The prestigious Academic Influence ranking has placed Prof. Zvi Galil as 7th among the world’s most influential computer scientists for the decade of 2010-2020.
Prof. Galil is an alumnus, former faculty member and department chair, and seventh president of Tel Aviv University.
Academic Influence is an American AI-based platform that ranks academic institutions and lecturers according to their impact. Prof. Galil was ranked in the top 10 in his field, in part due to his contribution to making the knowledge of computer science accessible to wide audiences, and specifically for the online MSc in Computer Science that he pioneered in 2014 at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). The launch of the online program significantly reduced the cost of obtaining an advanced degree and made it available to populations unserved by institutions of higher learning. The program was widely acclaimed, and former US President Barack Obama commended it enthusiastically.
Prof. Galil is an acclaimed computer scientist who has published more than 200 papers in leading journals, and one of the most highly cited researchers in his field. Among his leaderships roles he is the former dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Computing and former Morris and Alma A. Schapiro Dean of Engineering at Columbia University.
Prof. Zvi Galil: “It was a great privilege to initiate and lead an online master’s program in computer science which offers high academic quality at low cost, thereby enabling large numbers of students – 16,000 to date – to realize their aspirations and improve their lives.”
Innovative technology of BLAVATNIK CENTER for Drug Discovery may save boy suffering from rare neurological syndrome.
In December 2019, the BLAVATNIK CENTER for Drug Discovery at Tel Aviv University was presented with a challenge which demanded flexibility and thinking outside the box.
Prof. Ehud Gazit, Founder and Academic Director of the BLAVATNIK CENTER for Drug Discovery at Tel Aviv University, received an email from Scott Reich, a very worried father. Scott’s son Eli, only eight months old at the time, had just been diagnosed with the ultra-rare FOXG1 syndrome, a neurological disorder that severely impacts brain development. With only about 700 known cases worldwide, predominantly children with severe disabilities, this devastating condition attracts little research and has no cure.
Determined to save his son, Scott searched all over the world for experts who could develop a treatment for the rare syndrome. The advice and recommendations of leading scientists and health professionals led him to the BLAVATNIK CENTER at TAU in Israel, which specializes in the field of drug repurposing: repurposing FDA-approved medications and other safe substances to help people with rare diseases, all too often overlooked by the big pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Eddy Pichinuk, Head of the HTS and Biological Assays Unit at BLAVATNIK CENTER, whose team was already conducting research for several other families affected by rare diseases, willingly accepted the new challenge.
Dr Pichinuk and his team quickly obtained a sample of Eli’s cells, which had been deposited in a biobank for rare disease biosamples, and established a personalized drug-screening platform to test these cells against known, safe, FDA-approved molecules that could be repurposed. Essentially, they were looking for any drug (originally developed for some other purpose) that would increase the amount of FOXG1 protein in Eli’s brain, making up for the damaging deficiency caused by the mutation. The researchers were well aware that this might be Eli’s only hope for a more normal life: once a safe and effective drug is identified, it can be repurposed to offer Eli and others like him compassionate treatment.
“Our screening platform is based on a luminescent protein, expressed in fireflies, that replaces the faulty protein in Eli’s cells,” explains Eddy. “We are screening a library of about 7,000 FDA-approved substances, initially developed to treat a range of diseases, such as cancer, psychiatric disorders, or various inflammatory syndromes. By testing each drug’s interaction with the marked protein in Eli’s cells, we have so far discovered several potentially helpful drug candidates. As we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, we continue to search for additional drugs.”
In the next stage, the researchers will use advanced methods of genetic engineering to transform skin samples from Eli and his parents into stem cells and then into neurons. Ultimately, they will test the effect of the chosen drugs on Eli’s neurons. Determined and optimistic, they aim to restore more normalized brain development.
Thinking Outside the Box
Dr. Avi Raveh, the BLAVATNIK CENTER’s Chief Scientific Officer, explains that the Center offers a unique research approach, applying personalized medicine methodology to rare diseases. “We respond to requests from families all over the world, often at the last moment before they lose hope. Unlike large research institutions, we resemble a small and dynamic startup, eliminating or speeding up any bureaucracy and getting right down to the crux of the challenge. In Eli Reich’s case, with the time window for brain development closing fast, this flexibility is crucial. I truly hope that we can help him.”
“Coming to Israel and working with the BLAVATNIK CENTER has been a good experience so far,” says Scott. Thanks to the Israeli spirit of collaboration, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have also been recruited to join the mission of saving Eli. He remains hopeful: “When we heard the devastating diagnosis, I said to my wife Ilissa: ‘We have to go to Israel. In Israel, we’ll find the know-how, experience and out-of-the-box thinking that we need.’ Reaching out through the American Jewish community and our Israeli friends, we got in touch with the BLAVATNIK CENTER for Drug Discovery, and immediately felt at home. The team is very creative, they work fast and are sincerely dedicated to finding a treatment for FOXG1 syndrome – they’re not just looking to publish a paper in a scientific journal. For us, this genuine commitment is extremely important. The BLAVATNIK CENTER team is doing everything they can so that Eli and others with FOXG1 Syndrome may live and hopefully enjoy more productive lives.”
For more information about FOXG1 and Eli Reich, please visit BELIEVE IN A CURE
Featured image: The Reich Familiy
TAU study suggests the extinction of large animals led to increased volume of the human brain.
In recent years, more and more evidence has been accumulated to the effect that humans were a major factor in the extinction of large animals, and consequently had to adapt to hunting smaller animals, first in Africa and later in all other parts of the world.
When humans first emerged in Africa 2.6 million years ago, the average size of land mammals was close to 500kg. Just before the beginning of agriculture, this figure had decreased by over 90% – down to a few dozen kilos.
In their new study, Dr. Miki Ben-Dor and Prof. Ran Barkai from the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University offer an original and unifying explanation for the physiological, behavioral and cultural evolution of the human species, from its first appearance about two million years ago, to the agricultural revolution, around 10,000 BCE. Dr. Ben-Dor and Prof. Barkai suggest that humans developed as hunters of large animals, eventually causing the extinction of the latter.
Hunting Smarter, Not Harder
Comparing the size of animals found in archaeological cultures, representing different species of humans in east Africa, southern Europe and Israel, the researchers found that in all cases there was a significant decline in the prevalence of animals weighing over 200kg, coupled with an increase in the volume of the human brain. According to the researchers, the decrease in the size of wild animals and the need to hunt small, swift animals forced humans to display cunning and boldness – an evolutionary process that demanded increased volume of the human brain – which actually grew from 650cc to 1,500cc – and later led to the development of language enabling the exchange of information about where prey could be found.
“We correlate the increase in human brain volume with the need to become smarter hunters,” explains Dr. Ben-Dor. For example, the need to hunt dozens of gazelles instead of one elephant generated prolonged evolutionary pressure on the brain functions of humans, who were now using up much more energy in both movement and thought processes. Hunting small animals, that are constantly threatened by predators and therefore very quick to take flight, requires a physiology adapted to the chase as well as more sophisticated hunting tools. Cognitive activity also rises as fast tracking requires fast decision-making, based on phenomenal acquaintance with the animals’ behavior – information that needs to be stored in a larger memory.” The theory claims that all means served one end: body energy conservation.
Getting Comfortable
“The evolutionary adaptation of humans was very successful,” says Dr. Ben-Dor. “As the size of animals continued to decrease, the invention of the bow and arrow and domestication of dogs enabled more efficient hunting of medium-sized and small animals – until these populations also dwindled. Toward the end of the Stone Age, as animals became even smaller, humans had to put more energy into hunting than they were able to get back. Indeed, this is when the Agricultural Revolution occurred, involving the domestication of both animals and plants. As humans moved into permanent settlements and became farmers, their brain size decreased to its current volume of 1300-1400cc. This happened because, with domesticated plants and animals that don’t take flight, there was no more need for the allocation of outstanding cognitive abilities to the task of hunting.”
Prof. Barkai adds: “It must be understood that our perspective is not deterministic. Humans brought this trouble upon themselves. By focusing on hunting the largest animals, they caused extinctions. Wherever humans appeared – whether homo erectus or homo sapiens, we see, sooner or later, mass extinction of large animals. Dependence on large animals had its price. Humans undercut their own livelihood. But while other species, like our cousins the Neanderthals, became extinct when their large prey disappeared, homo sapiens decided to start over again, this time relying on agriculture.”
To date, no unifying explanation has been proposed for this major phenomenon in human prehistory. The novel theory was published in Quaternary Journal.
A triple alumna and long-time benefactor of TAU, she will be first woman in role.
Last Wednesday, Tel Aviv University’s Search Committee unanimously recommended the appointment of Dafna Meitar-Nechmad as the next Chair of the TAU Board of Governors.
After serving for three years as Co-Chair of the TAU Global Campaign, Meitar-Nechmad will replace Prof. Jacob A. Frenkel, who will be completing two four-year terms as Chair of the Board of Governors at the next Board of Governors meeting. Her appointment is subject to the Board of Governors’ ratification.
This new appointment follows a series of eleven women appointed to leading positions at TAU over the past year, including VP for International Academic Relations, and the Deans of the Faculties of Exact Sciences, Humanities and Innovative Learning.
Meitar-Nechmad is an alumna of TAU and former partner in the Meitar Law Offices. No longer a practicing lawyer, she is a social investor with extensive philanthropic experience. Among her many public roles, she serves on the Boards of JFN – Jewish Funders Network and the Metropolitan Opera of New York, and heads the Zvi and Ofra Meitar Family Fund, which supports a wide range of cultural and educational organizations and projects both in Israel and overseas, with TAU as its major beneficiary. Meitar-Nechmad and her family founded the Zvi Meitar Center for Advanced Legal Studies at TAU’s Buchmann Faculty of Law. In addition, Meitar-Nechmad is a founding member of the Institute for Law and Philanthropy, also at TAU’s Faculty of Law, which researches and promotes philanthropy in Israel, aiming to advance justice and equality in Israeli society and serves on its Management Committees. She is also a member of Committed to Give, an initiative for promoting philanthropy in Israel.
The Search Committee was headed by Prof. Itamar Rabinovich, former President of Tel Aviv University. In its recommendation, the committee members noted that they had been greatly impressed by Meitar-Nechmad’s leadership capabilities, her record as a leader of TAU’s Global Campaign, her extensive experience in the world of philanthropy and fundraising, and her commitment and dedication to the advancement of Tel Aviv University.
TAU’s Board of Governors holds supervisory and control functions and is mandated to help the University raise funds for further development.
Dafna Meitar-Nechmad thanked the Search Committee for recommending her appointment and said: “As a woman, a social investor and an alumna of TAU, it will be a great honor and privilege for me to head its Board of Governors. The past decade has seen substantial development at TAU, in research, education and contribution to the community, and I am certain that together we can keep up this momentum, expand the sources of funding, and open TAU’s gates to new target populations from both Israel and abroad.”
TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat congratulated Dafna Meitar-Nechmad and said: “I am very happy that the Search Committee recommended Dafna Meitar-Nechmad for such an important role at our University. Dafna has a great deal of experience in social and philanthropic activities and I have no doubt that with her support we will be able to continue the advancement of TAU’s excellence in many areas. Having seen Dafna’s activities successfully benefit TAU, and recognizing her social commitment and inspiring personality, I look forward to working together for the further consolidation of TAU’s academic, social and economic standing and its contribution to society.”
TAU researchers open the door to sensory integrations between robots and insects
Tel Aviv University researchers have opened the door to sensory integrations between robots and insects: for the first time, the ear of a dead locust was connected to a robot that receives the ear’s electrical signals and responds accordingly. The result is extraordinary: When the researchers clap once, the locust’s ear hears the sound and the robot moves forward; when the researchers clap twice, the robot moves backwards.
In general, biological systems have a huge advantage over technological systems – both in terms of sensitivity and in terms of energy consumption. This initiative of Tel Aviv University researchers may in the future make much more cumbersome and expensive developments in the field of robotics redundant.
An Interdisciplinary Effort
The interdisciplinary study was led by Idan Fishel, a joint master student under the joint supervision of Dr. Ben M. Maoz of The Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering and the Sagol School of Neuroscience, Prof. Yossi Yovel and Prof. Amir Ayali, experts from the School of Zoology and the Sagol School of Neuroscience together with Dr. Anton Sheinin, Yoni Amit, and Neta Shavil. The results of the study were published in the prestigious journal Sensors.
The researchers explain that at the beginning of the study, they sought to examine how the advantages of biological systems could be integrated into technological systems, and how the sensory organs of a dead locust could be used as sensors for a robot. “We chose the sense of hearing, because it can be easily compared to existing technologies, in contrast to the sense of smell, for example, where the challenge is much greater,” says Dr. Maoz. “Our task was to replace the robot’s electronic microphone with a dead insect’s ear, use the ear’s ability to detect the electrical signals from the environment, in this case vibrations in the air, and, using a special chip, convert the insect input to that of the robot.”
To carry out this unique and unconventional task, the interdisciplinary team (Maoz, Yovel and Ayali) first built a robot capable of responding to signals it receives from the environment. Subsequently, the researchers were able to isolate and characterize the dead locust ear and keep it functional long enough to successfully connect it to the robot. In the final stage, the team succeeded in finding a way to pick up the signals received by the locust’s ear in a way that could be received and responded to by the robot.
“Prof. Ayali’s laboratory has extensive experience working with locusts, and they have developed the skills to isolate and characterize the ear,” explains Dr. Maoz. “Prof. Yovel’s laboratory built the robot and developed code that enables the robot to respond to electrical auditory signals. And my laboratory has developed a special device – Ear-on-a-Chip – that allows the ear to be kept alive throughout the experiment by supplying oxygen and food to the organ, while allowing the electrical signals to be taken out of the locust’s ear and amplified and transmitted to the robot.
Biological systems expend negligible energy compared to electronic systems. They are miniature, and therefore also extremely economical and efficient. For the sake of comparison, a laptop consumes about 100 watts per hour, while the human brain consumes about 20 watts a day.
In addition, “Nature is much more advanced than we are, so we should use it,” urges Dr. Maoz. “The principle we have demonstrated can be used and applied to other senses, such as smell, sight and touch. For example, some animals have amazing abilities to detect explosives or drugs; the creation of a robot with a biological nose could help us preserve human life and identify criminals in a way that is not possible today. Some animals know how to detect diseases. Others can sense earthquakes. The sky is the limit.”
Center to take TAU and Israel to forefront of the global artificial intelligence revolution.
Tel Aviv University launched the new, interdisciplinary Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science today, headed by Prof. Meir Feder of the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering.
The Center will enhance basic science in these fields, encourage cross-disciplinary research that uses the most advanced methods of artificial intelligence (AI) and data science (DS), and train a new generation of researchers and industrialists who will take Israel to the forefront of the global AI revolution in the coming years. Moreover, it will lay the groundwork for the rapidly growing field of quantum computing. The launch event took place during TAU’s annual AI Week.
Penetrating All Areas of Life
TAU President, Prof. Ariel Porat: “The establishment of the AI Center is one more step toward implementing TAU’s vision for advancing groundbreaking, interdisciplinary research that brings together the university’s finest researchers, the high-tech industry and the community. Not long ago we launched the interdisciplinary Center for Combating Pandemics and over the coming year we intend to establish more such centers, such as one for climate change and another for healthy aging. TAU’s great advantage is its enormous range of disciplines. Our new interdisciplinary centers will further extend the scope of research, combining different disciplines, from engineering and computer science through life sciences, medicine and psychology, to economics, management, humanities, arts and law.”
Prof. Meir Feder emphasized that “the AI revolution is expected to impact our way of life in every aspect, from drug development and data-based personalized medicine, to defense and security systems, financial systems, scientific discoveries, robotics, autonomous systems and social issues. In addition, it is very important to train human capital in this area, and therefore the Center will provide all TAU students with basic AI education.” According to Prof. Feder, the Center will include hundreds of researchers, and will promote collaborations among scientists all over campus. It will also foster collaborations with the defense and other industries, the public sector, and leading universities and research institutions around the world.
Prof. Feder added that next month the AI Center will launch its collaboration with Google Israel as part of the company’s “AI for Social Good” program.
Prof. Ben–Israel stressed that “the applications of intelligent systems have far-reaching implications for practically every area of modern life, including security, medicine, transportation, automation, retail, customer service and numerous others. Various AI and machine learning algorithms, together with the enormous increase in computational power, are already beginning to penetrate all areas of our lives, and understanding them requires proficiency not only in the obvious technological disciplines such as computer science, mathematics and engineering, but also in the social, legal, business and even philosophical spheres.”
The students have planned assembled, experimented and created an autonomous sailing boat, and SAIL-IL will be the first Israeli autonomous cruise to sail from Tel Aviv University.
Original partners of the project, Shoval Ben Shoshan and Nadav Sholav, made use of their experience from their military service when executing this exciting, and no doubt also challenging, project. Nadav got interested in the project due to his background in the Navy and explains that “The faculty encourages projects across different schools, allowing for inter-disciplinary cooperation, as well as engaging with the world outside for outside inspiration. The competition offers an opportunity to combine skills from different engineering fields to tackle a real-world challenge”.
Shoval adds that “Universities from around the world are participating in the RoboBoat competition. Our vision is to be the first team from TAU – but not the last – to compete. In fact, we are already looking for new students who would like to join and lead next year’s project”, says Shoval.
SAIL-IL Team members
The Event Details
We will also be sharing highlights from the event on our Instagram profile – follow the hashtag #tau_sail.
The schedule for the event:
11:00 – 11:30 – Gathering
11:30 – 12:30 – First sea trial
12:30 – 13:00 – Preparations for second sea trial
13:00-14:00 – Second sea trial
Featured image: SAIL-IL Team members preparing the boat before its sea trial
New study proves biological treatment can be a suitable alternative to antibiotics.
In a groundbreaking new study led by Dr. Natalia Freund and doctoral candidate Avia Watson at the TAU Sackler Faculty of Medicine, researchers were able to develop a “biological antibiotic” and demonstrates that human antibodies can offer an alternative to the traditional chemical antibiotics. The study was conducted in collaboration with laboratories in the United States and China and published in the prestigious scientific journal NatureCommunications.
During the past century, antibiotics have served as the main treatment against bacteria, being both efficient and cheap. Antibiotics are chemical agents, designed to block and destroy specific cells, such as microbial cells. However, since some biological mechanisms are common to both human and microbial cells, the range of antibiotics that can safely be used without harming the patient is limited. For example, cell wall components of many strains of microbes are common to human cells; therefore, any damage caused to the microbial cell walls can lead to extensive damage to body systems. Furthermore, in recent years the number of microbial strains that are resistant to existing antibiotics has grown, which presents new challenges of defending the body from microbes in the post-antibiotic era.
For these reasons, Dr. Natalia Freund and her laboratory team have spent the recent years searching for a biological alternative to known antibiotics. Dr. Freund explains, “Advances in biological medicine have enabled us to rout the germs in new ways that are not based solely on antibiotics, allowing for a solution to the challenge posed by resistant germs. Our study is an initial proof of the concept of employing monoclonal antibodies (derived from single cells) as an effective therapy for combating bacterial pathogens”. Antibodies are proteins that are produced naturally by our immune response following infection or a vaccine. They harbor many advantages such as specificity, stability and safety. This is why antibodies are today in widespread use in the clinic for treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases and viral infections such as COVID-19.
Tuberculosis as Test Case
The research team chose Tuberculosis, which is caused by infection of the bacilli Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as a test case and were able, for the first time ever, to create an effective treatment based on anti-bacterial antibodies that developed naturally during infection (the antibodies were extracted from a patient who had been infected, and has since recovered, from tuberculosis). Another reason for the choice of tuberculosis is that although the vaccine against tuberculosis was developed 100 years ago (and is based on the attenuated bacillus bovis (BCG) strain), it is not effective for adults and does not prevent infection. In addition, in recent years, more and more strains of disease have developed that are resistant to the only treatment currently available: treatment with antibiotics. Since tuberculosis bacteria are highly contagious and are transmitted through the air and damaging to the lungs, the spread of untreated resistant strains of tuberculosis constitutes a real hazard. Today, about a quarter of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis, with the rates of drug-resistant strains peaking as high as 40% in some countries. In Israel, there are about 200 active tuberculosis cases every year.
Dr. Natalia Freund and her research team
Future Targets: Pneumonia and Staphylococcal Infections
Due to the size and complexity of the tuberculosis bacillus, previous efforts to isolate monoclonal antibodies against it have been futile. The researchers in Dr. Freund’s laboratory have succeeded in isolating two types of antibodies which contributed to a 50% reduction of the bacterial levels in mice relative to other mice that were not treated with antibodies. These antibodies have been found to be effective against three different strains of the tuberculosis bacterium and are expected to be effective also against additional strains that have not yet been investigated, including strains that are resistant to antibiotics
Following the success of the study, Dr. Freund’s laboratory is currently exploring the possibility of extending the “biological” substitute for antibiotics to include other diseases. “The demonstrated case for this study will enable us to expand on our future work to include diseases such as pneumonia and staphylococcal infections,” says Dr. Freund.
TAU’s AI Week brings together top Israeli and global experts in the field for three fascinating days, Feb 22-24.
It is time for TAU’s annual International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI), continuing our tradition of gathering prominent figures who address the most significant issues in the field with technology experts, industry executives, and government representatives.
Combining technological leadership, applied AI and cutting-edge research, AI Week will highlight the way in which AI technology is revolutionizing business strategy, policy and future development. Discussions will focus on formulating national plans for the advancement of AI, the use of AI in medicine and implementing AI to advance the economy in a post corona world.
Speakers include: Prof. Isaac Ben Israel (Head of the Yuval Ne’eman Workshop on Science, Technology and Security, Head of the Cyber Center at Tel Aviv University), Sumaya AlHajeri (Head of Governance and Data at the Office of the Minister of Artificial Intelligence, UAE), Sana Khareghani (Head of UK Office for Artificial Intelligence), Carme Artigas (Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, Spain), Dr. Eviatar Matania (Former Director General, Israel National Cyber Directorate) and more.
A new TAU study examines the difficulties experienced by children with different levels of autism and their parents during Israel’s first lockdown during the coronavirus crisis (in the spring of 2020). The data shows that the drastic changes in the children’s routines and their prolonged stay in their homes instead of their special education had serious implications for the behavior and development of the children and impacted their parent’s ability to support them
The study was led by Dr. Itay Tokatly-Latzer, Prof. Orit Karnieli-Miller and Prof. Yael Leitner from the TAU Sackler Faculty of Medicine, in collaboration with the Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, and was published in the academic journal ‘Autism’.
Lack of Routine Caused Regression
The study group consisted of the parents of 25 children with autism who shared the difficulties they faced during lockdown with the researchers in real time. Some children would for instance refuse to go to sleep at night – screaming and restless, they would stay awake all through the night. Others experienced behavioral regression, returning to repetitive and stereotypical movements that had initially improved.
At the same time, however, the researchers note that there were families who experienced it differently and who found creative ways to help their children get through the crisis in a positive way: One couple chose to go along with the particular interests of their child, engaging in repetitive cake baking. The parents of another child who needed to be in constant movement, bought their son a trampoline so that he could spend his excess energy inside their home.
Support and Guidance Programs for Parents of Children with Autism
Prof. Karnieli-Miller: “Lockdowns are difficult for all of us, but all the more so for families with autistic children. For these children, even the slightest change of routine can cause harm and throw them off balance. The study showed that in many instances the parents were left helpless as they did not have the tools and the professional knowledge required to deal with the situation. The parents need to be given the tools, support and guidance in order to deal with this huge challenge and enable them to create a ‘flexible routine’ for their children.
“The findings of the study show that during periods of lockdowns the State must do whatever it takes to prevent the closing down of special education, in order to prevent causing harm to children with special needs. If the State nevertheless decides that such steps be taken, it must immediately implement assistance and guidance programs for parents of children with autism. The parents need to receive professional help and better tools for caring for their children.”
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