursue paths of excellence for their future professional lives.”

“Students can count on our Foundation’s scholarship year after year until the end of their studies at TAU, provided (only) that they succeed in their yearly exams,” he adds. “This means they receive support until their bachelor’s graduation and, if they decide to continue, through their master’s degree, and even their PhD. ”

Added Incentive

“The scholarship alleviated a lot of the pressure of having to work to finance my studies,” says Bogala, who had worked since age 16. “It enabled me to breathe easy and place all my focus on my studies without having to be preoccupied with affording tuition, rent and living expenses.”

Bogala applied for the scholarship through ADMAS, the scholarships and support framework for Israeli-Ethiopians students at TAU, which is administered by the Dean of Students.

“Without the scholarship, I don’t think I would be able to pursue my degree as effectively as I can now and live so close to the University campus, which makes a difference,” says Bogala, who is originally from Yavne, a city south of Tel Aviv.

She adds that the scholarship gives her extra incentive to succeed in her studies, “to show the Hararis that I truly appreciate the support and am using it to the best of my ability.”

Gateway to Success

Bogala is the youngest of eight siblings and a first-generation university student. She was born in Israel after her parents and all but one older sibling made aliyah to Israel from Ethiopia.

“My parents made aliyah from Ethiopia, and it was always important to them that we succeed in our educations and continue to academia, which they see as the gateway to success and full integration into Israeli society,” she says.

In high school, Bogala participated in a program for gifted students. She points to her empathetic and curious nature for contributing to her interest in psychology as a way to understand herself and others.

“I was always the friend whom people came to for advice and to lend an ear for their problems,” she recalls.

Although she didn’t have any English language background growing up, she excelled in the subject and developed a passion for literature. She says her English literature studies at TAU greatly help her digest academic material related to psychology, which is mainly written in English.

Following her bachelor’s degree, Bogala plans to pursue a master’s degree and complete a four-year residency to become a licensed clinical psychologist.

She encourages aspiring students to seek financial aid opportunities, without hesitation, through the Dean of Students Office.

“I don’t take for granted the support my scholarship provides,” she underscores. “I hope to one day be in a position to help others thrive and achieve their dreams as the Hararis have helped me.”

– By Julie Steigerwald

Historic Designation for TAU’s Cymbalista Synagogue & Jewish Heritage Center

Written by AUFTAU on 28 July 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

The Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Center at Tel Aviv University was designated as a protected “Heritage Site” by one of Israel’s top conservation authorities, TAU announced this week.

Completed in 1998, the building is currently the most-modern from around the country to hold the status from the Council for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel. The designation of this status signifies the building’s unique qualities, both in its architectural and social aspects. The designation ensures the physical preservation of the Cymbalista Synagogue as a building of historic significance.

The Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Center is located at the heart of the campus. With its broad rectangular base rising into two spiraling towers emblematic of a Torah scroll, the impressive building is a landmark work of architecture on campus and in Israel. It functions as a synagogue. The Center also serves as an academic and cultural meeting ground and includes a study room, a library, an auditorium, and a museum. Those affiliated with TAU can use the synagogue as a venue for weddings and bar mitzvahs.

In the Spirit of Respect

Swiss real estate developer, philanthropist, and TAU Honorary Doctor and Governor Norbert Cymbalista and his wife Paulette commissioned the building. It was devised to house a synagogue and bridge the gaps between religious and secular segments of Israeli society—and between the different denominations of Judaism: Orthodox, Conservative and Reform—in an academic environment.

“I am thrilled about the new designation, which reaffirms my decision to create a space in the spirit of respect for tradition, but also in the realization that dialogue and acceptance of different viewpoints are essential for Israel’s development as a democratic society,” says Cymbalista.

Cymbalista explains that the building’s initial construction plans were solely for a synagogue. However, the assassination of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by an Israeli Jew reinforced Cymbalista’s fear that the most dangerous challenge facing Israel was the rift between the religious and secular segments of the population, which he believed could tear the country apart.

Therefore, he identified the opportunity to do more and create a comprehensive center, where those two realities of Israel life could meet and engage in dialogue within an academic environment. As such, the building’s design was expanded to nearly double the original blueprint to include an auditorium, beit midrash (study facility for Jewish scripture), and Judaica museum—the first of its kind in the Tel Aviv area.

“I hope that the Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Center will continue to serve as a focal point of activity and that I will see its impact on further strengthening ties in my lifetime,” adds Cymbalista.

Symbol of Unity, Community & Pluralism

“Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Center is situated at the heart of campus and is a symbol and an example of unity and community,” says TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat. “The Center reflects the liberal and pluralistic nature of Tel Aviv University. I would like to express my gratitude to Norbert Cymbalista, a loyal friend of the University and the State of Israel, for his significant contribution to promoting these important values on campus.”

Renowned Swiss architect Mario Botta designed the building. It contains materials and furnishings from around the world, including the Torah ark made of Pakistani onyx stone, golden-hued stone interior walls from Tuscany, black granite flooring from Zimbabwe, a red brick stone exterior from the Italian Dolomites, and a light wood ceiling from Switzerland.

Dr. Yair Lipshitz, Head of the Cymbalista Jewish Heritage Center at TAU: “The new designation is an immense honor for the Center, and an exciting recognition of its architectural and cultural importance. In many ways, the building is a profound response to the question of what it means to foster Jewish culture at the heart of Tel Aviv University.”

“Its multipurpose functionality offers a complex, dynamic and unique interplay between the various facets of being Jewish in Israel today,” he adds. “The preservation of such a building as a heritage landmark ensures the endurance of the vision that is set in its stones – a vision for a rich, pluralistic, multi-voiced Israeli culture.”

From City of God to the Holy Land

Written by AUFTAU on 26 July 2022. Posted in Scholarship stories.

Brazilian student will apply TAU expertise in social innovation to empower youth in her impoverished hometown.

As a girl, TAU scholarship student Ana Letícia Araújo would accompany her mother from their favela in Rio de Janeiro to her job as a housekeeper in an affluent neighborhood. Her mother’s employer was an esteemed university professor, and Araújo marveled at how the professora and her children spoke English and travelled abroad to pursue their education.

The experience planted the seed of ambition in Araújo to study for an academic degree. The odds were against her. Her neighborhood, called City of God, is a crime-ridden shantytown made infamous by a movie of the same name; she grew up among criminals small and large, drug dealers and other unsavory characters. “For a person who grew up like me to see beyond this is very hard,” she says.

Moreover, she couldn’t afford tutoring or extra-curricular activities to feed her dream.

After finishing public school, she was accepted to a state university. Yet, she couldn’t afford to pay tuition and support herself simultaneously, so she decided to work and save money—to be able to one day pursue higher education. Inspired by her mother’s boss, she remained resolute to study abroad, so she taught herself English, costly college prep courses being out of reach.

Fifteen years later, she is a student in TAU International’s BA in Liberal Arts program, majoring in psychology, entrepreneurship and philosophy. Her ultimate goal: to return to her hometown and help children like her lead better lives.

Social Entrepreneurship

When Araújo was applying to universities, she initially looked in the US and Europe. After seeing an advertisement for TAU, though, she decided that it was the place for her because of its world-class reputation and focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. More practically, TAU offered her a scholarship, the deciding factor in her decision to enroll.

“Without the scholarship, I wouldn’t be in Israel because I would not be able to afford the rent or tuition,” she says. Support from the Brazilian Friends of TAU Scholarship Fund and TAU

International helps her “feel more relaxed to be studying, so I can focus on what matters.”

Araújo says she is very happy to be at TAU, where she lives in the dorms. When it comes to academics, she values her instructors and the multidisciplinary curriculum. “I love the classes, especially those that help us develop critical thought and our own initiatives,” she adds.

She has also adapted well to Tel Aviv: “I love the way things work here! The safety of the city is different for me.”

Ana Letícia Araújo. (Photo: Moshe Bedarshi)

Ripple Effect

As her first year at TAU comes to an end, Araújo remains focused on developing a social start-up she started planning in Brazil. Incorporating TAU’s multidisciplinary approach, she plans to teach orphans from her favela informal skills such as cooking, sports and music, to help them succeed in life. She says she brings added value as a native and intends to involve the residents as well. Combining this with the expertise in innovation and social entrepreneurship she is accruing at TAU, Araújo believes she can create something truly original—and effective.

The opportunity will have a ripple effect on her community, she says. “I always believed that education can transform people and transform the world,” Araújo says.

“To give a scholarship to someone is like to [plant] a tree that has roots and branches,” she continues.

“The day I received my scholarship was a very important moment in my life. Maybe through me, other lives can be changed, too.”

– By Melanie Takefman

Tel Aviv University Researchers Develop Long Covid Treatment

Written by AUFTAU on 24 July 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

A groundbreaking new study from Tel Aviv University, the first of its kind in the world, found a promising treatment for long-term COVID-19 symptoms, based on advanced hyperbaric (high-pressure oxygen) therapy (HBOT).

Long COVID, which affects up to 30% of patients infected by the COVID-19 virus, is characterized by a range of debilitating cognitive symptoms such as inability to concentrate, brain fog, forgetfulness and difficulty recalling words or thoughts – persisting for more than three months, and sometimes up to two years. To date, no effective therapy has been suggested, leaving many millions of sufferers around the world with no remedy.

The researchers: “Our study is the first randomized controlled trial to demonstrate a real solution for long COVID. Patients exposed to an intensive protocol of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy treatments showed significant improvement compared to the control group. For millions suffering from long-term COVID-19 symptoms, the study provides new hope for recovery.”

Long Covid – Detrimental to Quality of Life

The study was conducted by the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research at Tel Aviv University and the Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh). It was led by Prof. Shai Efrati, Director of the Sagol Center and a faculty member at TAU’s Sackler School of Medicine and Sagol School of Neuroscience, and by Dr. Shani-Itskovich Zilberman from the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and TAU’s Sackler School of Medicine. Other chief contributors were Dr. Merav Catalogna, lead data scientist from the Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh), and Dr. Amir Hadanny from the Sagol Center and TAU’s Sackler School of Medicine. The paper was published in Scientific Reports.

Prof. Efrati explains: “Today, we understand that in some patients, the COVID-19 virus penetrates the brain through the cribriform plate, the part of the skull located just above our nose, and triggers chronic brain injury – mainly in brain regions in the frontal lobe, responsible for cognitive function, mental status and pain interpretation. Consequently, affected patients experience a long-term cognitive decline, with symptoms such as brain fog, loss of concentration and mental fatigue. In addition, since the frontal lobe is damaged, patients may suffer from mood disturbance, depression, and anxiety.”

According to Efrati, these clinical symptoms, identified in patients all over the world, were corroborated by the World Health Organization in an official definition of so-called ‘long COVID’ issued in October 2021, including cognitive dysfunction as one of the common symptoms. A recent study from the Universities of Cambridge and Exeter reported that 78% of long-term COVID-19 patients experienced difficulties with concentration, 69% reported brain fog, and 68% reported forgetfulness. “Thus, long-term COVID-19 effects can be very detrimental to the sufferer’s quality of life,” continues Efrati, “and no effective treatment has yet been found.”

Prof. Shai Efrati

HBOT – Proven Effective Against other Brain Injuries

“In our study, we harnessed Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, already proven effective in the treatment of other forms of brain injury such as stroke, trauma, age-related cognitive decline and treatment-resistant PTSD, to the global effort to find a solution for long COVID-19,” explains Efrati.

The study, designed as a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, included 73 patients with reported post-COVID-19 cognitive symptoms such as inability to concentrate, brain fog, forgetfulness and difficulty recalling words or thoughts, persisting for more than three months following an RT-PCR test confirming COVID-19 infection.

Participants were divided into two groups: 37 patients received HBOT treatment, while 36 patients served as a sham-controlled group, receiving placebo treatment. Both patients and investigators were unaware of their designated treatment protocol. The unique protocol consisted of 40 daily HBOT sessions, five sessions per week within a two-month period, in which patients entered a multi-place HBOT chamber and breathed 100% oxygen by mask at 2 atmospheres absolute (ATA) for 90 minutes with oxygen fluctuations. The control group received placebo treatment, breathing normal air. In addition, all participants underwent a computerized cognitive test, as well as advanced high-resolution brain imaging (profusion MRI and DTI) at two points in time – when entering the trial and after its completion.

Improved cerebral blood flow by HBOT in patient suffering from post-COVID symptoms (photo: Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine)

Repairing through Regeneration

The results were highly encouraging: patients treated with HBOT showed significant improvement, while in the control group long COVID symptoms remained largely unchanged.

In HBOT-treated patients, the greatest improvements were exhibited in the global cognitive function, attention, and executive functions (the capacity to plan, organize, initiate, self-monitor and control one’s responses to achieve a goal). Other benefits included better information processing speed, improved psychiatric symptoms, more mental energy, better sleep quality, and less body pain.

All clinical findings were correlated with the participants’ brain images, indicating significant change in the parts of the brain related to each function, which had been visibly damaged by the COVID-19 virus.

Dr. Shani-Itskovich Zilberman: “We know that HBOT repairs brain damage through a process of regeneration – generating new neurons and blood vessels. We believe that the beneficial effects of the unique treatment protocol in this study can be attributed to renewed neuroplasticity and increased brain perfusion in regions associated with cognitive and emotional roles.”

Prof. Efrati: “For the first time, our study proposes an effective treatment for the debilitating long COVID syndrome, repairing brain injury with an intensive protocol of HBOT. Moreover, the study reveals the very real biological damage to brain tissues induced by the COVID-19 virus, and how repairing this damage reduces symptoms and can eventually lead to recovery.”

“From a broader perspective, these findings can also suggest that other neurological and psychiatric syndromes might be triggered by biological agents such as viruses, opening new possibilities for future treatments.”

Note: For patients with long COVID and other neurological disorders, reliable high-quality HBOT is now available at Aviv Clinics in Florida and Dubai, international arms of the Sagol Center at Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh) in Israel – administering the same strict protocols, with additional cognitive, physical and nutrition support provided to patients.

Tel Aviv University 1st in Israel According to Taiwan University Rankings for 2022

Written by AUFTAU on 24 July 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Nursing People through Hard Times

Written by AUFTAU on 22 July 2022. Posted in Scholarship stories.

Tami Fund Scholarship gives TAU student Hodaya Levy Rublin the chance to follow her dream.

As a teenager, Hodaya Levy Rublin fell in love with the nursing profession when she volunteered at a children’s hospital. Watching the nurses work mesmerized her. She knew then that she wanted to be like them.

The Tami Fund Scholarship she received for studies at TAU’s Steyer School of Health Professions has been an indispensable element of her journey.

“I want to be the best nurse you’ve ever seen,” she says, adding that she aspires to specialize in pediatric emergency medicine.

Uphill Struggle

Levy Rublin’s path to enrolling at university was not easy. Growing up as the seventh of nine children in a single-parent family, she didn’t imagine a future that included higher education. She studied at an Orthodox religious school that did not teach a curriculum that could lead to academic studies. In high school, though, she transferred to a less religious school, so that she could matriculate.

Upon completing her national service as a companion for elderly women, “who became like my grandmothers,” Levy Rublin took a waitressing job to save for university studies. Even though she worked double shifts for five years, she could never put aside enough after paying her basic expenses.

When COVID-19 struck, she lost her job. With encouragement from her new husband, she enrolled in an undergraduate program at TAU, even though she didn’t have funds to pay tuition.
Then, once on TAU’s campus, Levy Rublin wasn’t sure that she belonged.

The Dean of Students’ Financial Aid Office matched her with a scholarship from the Tami Fund, set up to assist students with socioeconomic need.

Validation

“Receiving the scholarship helped me believe that I deserve to be here, that TAU is my place,” Levy Rublin said. “It gave me the opportunity to concentrate on my studies and be a good student, without worrying about paying the bills.
“I love people. In the emergency room, you meet people of all ages. I think I have the ability to communicate with different people. I want to be there [for them] in their hard times, to make them feel a little bit better and to give back to society.” In addition, she said she knows how to withstand pressure and believes she will excel in the ER’s intensive atmosphere.

“My profession and the opportunity given to me by the scholarship will allow me to succeed in life,” Levy Rublin said.

-By Melanie Takefman

The Business of Balagan: Global MBA Propels Student’s Career

Written by AUFTAU on 21 July 2022. Posted in Scholarship stories.

A TAU scholarship helped Eitan Rozen secure an international degree—and job

After three years working at a global consultancy firm in his native Mexico, Eitan Rozen knew he wanted to pursue graduate studies abroad, but Israel wasn’t an obvious choice.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought him on a family visit to Israel. At the time, very few scholarships were available in Latin America, so he decided to visit the Sofaer Global MBA program at Tel Aviv University. He liked the fact that TAU is “recognized in the world” and its curriculum focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation and the startup ecosystem, subjects that complemented his undergraduate studies in Mexico. He was also partial to the Program’s intensive one-year curriculum.

A scholarship from the Program put his plan into action. “Studying at TAU and living in Israel would not have been possible without the generosity of people who donate scholarships,” Rozen says. ”I, for one, and many other students wouldn’t be here without this help.

“It’s 100% necessary and appreciated.”

Now, with a fresh MBA degree from TAU’s Coller School of Management under his belt, Rozen says he recommends the program wholeheartedly, from the academics to the networking opportunities. Although things are sometimes disorganized (“a balagan”), he loves the program’s personal touch and the fact that he can knock on the director’s door whenever he wants. “It’s the Israeli way.”

“We are an incredibly diverse group,” he adds, with 40 students from 22 different countries.

When in Rome…

Rozen quickly adapted to the Tel Aviv mindset. He had asked his firm in Mexico if he could transfer to the Israeli office for the duration of his degree. They said no.

He then went to the Israeli office, announced, and secured part-time work that lasted his entire degree. Now that he has graduated, they offered him a full-time job. He plans to stay indefinitely.

He says the Sofaer MBA “gave me the tools to grow personally and professionally and achieve better things in life.” Rozen continues, “I love everything….the environment, the vibe, the University, getting to know people, living and experiencing a great campus, the diversity, top professors. It’s a unique experience. Plus, you live in Tel Aviv.”

– By Melanie Takefman

4th Covid-19 Vaccine Reduces Risk of Death by 72% Amongst Elderly

Written by AUFTAU on 21 July 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

A new study by Tel Aviv University and Ben Gurion University of the Negev, in collaboration with the Israeli Ministry of Health, found that the fourth COVID-19 vaccine is effective in protecting the elderly from the Omicron variant.

The groundbreaking study included approximately 40,000 elderly Israelis living in institutions supervised by the Ministry of Health’s “Senior Shield” program, a task force launched by Israel’s government to oversee the prevention and control of COVID-19 in the country’s geriatric facilities. According to its results, elderly at-risk individuals vaccinated with the fourth dose of the Pfizer vaccine have a 34% reduced risk of contracting the Omicron variant, a 64-67% reduced risk of requiring hospitalization due to COVID, and a 72% reduced risk of death from the virus.

The study was led by Prof. Khitam Muhsen and Prof. Dani Cohen of the School of Public Health at Tel Aviv University, Prof. Ron Dagan of Ben Gurion University, Prof. Nimrod Maimon, director of the Internal Medicine Department at Soroka Medical Center and until recently head of the Ministry of Health’s Senior Shield program, as well as program staff members Ami Mizrahi, Omri Bodenheimer, and Boris Boltyansky, in collaboration with Lea Gaon and Zafrira Hillel-Diamant of the Ministry’s Department of Geriatrics. The study was published in the prestigious journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Particularly Vulnerable Population

“Our study compared 24,088 residents of Senior Shield facilities who received a fourth dose of the Pfizer vaccine – that is, the second booster shot – with 19,687 residents who were vaccinated with the first three doses four months or more prior to the follow-up, but who chose not to get the second booster,” explains Prof. Muhsen.

“These are residents of geriatric institutions, nursing homes and assisted living facilities that are part of the Ministry of Health’s Senior Shield system – a total of about 1,000 institutions across the country. This population is particularly vulnerable to infection, morbidity, and mortality from the coronavirus, due to the nature and living conditions of the institutions, the fact that many residents need help with daily activities, and the previous health issues that many of the residents suffer from.”

When the Omicron wave spread throughout Israel between January and March of this year, there was no registered and available vaccine for this variant, which underwent significant mutations in the spike protein that allows the virus to attach to and penetrate human cells. Because the existing COVID-19 vaccines target the spike protein, there has been much discussion in Israel and the rest of the world about the effectiveness of existing vaccines against the Omicron variant in general, and with regards to a second booster shot. Israel was the first country to approve the second booster (the fourth dose of the vaccine) for those aged 60 and above. The present study is based on data from the Senior Shield population database, which constituted the first large group to receive the second booster. Prof. Muhsen points out that this new study was conducted on a national scale, and that it successfully addressed the methodological problems that characterize observational epidemiological studies on the effectiveness of COVID vaccines.

Fourth Dose Saved Many Lives

“We monitored the infections, hospitalizations and mortality rates in these two groups throughout the Omicron wave, and found that the members of the group that received the fourth vaccine were infected at a rate that was 34% less than the control group; were hospitalized for mild-to-moderate illness 64% less, and for severe illness 67% less than the control group; and had a mortality rate that was 72% less than the group vaccinated with only the first three doses,” says Prof. Muhsen.

“These are significant data, because the Senior Shield population is one of the groups who suffer the most severe morbidity from the coronavirus, at a much higher rate than the general population. We assume that the fourth dose of the vaccine boosted the level of neutralizing antibodies, which conferred cross-protection against the Omicron variant. Our study points to the significant benefit of administering the fourth dose of the vaccine and confirms that the policy adopted by the State of Israel was the correct one. The decision to vaccinate at-risk populations with the fourth dose was a wise choice that saved a lot of human lives.”

Prof. Muhsen adds: “This is a groundbreaking and innovative study based on a database of the elderly population in care facilities. Previous studies have been conducted in the general population, and therefore also among relatively young populations with an average age of around 72, whereas the average age in our study was 80. Moreover, in general, people who go to be tested or vaccinated against COVID tend to exhibit positive health behaviors, so it is very difficult to compare their morbidity levels to those of unvaccinated people or those who have been vaccinated with three doses. We have no information as to why some of the residents chose not to receive the fourth vaccine dose, but both groups in our study underwent routine and ‘blind’ COVID tests according to uniform Senior Shield protocol, regardless of whether they received the vaccine. Therefore, our study was less affected by the ‘healthy vaccinee effect,’ and its results can also be applied to other populations, in Israel and around the world.”

According to Prof. Dani Cohen, “The study indicates that giving booster shots and raising the level of antibodies through a vaccine based on the original COVID-19 strain provides significant protection against the onset of serious illness even after infection with new variants, including those that are very different from the original, such as Omicron.”

Prof. Nimrod Maimon adds that “The task of protecting institutions for people living outside of the home is a very important aspect of the Ministry of Health’s Senior Shield program. The database that the project has built and accumulated about the institutions and their residents has allowed for rapid and effective vaccination campaigns, which have yielded dramatic results in curbing illness from the coronavirus amongst these populations. The impressive results of the program have received widespread international praise, with health authorities from many countries around the world seeking to learn from the Senior Shield program.”

Prof. Ron Dagan concludes that the results presented in the study demonstrate once again the critical role of vaccines and the use of structured and effective systems in curbing waves of severe morbidity and mortality in at-risk populations.

Going to the Beach? Sun Exposure Makes Men Hungrier than Women

Written by AUFTAU on 19 July 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

A new study from Tel Aviv University reveals that solar exposure increases appetite in males, but not in females. It is the first gender-dependent medical study ever conducted on UV exposure, and for the first time, the molecular connection between UV exposure and appetite was deciphered.

Skin as Regulator of Appetite

The groundbreaking study was led by Prof. Carmit Levy and PhD student Shivang Parikh of the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine. It was conducted in collaboration with many researchers in Israel and worldwide, including contributors from Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov), Assuta, Meir, and Sheba Medical Centers, along with Dr. Yiftach Gepner and Dr. Lior Bikovski from TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine, and Prof. Aron Weller of Bar-Ilan University. The paper was published in the prestigious journal Nature Metabolism.

The study was based on epidemiological data collected in a year-long survey about the eating habits of approximately 3,000 Israelis of both sexes, including self-reports from students who had spent time in the sun, combined with the results of a genetic study in a lab model. The findings identify the skin as a primary regulator of energy and appetite (metabolism) in both lab models and humans.

Prof. Carmit Levy

Estrogen Hormone Blocks Urge to Eat in Women

The study unravels the differences between males and females in the activation of the metabolic mechanism. The researchers explain that in males of both animal species and humans, sun exposure activates a protein called p53, to repair any DNA damage in the skin that might have been caused by the exposure. The activation of p53 signals the body to produce a hormone called ghrelin, which stimulates the appetite.

In females, the hormone estrogen blocks the interaction between p53 and ghrelin, and consequently does not catalyze the urge to eat following exposure to the sun.

The researchers explain that there is a dramatic metabolic difference between males and females, impacting both their health and their behavior. However, so far it has not been established whether the two sexes respond differently to environmental triggers such as exposures to the sun’s UV radiation.

“We examined the differences between men and women after sun exposure and found that men eat more than women because their appetite has increased. Our study was the first gender-dependent medical study ever conducted on UV exposure, and for the first time, the molecular connection between UV exposure and appetite was deciphered. Gender-dependent medical studies are particularly complex, since twice the number of participants is required to find statistically significant differences,” explains Prof. Levy.

“As humans, we have cast off our fur and consequently, our skin, the largest organ in our body, is exposed to signals from the environment. The protein p53, found in the skin, repairs damage to the DNA caused by sun exposure, but it does more than that. It signals to our bodies that winter is over, and we are out in the sun, possibly in preparation for the mating season. Our results provide an encouraging basis for more research, on both human metabolism and potential UV-based therapies for metabolic diseases and appetite disorders,” Prof. Levy concludes.

Author: AUFTAU

Combating Stigmas, Helping Others Thrive