Newsroom – Page 37 – Australian Friends of Tel Aviv University

How are the Birds Coping with Climate Change?

Written by AUFTAU on 25 April 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have found changes in the morphology of many birds in Israel over the past 70 years, which they interpret to be a response to climate change. The body mass of some species decreased, while in others body length increased – in both cases increasing the ratio between surface area and volume. The researchers contend that these are strategies to facilitate heat loss to the environment: “The birds evidently changed in response to the changing climate. However, this solution may not be fully adequate, especially as temperatures continue to rise.”

Relying on the vast bird collection preserved by The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at TAU, the researchers looked for changes in bird morphology over the past 70 years in Israel. They examined approximately 8,000 adult specimens of 106 different species – including migratory birds that annually pass through Israel (such as the common chiffchaff, white stork, and black buzzard), resident wild birds (like the Eurasian jay, Eurasian eagle-owl, and rock partridge), and commensal birds, that live near humans. They built a complex statistical model consisting of various parameters to assess morphological changes – in the birds’ body mass, body length and wing length – during the relevant period.

The study was led by Prof. Shai Meiri and PhD student Shahar Dubiner of the School of Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University. The paper was published in the scientific journal Global Ecology and Biogeography.

Cooling Down

Prof. Meiri explains that according to Bergmann’s rule, formulated in the 19th century, members of bird and mammal species living in a cold climate tend to be larger than members of the same species living in a warmer climate. This is because the ratio of surface area to volume is higher in smaller animals, permitting more heat loss (an advantage in warm regions), and lower in larger bodies, minimizing heat loss (a benefit in colder climates). Based on this rule, scientists have recently predicted that global warming will lead to a reduction in animal size, with a possible exception: birds living in the human environment (such as pigeons, house sparrows, and the hooded crow) may gain size due to increased food availability, a phenomenon already witnessed in mammals such as jackals and wolves.

Either Long or Slender

Shahar Dubiner: “Our findings revealed a complicated picture. We identified two different types of morphological changes: some species had become lighter – their mass had decreased while their body length remained unchanged; while others had become longer – their body length had increased, while their mass remained unchanged. These together represent more than half of the species examined, but there was practically no overlap between the two groups – almost none of the birds had become both lighter and longer. We think that these are two different strategies for coping with the same problem, namely the rising temperatures. In both cases, the surface area to volume ratio is increased (by either increasing the numerator or reducing the denominator) – which helps the body lose heat to its environment. The opposite, namely a decrease in this ratio, was not observed in any of the species.”

The researchers (from left to right): Shahar Dubiner and Prof. Shai Meiri

Global Phenomenon

Sadly, flying away from global warming is not an option. These findings were observed across the country, regardless of nutrition, and in all types of species: resident birds; commensal species living in the human environment – which, contrary to predictions, exhibited changes similar to those of other birds; and migrants.

A difference was identified, however, between the two strategies: changes in body length tended to occur more in migrants, while changes in body mass were more typical of non-migratory birds. The very fact that such changes were found in migratory birds coming from Asia, Europe, and Africa, suggests that we are witnessing a global phenomenon.

The study also found that the impact of climate change over time on bird morphology (the birds’ change in either weight or length over time, relative to the actual temperature change during that time) is ten times greater than the impact of similar differences in temperature between geographical areas (the birds’ differences in weight or length in different geographical areas, relative to the temperature differences between those areas).

What is the Limit of Evolutionary Flexibility?

Shahar Dubiner: “Our findings indicate that global warming causes fast and significant changes in bird morphology. But what are the implications of these changes? Should we be concerned? Is this a problem, or rather an encouraging ability to adapt to a changing environment? Such morphological changes over a few decades probably do not represent an evolutionary adaptation, but rather certain phenotypic flexibility exhibited by the birds. We are concerned that over such a short period of time, there is a limit to the flexibility or evolutionary potential of these traits, and the birds might run out of effective solutions as temperatures continue to rise.”

Featured image: Israeli birds have become either longer or slenderer over the past 70 years

TAU Researchers Invent Healthy Weapon Against Covid

Written by AUFTAU on 15 April 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, humanity has led an arms race against mutations, variants, and extensive contagion, in order to minimize damage to human life and the economy. Currently the battle against the virus relies mainly on RNA-based vaccines, alongside several anti-viral medications.

The Covid virus, however, changes very rapidly, and frequent updates are required to treatments and vaccines that are based on familiarizing the immune system with the virus. The same is true for flu viruses, another widespread cause of illness and death. Now, TAU researchers have shown that common dietary supplements can help protect us against the Covid virus as well as several common winter illnesses.

The study was led by Prof. Ehud Gazit, Prof. Eran Bacharach, and Prof. Daniel Segal of The Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research at The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, TAU, together with PhD students Topaz Kreiser and David Zaguri and other researchers. The paper was published in Pharmaceuticals.

Preventive Supplement

Prof. Gazit, who also heads TAU’s BLAVATNIK CENTER for Drug Discovery, said: “To address the rapid changes of the virus, we decided to develop active vaccines made of safe and easily obtainable dietary supplements, that would reduce the viral load in the body and cut down contagion. We have known for years that food supplements containing zinc can enhance immunity to severe, viral, and chronic infections and their potentially grave consequences.”

The researchers found that the consumption of zinc alone achieves a relatively low cellular content. To enhance the effect, they combined the zinc with flavonoids – polyphenolic compounds found in many fruits and vegetables. They also added copper – in order to prevent an ionic imbalance and improve the treatment’s effectiveness.

“The interesting aspect is the treatment’s potential flexibility,” explains Prof. Bacharach. “We found that a combination of several flavonoids with zinc helps protect cells against a wide range of RNA viruses. We believe that the product can serve as a supplementary treatment to enhance the effect of existing anti-viral vaccines and medications.”

Prof. Segal adds: “Advanced lab tests, including PCR, have shown that the new vaccines we developed did, in fact, reduce the viral load. We found a 50-95% decrease in the genomic replication of various groups of RNA viruses, including Covid-19, the flu virus, and others. These results are very promising, possibly enabling the development of an orally administered biological shelf treatment.”

So far, all experiments were conducted in vitro in the lab, but the researchers are optimistic as to the study’s practical potential. Soon they hope to launch a series of clinical trials in humans, ultimately leading to an effective treatment accessible to everyone.

The Research Team (left to right): Professors Eran Bacharach, Daniel Segal and Ehud Gazit

TAU Launches Manufacturing Research Center in India

Written by AUFTAU on 13 April 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Tel Aviv University and Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology (TIET) in India have agreed to jointly build a collaborative research establishment to explore advanced production technologies.

The Future of Cutting-Edge Production

The new Thapar-Tel Aviv University Center of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing will draw knowledge from multidisciplinary teams from TAU and TIET with expertise in all fields of engineering and sciences. As such, it aims to promote cutting-edge research with industry applications in disciplines including biomedicine, automotives, space and defense.

TAU Vice President for International Collaboration Prof. Milette Shamir and Prof. Prakash Gopalan, Director of TIET, on April 4 signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding at TIET’s main campus in Patiala, India, in the presence of Mr R R Vederah, Chairman of TIET’s Board of Governors.

Speaking at the signing, Prof. Shamir said “TIET is an important partner for TAU in India and the new Center will bring cooperation between our two universities to a new level.” Noting that 2022 marks 30 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and India, she added that “academia plays a special role in the bilateral relationship. Through the advancement of knowledge, bridges are built between students and researchers that can generate substantial benefits for both countries.”

Expanding Existing Partnership

As part of the agreement, TIET has committed to establish a TAU Chair Professorship who will lead the Center. Prof. Noam Eliaz, the founding Chair of TAU’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering is due to serve as the new Center’s inaugural chair professor.

“I’m excited and proud to be chosen by Thapar University as TAU’s representative to serve as the new chair professor and take part in establishing one of six centers of excellence for advanced production technologies, including 3D printing and unprecedented resource investment,” he said. He added that he aims to turn the Center into a leader in its field in India and in the world.

The new Center expands the existing partnership between TAU and TIET, which includes initiatives such as the TAU-TIET Food Security Center of Excellence headed by Prof. Yossi Shacham, along with joint degree programs in life sciences and engineering, and other forms of academic cooperation.

Featured image: TAU Vice President of International Collaboration Prof. Milette Shamir (front left) and Prof. Prakash Gopalanat (front right), Director of the Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, at the April 4 signing ceremony in Patiala, India

Is the Vaccine Safe? Consult the Smart Sensor!

Written by AUFTAU on 12 April 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

In most methods used today, clinical trials designed to evaluate the safety of a new drug or vaccine employ self-report questionnaires, asking participants how they feel before and after receiving the treatment. A new study from Tel Aviv University enables developers, for the first time in the world, to determine vaccine safety via smart sensors that measure objective physiological parameters. According to the researchers, most clinical trials testing the safety of new vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, rely on participants’ subjective reports, which can lead to biased results. In contrast, objective physiological data, obtained through sensors attached to the body, is clear and unambiguous.

The study was led by Dr. Yftach Gepner of the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine, together with Dr. Dan Yamin and Dr. Erez Shmueli from TAU’s The Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering. The paper was published in Communications Medicine, a journal from the Nature portfolio.

The End of an Era?

Researchers from Tel Aviv University demonstrated that smart sensors can be used to test new vaccines. The current study was conducted when many Israelis received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The researchers equipped volunteers with innovative, FDA-approved sensors developed by the Israeli company Biobeat. Attached to their chests, these sensors measured physiological reactions from one day before to three days after receiving the vaccine.

The innovative sensors monitored 13 physiological parameters, such as: heart rate, breathing rate, saturation (blood oxygen levels), heartbeat volume, temperature, cardiac output, and blood pressure. The surprising results:

A significant discrepancy was found between subjective self-reports about side effects and actual measurements. That is, in nearly all objective measures, significant changes were identified after vaccination, even for subjects who reported having no reaction at all.
In addition, the study found that side effects escalate over the first 48 hours, and then parameters return to the level measured before vaccination. In other words: a direct assessment of the vaccine’s safety identified physiological reactions during the first 48 hours, with levels re-stabilizing afterwards.

“The message from our study is clear,” says Dr. Gepner. “In 2022 the time has come to conduct continual, sensitive, objective testing of the safety of new vaccines and therapies. There is no reason to rely on self-reports or wait for the occurrence of rare side effects like myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, which occurs in one of 10,000 patients. Preliminary signs that predict such conditions can be detected with advanced sensors, identifying normal vs. extreme alterations in physiological parameters and any risk of inflammation. Today, trial participants are invited to the clinic for blood pressure testing, but often their blood pressure rises just because the situation is stressful. Continual monitoring at home solves these problems with simple, convenient, inexpensive, and accurate means. This is the kind of medicine we should strive for in 2022.”

The Research Team (from left to right): Dr. Dan Yamin, Dr. Yftach Gepner and Dr. Erez Shmueli

Research based on a comprehensive study of 8,000 birds in Israel

Written by AUFTAU on 9 April 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers say that climate change may be responsible for changes in the morphology of many birds in Israel over the past 70 years. The body mass of some species decreased while in others body length increased, in both cases increasing the ratio between surface area and volume. The researchers contend that these are strategies to facilitate heat loss to the environment.

“The birds evidently changed in response to the changing climate,” the researchers concluded. “However, this solution may not be fully adequate, especially as temperatures continue to rise.”

The study was led by Professor Shai Meiri and PhD student Shahar Dubiner of the School of Zoology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at TAU. The paper was published in the scientific journal Global Ecology and Biogeography.

Professor Meiri explains that according to “Bergmann’s rule,” an ecogeographical rule formulated in the 19th century, members of bird and mammal species living in a cold climate tend to be larger than members of the same species living in a warmer climate. This is because the ratio of surface area to volume is higher in smaller animals, permitting more heat loss (an advantage in warm regions), and lower in larger bodies, minimizing heat loss (a benefit in colder climates). Based on this rule, scientists have predicted that global warming will lead to a reduction in animal size, with a possible exception: birds living in the human environment (such as pigeons, house sparrows, and the hooded crow) may gain size due to increased food availability, a phenomenon already witnessed in mammals such as jackals and wolves.

Relying on the vast bird collection preserved by the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at TAU, the researchers looked for changes in bird morphology over the past 70 years in Israel. They examined approximately 8,000 adult specimens of 106 different species, including migratory birds that annually pass through Israel such as the common chiffchaff, white stork, and black buzzard; resident wild birds like the Eurasian jay, Eurasian eagle-owl, and rock partridge; and commensal birds that live near humans. They built a complex statistical model consisting of various parameters to assess morphological changes — in the birds’ body mass, body length and wing length — during the relevant period.

“Our findings revealed a complicated picture,” Dubiner says. “We identified two different types of morphological changes: some species had become lighter – their mass had decreased while their body length remained unchanged; while others had become longer – their body length had increased, while their mass remained unchanged. These together represent more than half of the species examined, but there was practically no overlap between the two groups – almost none of the birds had become both lighter and longer.

“We think that these are two different strategies for coping with the same problem, namely the rising temperatures. In both cases, the surface area to volume ratio is increased by either increasing the numerator or reducing the denominator, which helps the body lose heat to its environment. The opposite, namely a decrease in this ratio, was not observed in any of the species.”

These findings were observed across the country, regardless of nutrition, and in all types of species. A difference was identified, however, between the two strategies: changes in body length tended to occur more in migrants, while changes in body mass were more typical of non-migratory birds. The very fact that such changes were found in migratory birds coming from Asia, Europe, and Africa suggests that this is a global phenomenon. The study also found that the impact of climate change over time on bird morphology is 10 times greater than the impact of similar differences in temperature between geographical areas.

“Our findings indicate that global warming causes fast and significant changes in bird morphology,” Dubiner concludes. “But what are the implications of these changes? Should we be concerned? Is this a problem, or rather an encouraging ability to adapt to a changing environment? Such morphological changes over a few decades probably do not represent an evolutionary adaptation, but rather certain phenotypic flexibility exhibited by the birds. We are concerned that over such a short period of time, there is a limit to the flexibility or evolutionary potential of these traits, and the birds might run out of effective solutions as temperatures continue to rise.”

Work created by TAU-affiliated artists can’t exist on earth

Written by AUFTAU on 9 April 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Many think that physics is an exact science that requires the application of analytical and quantitative abilities, while art is based on emotion and creativity. A collaboration between the physicist Dr. Yasmine Meroz of Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the contemporary artist Liat Segal challenges the boundaries between the two fields. Their joint work, called “Impossible Object,” will be launched in April to the International Space Station (ISS), as part of the “Rakia” mission of the Israeli astronaut Eitan Stiva.

Dr. Meroz is a senior faculty member at the School of Plant Sciences and Food Security at TAU’s Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, whose lab studies the physics of plant systems. Segal studied Computer Science and Biology and worked in the hi-tech industry for several years, before shifting her career to arts. The special bond between the two was created when they were graduate students at the same lab at TAU.

“Impossible Object” is a sculpture made of water. The liquid’s three-dimensional form does not get its shape from any vessel and so cannot exist on earth, but only in outer space in the absence of gravity.

The sculpture is made of interconnected brass pipes and rods, through which water is flown. In the absence of gravity, the water adheres to the rods and forms a liquid layer shaped by water tension, which envelopes the brass structure, yielding a three-dimensional shape that changes over time. The underlying brass structure is reminiscent of a wavy and directionless staircase, raising questions about shape and form in the absence of gravity and directionality. In particular, what is the shape of water? What does a “slice of the sea” or a “handful of a wave” look like?

“There is much in common between art and scientific research: Both are the result of a thought process in which creativity plays a central role and are motivated by the desire to ask interesting questions,” Dr. Meroz says. “‘Impossible Object’ is a research-based artwork, where the medium is basically the physics underpinning water behavior in the absence of gravity. I learned a lot in the process, and I have no doubt it will contribute to research in my laboratory. In this respect, this work expresses the unrealized potential of the synergy between art and scientific research.”

“I am very happy about my collaboration with Yasmine,” Segal adds. “In this collaboration we not only shared knowledge and inspiration, but we were also able to bring about a true co-creation, which could not have been realized by each one of us individually. ‘Impossible Object’ is timely, weighing the role of culture and art at an era when humanity is experiencing accelerated scientific and technological developments. Following incredible technological and scientific achievements in space, and as space tourism becomes tangible, it is important to reflect on the place of culture and arts in our lives, on earth and beyond.”

This is their second collaboration; their previous artwork, “Tropism,” has been exhibited at TAU’s Genia Schreiber University Art Gallery.

TAU Nanodrug Enables 2-in-1 Attack on Cancer

Written by AUFTAU on 6 April 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

To overcome the resistance of certain cancers to different types of treatments, Tel Aviv University researchers developed a nanodrug technology that simultaneously delivers two therapies to attack malignancy with precision. The approach lays the groundwork for cancer treatments that can work faster and with fewer side effects than existing methods.

“In our system, a single nanoparticle is capable of operating in two different arenas,” explains lead investigator Prof. Dan Peer, TAU’s Vice President of R&D, who heads the Laboratory of Precision Nanomedicine at the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences. “It increases the receptiveness of cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy, while also reinvigorating immune cells and increasing their sensitivity to cancer cells. Thus, with one precisely targeted nanoparticle we provide two different treatments, at very different sites.”

Chemo-immunotherapy, which combines chemotherapy with immunotherapy, is considered the most advanced standard of care for various types of cancer. While chemotherapy destroys cancer cells, immunotherapy encourages the immune system to identify and attack diseased cells while sparing healthy cells critical to recovery. However, many patients fail to respond to chemo-immunotherapy, indicating the need for treatments that target cancer with greater accuracy.

Potential to Heal

In a study, Peer’s team showed how a single minescule particle, called a lipid nanoparticle, acts as a molecular precision-guided missile to deliver the two-in-one medicine directly to cancer cells. The medicine, an advanced RNA (ribonucleic acid)-based compound, alters how cancer cells function to make them identifiable for chemotherapy and immunotherapy for obliteration.

“This is only an initial study, but it has enormous potential for positive change in the ongoing fight against cancer,” says Peer, who is a global pioneer in the field of RNA medicines. Dr. Seok- Beom Yong, a post-doctoral researcher at Peer’s lab, co-led the study. Their team tested the system in lab models for metastasized melanoma, the most aggressive type of skin cancer which spreads to other parts of the body, along with a local solid tumor confined to a single organ.

“In both populations we observed positive effects of our drug delivery system,” adds Peer, who is a member of the Roman Abramovich Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at TAU. The results were published in the scientific journal Advanced Materials.

Targeted Treatment

The new development by Peer’s team builds on a recent discovery by international scientists that sheds light on how cancer evades common treatments. The discovery demonstrates how an enzyme called HO1 is used by cancer cells to both resist chemotherapy and conceal themselves from the immune system. Silencing HO1 in tumors is thus considered an optimal strategy in clinical research, but so far, all attempts to silence the enzyme led to severe side effects.

“Existing methods for silencing HO1 resemble using an F-16 fighter jet to blast a tiny ant,” says Peer. “Our new nanodrug knows how to precisely target the cancer cells, silence the enzyme, and expose the tumor to chemotherapy, without causing any damage to surrounding healthy cells. Afterwards, the same nanoparticle goes on to reprogram T-cells in the immune system to restore their ability to recognize cancer as a foreign body and attack it.”

The study was funded by an ERC grant from the European Union and a research fellowship from the South Korean government.

Strengthening Local Leadership in Israel

Written by AUFTAU on 6 April 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Bloomberg Philanthropies and The Sagol Family announced a major new effort to strengthen local leadership across Israel through The Bloomberg-Sagol Center for City Leadership at Tel Aviv University. Inspired by the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, the new program aims to help mayors of cities across Israel deliver better and more equitable public services to residents, strengthen social bonds, and deepen ties to the global community of innovative city leaders.

“Israel’s local authorities have a much greater impact on citizens’ lifestyles and quality of life than the central government,” said Professor Ariel Porat, President of Tel Aviv University. “The quality of sanitation, transportation, welfare, education, and health services mostly depends on the local authority’s performance. This new program aims to improve the management of local authorities in Israel, thereby enhancing the quality of life of Israelis throughout the country.”

Mayors on the Front Lines

“The series of recent terrorist attacks in Israel underscores the urgency of this new initiative, which is aimed at helping mayors confront their most difficult challenges and most pressing crises,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and 108th mayor of New York City. “Mayors are on the front lines of every crisis, whether it’s terrorism or a pandemic. The Bloomberg Harvard program has proved phenomenally successful, and now we’re glad to team up with our partners in Israel on a new program that builds on our success and will help local leaders across the State of Israel.”

In 2016, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Harvard University established the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, an unparalleled effort by Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and Harvard Business School (HBS) to build the leadership capabilities of mayors and their teams. By engaging 40 mayors and 80 senior city leaders each year, this program develops effective organizational practices in city halls around the world, invests in a new generation of city leaders, and advances knowledge and establishes the field of city leadership at large. The program has trained 196 mayors and 318 leaders from 25 countries in the past five years.

Yossi Sagol began working with Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2018 to develop an Israel-based program similar to the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative that could strengthen the country from the local level up. The Bloomberg-Sagol Center for City Leadership is the first-ever initiative inspired by the Bloomberg Harvard program and will be housed at Tel Aviv University’s Coller School of Management under the direction of Dean Moshe Zviran, the inaugural Faculty Director of the Israel City Leadership Initiative.

“Mayors are required to make decisions that impact tens or hundreds of thousands of people and manage huge budgets, but most of them lack experience in managing organizations that are as large and complex as a local authority,” said inaugural Faculty Director Moshe Zviran. “The job of mayor requires a vast range of managerial skills at the highest level and in our new program we intend to equip participants with helpful insights and a useful toolbox for making critical decisions and implementing innovation in the urban environment. Here they will also learn about developments in other cities, both in Israel and around the world.”

Elad Mayor Yisrael Porush, Yossi Sagol, Knesset Member Yoav Gallant, and Sami Sagol at the launch event (Photo: Chen Galili)

Year Long Program

The Bloomberg-Sagol Center for City Leadership will focus on developing the leadership and management skills of mayors and their senior aides, while strengthening city hall operations. Specifically, the year-long program will build critical capabilities in fostering collaboration, using data in decision making, negotiation, crisis management, resident engagement, and generating and implementing innovative ideas through:

• Executive Education: Mayors and senior leaders will receive instruction in how to build leadership and management skills conducted by Coller School of Business and other Tel Aviv University disciplines. The mayors will conclude the year with additional training and networking hosted by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Harvard University in New York City and Boston, in the United States.

• City Innovation Projects: Each mayor will receive innovation training and support to address an urgent issue facing their city with coaching and technical assistance from Hazira, an Israeli national program that establishes and guides innovation teams in local government across the country.

• Summer Fellowship Program: Tel Aviv University students will take part in a 10-week summer fellowship program in participating mayors’ offices throughout Israel.

• Local Government Alumni Network: The program will forge a local leadership network that will bring together all program participants and eventually alumni – mayors, municipal chiefs of staff and other senior city leaders – to share and adapt best practices and innovative policy ideas. The network will also serve as a platform for continuous education for participants and alumni.

• Research Program: The program will convene scholars from across Tel Aviv University to conduct applied research on a wide range of topics that are relevant to effective leadership and management in cities.

The State of Israel has about 260 cities and towns with mayors. The Bloomberg-Sagol Center for City Leadership will invite applications and up to 20 mayors will be admitted each year. Selected mayors will also invite two key members of their team to go through the program. The first class of mayors will be announced in fall 2022. All expenses for the city hall officials program participation will be covered by this philanthropic funding through Tel Aviv University.

The program was inaugurated at a festive event at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural Science. Michael Bloomberg and Yossi Sagol were among speakers along with US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides and Oakland, California Mayor Libby Schaaf, an alumna of the Bloomberg Harvard program. Over a dozen Israeli mayors were also in attendance.

Over a dozen Israeli mayors attended the inauguration of The Bloomberg-Sagol Center for City Leadership at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at TAU (Photo: Chen Galili)

Featured image: Left to Right: Michael R. Bloomberg, Prof. Ariel Porat and Yossi Sagol (Photo: Chen Galili)

TAU Alumnae are the most influential women in Israel

Written by AUFTAU on 5 April 2022. Posted in Alumni News, Newsroom.

Globes Magazine has published the “50 Most Influential Women in Israel” project for 2022, which showcases the top women in the country whose work has significantly influenced the public or the public discourse in the past year.

The women on the prestigious list come from various fields like economics, industry, tourism, finance, high-tech, the public sector, the health system, the legal system, real estate, security, politics, society, education, media and advertising.

Tel Aviv University is represented by 14 alumnae, the highest number of alumnae amongst all academic institutions in Israel in the respected team:

Minister of the Interior Ayelet Shaked, alumna of TAU’s Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering and the Blavatnik School of Computer Science
Esther Hayut, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel, alumna of the Buchmann Faculty of Law
Attorney General Adv. Gali Baharav-Miara, alumna of the Buchmann Faculty of Law
Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, Chief Military Prosecutor, alumna of the Buchmann Faculty of Law
Ofra Strauss, Chairperson of the Public Strauss Group, alumna of the Buchmann Faculty of Law
Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, Head of Public Health Services at the Israeli Ministry of Health, alumna of the Coller School of Management
Shira Greenberg, Chief Economist at the Israeli Ministry of Finance, alumna of the School of Economics at TAU’s Faculty of Social Sciences
Liran Avisar Ben Horin, Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Communications, alumna of the Buchmann Faculty of Law and the Coller School of Management
Dr. Osnat Levtzion-Korach, General Director of the Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh Hospital), alumna of the Coller School of Management
Lilach Asher-Topilsky, Senior Partner at Fimi Opportunity Funds, alumna of TAU’s Faculty of Social Sciences and the Coller School of Management
Etty Abadi, CEO of McCann TLV, alumna of TAU’s Faculty of Humanities and the Coller School of Management
Sarit Firon, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Team8 Capital and Chairperson of Evogene, alumna of TAU’s Faculty of Social Sciences and the Coller School of Management
Lior Eshkol, CEO of Wolt Israel, alumna of TAU’s Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering
Tami Bronner, Partner at the Vertex Venture Capital Fund, alumna of TAU’s Faculty of Social Sciences and the Coller School of Management

See the full project (in Hebrew) on Globes’ website>

First Israeli Research Book Published in Abu Dhabi

Written by AUFTAU on 3 April 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

How are the Birds Coping with Climate Change?

Cooling Down

Either Long or Slender

Global Phenomenon

What is the Limit of Evolutionary Flexibility?

TAU Researchers Invent Healthy Weapon Against Covid

TAU Launches Manufacturing Research Center in India

Is the Vaccine Safe? Consult the Smart Sensor!

Research based on a comprehensive study of 8,000 birds in Israel

Work created by TAU-affiliated artists can’t exist on earth

TAU Nanodrug Enables 2-in-1 Attack on Cancer

Potential to Heal

Strengthening Local Leadership in Israel

TAU Alumnae are the most influential women in Israel

See the full project (in Hebrew) on Globes’ website>

First Israeli Research Book Published in Abu Dhabi

Victoria

New South Wales

Western Australia

Researchers detect changes in birds’ bodies, probably caused by global warming.

Cooling Down

Either Long or Slender

Global Phenomenon

What is the Limit of Evolutionary Flexibility?

Vaccines of dietary supplements can help protect us against Corona and winter illnesses.

Preventive Supplement

Initiative will promote cutting-edge research with applications in biomedicine, space, defense, and more.

The Future of Cutting-Edge Production

Expanding Existing Partnership

Innovative technology will prevent the reliance on self-reports for future vaccines, using smart sensors to ensure vaccine safety.

The End of an Era?

Innovation pinpoints hard-to-treat cancers and amplifies their responsiveness to treatments.

Potential to Heal

New TAU program will help mayors of cities across Israel improve services, strengthen social bonds, and foster relationship with mayors globally.

Mayors on the Front Lines

Year Long Program

Globes published the “50 Most Influential Women in Israel” project for 2022, and the TAU alumnae community continues to break glass ceilings and increase TAU’s honor and prestige!

The work was issued by the UAE’s largest public research institute.

Models for Inspiration

Victoria

New South Wales

Western Australia