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TAU Scientists Develop Innovative Therapy to Prevent Deafness

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The treatment is inserted into the ear, prevents hearing loss caused by a genetic mutation.

A new study at Tel Aviv University presents an innovative treatment for deafness, based on the delivery of genetic material into the cells of the inner ear. The genetic material ‘replaces’ the genetic defect and enables the cell to continue functioning normally.

The scientists were able to prevent the gradual deterioration of hearing in mice with a genetic mutation for deafness. They maintain that this novel therapy could lead to a breakthrough in treating children born with various mutations that eventually cause deafness.

The study was led by Prof. Karen Avraham and Shahar Taiber, a student in the combined MD-PhD track, from the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, and the Sagol School of Neuroscience, and Prof. Jeffrey Holt from Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Additional contributors included Prof. David Sprinzak from the School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University. The paper was published in EMBO Molecular Medicine.

Deafness is the most common sensory disability worldwide. According to the World Health Organization there are about half a billion people with hearing loss around the world today, and this figure is expected to double in the coming decades. One in every 200 children is born with a hearing impairment, and one in every 1,000 is born deaf. In about half of these cases, deafness is caused by a genetic mutation. There are currently about 100 different genes associated with hereditary deafness. 

Prof. Avraham: “In this study we focused on genetic deafness caused by a mutation in the gene SYNE4 – a rare deafness discovered by our lab several years ago in two Israeli families, and since then identified in Turkey and the UK as well. Children inheriting the defective gene from both parents are born with normal hearing, but gradually lose their hearing during childhood. This happens because the mutation causes mislocalization of cell nuclei in the hair cells inside the cochlea of the inner ear, which serve as soundwave receptors and are thus essential for hearing. This defect leads to the degeneration and eventual death of hair cells.” 

Shahar Taiber: “We implemented an innovative gene therapy technology: we created a harmless synthetic virus and used it to deliver genetic material – a normal version of the gene that is defective in both the mouse model and the affected human families. We injected the virus into the inner ear of the mice, so that it entered the hair cells and released its genetic payload. By so, we repaired the defect in the hair cells, and enabled them to mature and function normally.”

The treatment was administered soon after birth and the mice’s hearing was then monitored using both physiological and behavioral tests. Prof. Holt: “The findings are most promising: Treated mice developed normal hearing, with sensitivity almost identical to that of healthy mice who do not have the mutation”. Following the successful study, the scientists are currently developing similar therapies for other mutations that cause deafness.

Prof. Wade Chien, MD, from the NIDCD/NIH Inner Ear Gene Therapy Program and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, illuminates its significance: This is an important study that shows that inner ear gene therapy can be effectively applied to a mouse model of SYNE4 deafness to rescue hearing. The magnitude of hearing recovery is impressive. This study is a part of a growing body of literature showing that gene therapy can be successfully applied to mouse models of hereditary hearing loss, and it illustrates the enormous potential of gene therapy as a treatment for deafness.

The study was supported by the BSF – US-Israel Binational Science Foundation, the NIH – National Institutes of Health, the ERC – European Research Council, and the Israel Precision Medicine Partnership Program of the Israel Science Foundation.

Two TAU Professors Win 2020 Nature Mentoring Award

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Prof. Neta Erez and Prof. Tal Pupko, nominated by students, are building the future generation of scientists.

Two scientists from Tel Aviv University – Professor Neta Erez, head of the Department of Pathology at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine, and Professor Tal Pupko, head of the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research at the Life Sciences Faculty, have won the 2020 Nature Research Awards for Mentoring in Science, given by the Springer Nature Group, which is the home of the leading journal Nature.

The prestigious award (which is given in a different country each year), was given in Israel this year, with Tel Aviv University sweeping all the honors for mid-career mentoring. The award is given to scientists who excel in mentoring research students in their laboratories, thus contributing to the development of the future of science — in Israel in particular and in the world in general. Both winners will share the $10,000 prize. They said that the prize was especially moving for them because the ones who had nominated them for it were the very ones whom they mentored — the students and graduates of their laboratories.

Professor Erez, who established a laboratory ten years ago for researching metastasis of breast cancer and melanoma, and who has mentored 16 doctoral candidates and five master’s degree students so far, said, “For me, mentoring is a central part of my identity as a scientist. When a doctoral candidate comes to me, I tell them: ‘You are starting off as my student, and I want you to end up as my peer.’ For that reason, my role as a mentor is not only to accompany the research. My role is to teach my students to think and do research like scientists, and to find their own way in science and in life in general.  I am very proud of their accomplishments. Quite a few graduates of the laboratory have been awarded prizes and grants. As of now, four of the students have completed their medical studies and are planning to combine medicine and research. One is a research fellow and a lab manager in an academic setting, another is doing post-doctoral work in the United States, and four others are working as scientists in the biotech industry. In addition, I serve as a mentor for two young researchers who recently established their own laboratories.” 

Professor Pupko, who established a laboratory 17 years ago that deals with molecular evolution and bioinformatics, has mentored 18 doctoral candidates so far. “The members of the academic staff are evaluated based on a variety of parameters: research grants, publications and teaching. Another index, which I feel does not receive enough emphasis, is the success of a staff member’s laboratory graduates — the young scientists whom he taught, mentored, and ‘raised.'” I invest a great deal of thought and effort in my students in order to support, encourage, advise, and nurture them. All 12 doctoral candidates who completed their degree in my laboratory have gone on to do post-doctoral work.  Four of them are staff members in academia (including three at Tel Aviv University) — a particularly high number for an academic research laboratory. Other graduates of my laboratory hold high-ranking positions in the hi-tech and bio-tech industries. As I see it, a student who excels is better than another three scientific papers. My aim is to raise up generations of researchers in Israel. I see that as my mission.”

The prize committee, which included Professor Karen Avraham of the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, announced that it had chosen the two recipients because “it was impressed with their contagious enthusiasm of former students,” who had nominated them for the award. The committee also praised Professor Pupko for his inclusive approach and encouragement of a healthy work-life balance alongside professional excellence, and Professor Erez for her work to advance women in science and for projects that bring her influence as a mentor to wider circles, including ones outside her laboratory.

Globalization During the Bronze & Early Iron Ages

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Evidence for trade from India & Southeast Asia to the Land of Israel in the 16th century BCE.

A new international study, which included researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority, reveals significant global trade between India & Southeast Asia and the Land of Israel as early as the 16th century BCE. Traded goods included exotic foods like soybeans, bananas and turmeric – almost one thousand years before any previously known availability of these foods in our region.

The study focused on food remains identified in the dental calculus of people buried at Tel Megiddo and Tel Erani (near Kiryat Gat). Examination of the teeth, dated from the 16th century BCE at Megiddo and the 11th century BCE at Tel Erani, revealed traces of various foods, including foods from Southeast Asia, such as soybeans, bananas and turmeric.

The study, led by Prof. Philipp Stockhammer of the University of Munich, involved researchers from institutions around the world. TAU was represented by Prof. Israel Finkelstein and Dr. Mario Martin of the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures; and the Israel Antiquities Authority was represented by Dr. Ianir Milevski and Dmitry Yegorov of the Excavations, Surveys and Research Department. The findings were published in the PNAS journal in December 2020.

The researchers explain that when we picture the market of the city of Megiddo 3,700 years ago, we think of local foods like wheat, dates and sesame seeds, and sure enough, ancient proteins and microfossils from these staple foods were found in the examined jawbones. However, alongside these expected findings, traces of soybeans, bananas and turmeric were also discovered.

According to the researchers, this is the earliest evidence of soybeans, bananas and turmeric found anywhere outside of Southeast Asia. The discovery pushes back the earliest known availability of these foods in the Land of Israel and the Mediterranean Basin by centuries (turmeric) and even a thousand years (soybeans). This means that long-distance trade in exotic fruits, spices and oils was conducted between Southeast Asia and the region of the Land of Israel, through Mesopotamia or Egypt, as early as the second millennium BCE – namely, globalization in the Bronze and early Iron Ages. Clearly, no bananas would have survived the journey from Southeast Asia to Megiddo, and therefore we can assume that these were delivered and consumed as dry fruits.

“This is clear evidence of trade with southeast Asia as early as the 16th century BCE – much earlier than previously assumed,” explains Prof. Finkelstein. “Several years ago, we found similar evidence of long-distance trade: molecular traces of vanilla in ceramic vessels from the same period at Megiddo. Yet very little is known about the trade routes or how the goods were delivered.”

“One surprising find in our excavation at Tel Erani was a cemetery from the Early Iron Age – about 3,100 years ago,” report Dr. Ianir Milevski and Dmitry Yegorov of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “In some tombs we found families buried together, children alongside their parents. We also found burial offerings – bowls, jugs and pitchers buried with the dead, for their use in the afterlife. In some vessels, we found animal bones, mostly the remains of sheep and goats, intended as food for the dead. We plan to further investigate the vessels, in search of remains of bananas and sesame seeds similar to those found in the teeth of the people buried with them. Dr. Milevski and Yegorov added that they are collaborating with Prof. Stockhammer, in testing the DNA in the human bones, in an attempt to understand who these people were and where they came from.”

Soy was first domesticated in the region of China in the 7th millennium BCE. The banana, domesticated in New Guinea in the 5th millennium BCE, arrived in West Africa 4,000 years later, but until now no indication was found of any earlier appearance of this fruit in the Middle East.

Turmeric and soy proteins were discovered in the jawbone of one person in Megiddo, and banana proteins were found in two jawbones from Tel Erani. Thus, we cannot determine just how accessible these foods were to anyone from any social class. The researchers assume that the jawbones probably belonged to people of relatively high social status in the city-state of Megiddo. This is apparent from the structure of the tombs and the offerings placed in them. In addition, the researchers found evidence of the consumption of sesame seeds in jawbones from both Megiddo and Tel Erani, indicating that this was a significant component of the local cuisine as early as the second millennium BCE.

“Our study demonstrates the immense possibilities embodied in the incorporation of the exact and natural sciences into modern archaeological research,” concludes Prof. Finkelstein.  “Traditional archaeology, which may also be called macro-archaeology, provides data visible to the eye – such as buildings, pottery, jewelry and weapons. A whole world of other data, of critical importance, is revealed only under the microscope and by using advanced analytical methods.”

Featured image: Prof. Israel Finkelstein

Enemies: A Love Story

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TAU’s Alliance Center for Iranian Studies is global authority on modern Iran and Iranian Jews.

By Melanie Takefman

Even though they have been enemies in official channels for decades, Iranians and Israelis have a mutual fascination with each other.

“Young Iranians are very intrigued by Israelis and are eager to contact them through social media,” says Dr. Liora Hendelman-Baavur, the new director of TAU’s Alliance Center for Iranian Studies and a historian of Iranian women and media in the 20th century. “They want to know what is beyond the image of the ‘Zionist enemy’ as presented by Iranian sources.”

In parallel, the popularity of Teheran, a critically-acclaimed TV series about a Mossad agent in Iran, attests to the complex perception of Iran in Israel; Israelis view Iran as a threat but many are also nostalgic for the good relations the two countries enjoyed until 1979.

At TAU, this interest goes beyond curiosity. Now, in its 15th year, TAU’s Alliance Center is the region’s leading hub for academic research on Iran outside of Iran itself.

With the Iranian-Israeli conflict constantly in the news, the Center is more relevant than ever.

No group encapsulates the precariousness of this relationship more than Iran’s 20,000-member Jewish community, says Hendelman-Baavur. Recent Iranian legislation enshrined its boycott of Israel and underscored local Jews’ status as a minority at risk. The law makes it illegal for Iranians to meet with Israelis, a hard blow to Iranian Jews who until now could meet Israeli relatives in a third country.

Because Iranian Jews are a main focus of the Alliance Center’s research, a photo exhibit documenting the community entitled “Trapped Minority” was planned to celebrate the Center’s 15th anniversary. Although the exhibit was postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19, some of the photos by Iranian exile Hasan Sarbakhshian are published exclusively here.

Founded in 2005, the Center was the vision of TAU governor and honorary doctor Lord David Alliance of the UK as well as David and Laura Merage of the USA and TAU Prof. Emeritus David Menashri. United in their fondness for their birth land’s language, culture and history, they dreamt of establishing a center that would generate new insights into Iran.

Fifteen years later, their vision has become a reality.

The Center has cultivated a generation of Iran scholars who work in think tanks, major media, diplomacy, security institutions and other related fields. Hendelman-Baavur and her colleagues Prof. Meir Litvak (former director of the Center) and Dr. Miriam Nissimov are highly sought-after experts in international academic forums. The Center has published and co-sponsored 20 books and has hosted dozens of conferences, workshops and other events in its short existence. Moreover, it has become a keeper of Iranian Jewish heritage under the auspices of the Habib Levy Program for Iranian Jewish History and its sizable archive as well as the Program for the Study of Iranian Jews in Israel under the auspices of the Iranian American Jewish Federation of New York.

The Center also publishes the ACIS Iran-Pulse, a digital newsletter regularly cited by top international organizations.

The unusual situation of being an expert on a place she has never visited and probably never will doesn’t faze Hendelman-Baavur. On the contrary, she says it has made her a more thorough scholar. She often checks multiple sources and cross-references information. Because she cannot contact her Iranian colleagues, she has developed a robust network of Iran scholars around the world with whom she can collaborate. She follows Iranian Twitter and Telegram feeds and Persian-language news apps religiously.  

Similarly, the Center attracts international students from the region and beyond, including the United States and Turkey. This, Hendelman-Baavur says, is proof of its continuing relevance. Looking forward, she sees TAU strengthening its role as a global authority on Iran’s modern history and Iranian Jewry, specifically because of this unique perspective.

Fetured image: Dr. Liora Hendelman-Baavur, the new director of TAU’s Alliance Center for Iranian Studies. Photo: Moshe Bedarshi

Twelve TAU Researchers among Top 50 in their Fields

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“A cause for real national pride,” says Research VP of the Stanford University study.

A new study from Stanford University places 12 TAU faculty members among the world’s top 50 researchers in their respective fields.

The study identified the top 2% researchers in various disciplines worldwide. The list includes 160,000 researchers from 149 countries in 22 scientific disciplines and 176 subdisciplines. Among these, 333 TAU faculty members are ranked among the top 2% researchers in their respective disciplines (based on publications, citations, and impact). Moreover, 155 of them are included in the top 1%, and 74 in the top 0.5%.

TAU’s Vice President for Research, Prof. Dan Peer, ranked among the top 0.4% in the world in nanotechnology: “This is a cause for real national pride. TAU is known for its academic excellence and recognized as a leading interdisciplinary university. It is a great honor for us that 333 of our researchers rank among the top 2% of the world’s best researchers.”

Prof. Itzhak Gilboa from the School of Economics is 6th in the world in Theoretical Economics, and his colleague Prof. Emeritus David Schmeidler from the School of Mathematics is 12th in the world in the same discipline. Prof. Jiska Cohen-Mansfield from the Faculty of Medicine is ranked 12th in the world in the field of Geriatrics. Three faculty members from the Faculty of Engineering also rank high in their fields of research: Prof. Emilia Fridman (26), Prof. Emeritus Gedeon Dagan (29) and Prof. Boris Malomed (29).

Prof. Emeritus Micha Sharir from the School of Computer Science is ranked 35th and Prof. Arie Levant from the School of Mathematics is ranked 36th. Four faculty members from the Faculty of Humanities are also included in this exceptional group:  Prof. Emeritus Rachel Giora from the Department of Linguistics (ranked 40th in the world), Prof. Prof. Israel Finkelstein from the Department of Archaeology (44), Prof. Emeritus Benjamin Isaac from the Department of Classics (45), and Prof. Emeritus Elana Shohamy from the School of Education (47).

Researchers from TAU have developed a technology that enables photographing moving objects

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The new development will enable taking photos of race cars, runners, birds in flight, and dunking basketballs into hoops.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University have developed a computational photography process based on an optical element that encodes motion information and a corresponding digital image processing algorithm, enabling clear, sharp photography of moving objects without motion blur, i.e. avoiding the movement being “smeared” over the picture.

This integrated processing method was developed by PhD student Shay Elmalem from the School of Electrical Engineering in the Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, under the joint guidance of Prof. Emanuel Marom and Dr. Raja Giryes. The results of the study have been published in the prestigious Optica Journal (by OSA Publishing).

The term ‘long exposure’ always refers to the velocity of the photographed object”, explains Shay Elmalem. “If you photograph a racing car, even an exposure of a tenth of a second could be too long, and if you’re photographing a person walking, long exposure could be a second or longer. According to the conventional camera design approach, the lens is designed to produce the best possible image, i.e., the most similar to what the human eye sees, and thereafter digital image processing algorithms are applied to remove the optical distortions. However, as anyone with a camera in their phone knows, this isn’t always effective; hence, it is still very difficult to photograph moving objects”.

Through integrated design of the optical components and image post-processing algorithms, Elmalem and his colleagues have encoded motion information cues in the raw optical image; these cues are in turn decoded by the image processing algorithm which utilizes them for motion deblurring.. The cues have been encoded using two optical components integrated in a conventional lens: a clear phase plate developed by the researchers, and a commercial electronic focusing lens. The phase plate contains a micro-optical structure designed to introduce a color-focus dependency, whereas the focusing lens is synchronized in order to make a gradual focus change during the image exposure. As a result, moving objects are colored with various colors as they move. Encoding the colors enables the algorithm to decode the direction and velocity of the object’s movement, which enables it to correct the motion blur and restore the image sharpness.

“In every split second of exposure, our lens generates a bit different image”, Elmalem explains; “thus, the blur of a moving object will not be uniform, but rather change gradually with its movement. In order to understand where and how fast the object in the image is going, we use color. Thus, for example, a white ball suddenly thrown into the frame will be colored with different colors over the course of its movement, like passing light through a prism. According to these colors, our algorithm knows where the ball has been thrown from and at what velocity. It will thus know how to correct the blur. With a regular camera we’d see a white wake that would compromise the sharpness of the whole picture, whereas with our camera the final image will be a clear focused white ball.”

According to Elmalem, the computational image technique they developed can enhance any camera – and at minimum cost. “The potential is very broad: from basic uses like smartphone cameras to research, medical and industrial uses such as for production line controllers, microscopes and telescopes. They all suffer from the same smearing problem, and we offer a systemic solution to it.”

Ramot, the Technology Transfer Company of Tel-Aviv University has filed several patent applications covering this breakthrough technology, which is generating great interest among industry players. 

Prof. Marom passed away during the study, and the paper has been published in his memory. The late Prof. Marom was among the founders of the Faculty of Engineering at Tel Aviv University, served as its Dean in 1980-1983 and Vice President of Tel Aviv University in 1992-1997. After his retirement, Prof. Marom continued dealing in active research and advising graduate students, until his very last day.

Hollywood Legend Martin Scorsese Meets with TAU Students, Donors

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“Film school was a major turning point in my life; I’ve been wanting to talk to TAU students for a long time”

More than 1,700 participants from Tel Aviv University’s Steve Tisch School of Film and Television – students, governors and friends from around the world – took part in a webinar with one of the major figures in Hollywood’s film industry, Martin Scorsese.

Scorsese told the participants that he spent an “extraordinary” time in Tel Aviv back in 1983, and that he wishes he could be there in person. “I’ve been in my room since March 13”, the acclaimed director joked, adding: “I’ve been wanting to talk to Tel Aviv University students for a long time. Steve Tisch and I go back to 1971”.

Scorsese went on to talk about his days as a young film student in NYU. “Film school was a major turning point in my life. The professors spoke with such passion, that I realized that was where I belonged. When one of the students asked Scorsese about improvisation in his films, he told the story of the famous “are you talking to me?” monologue in “Taxi Driver”.

When asked about Israeli cinema, Scorsese pointed out filmmakers Eran Riklis and Amos Gitai, and called Samuel Maoz’s 2017 film “Foxtrot” – “incredible”.

The webinar is part of an ongoing series of monthly live interviews with major players in the world of film and television – including dignitaries such as Robert De Niro and Michael Douglas.

The online meeting was hosted by Prof. Eran Neuman, Dean of the Yolanda and David Katz Faculty of the Arts, and attended by Prof. Raz Yosef, Head of the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television. Dr. Dan Chyutin, a researcher at TAU’s Steve Tisch School, and Yona Rozenkier, screenwriter, director and the School’s alumnus, acted as moderators.

Martin Scorsese is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He studied at New York University, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in English literature in 1964, and a Master’s degree in fine arts in film from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1966. Scorsese is one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, and is widely regarded as one of the most significant and influential directors in film history. He is  known for such films as “Taxi Driver” (1976), “Raging Bull” (1980), “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013), and “The Irishman” (2019 ). Scorsese is the winner of multiple awards, both national and international, including one Oscar, 167 prizes and 278 nominations. In 2007 he was presented with the Kennedy Center Honor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for his influence in American culture.

About the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television

Founded in 1972, the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television offers unique and diverse opportunities for developing proficiency in film and television production, as well as for studying film history, theory, and criticism. The Hollywood Reporter ranked the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television among the top 15 international film schools. Many of Israel’s most prominent filmmakers, scholars and critics are among its graduates; student films produced in the school are regularly screened and win awards in prestigious international festivals.

Featured image: Martin Scorsese

TAU Study Proves that Light Can Kill Coronavirus

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Groundbreaking research finds UV-LED diodes efficiently and cheaply disinfect social spaces.

A revolution in disinfection? Researchers from Tel Aviv University have proven that the coronavirus can be killed efficiently, quickly and cheaply using ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs). This is the first study in the world conducted on the disinfection efficiency of a virus from the family of coronaviruses using UV-LED irradiation at different wavelengths or frequencies. The study was led by Prof. Hadas Mamane, Head of the Environmental Engineering Program at the School of Mechnical Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, and was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Yoram Gerchman of Oranim College, Dr. Michal Mandelboim, the Director of the National Center for Influenza and Respiratory Viruses at Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer, and Nehemya Friedman from Tel Hashomer. The article was published in the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology.

In the study, the researchers tested the optimal wavelength for killing the coronavirus, and found that a length of 285 nanometers was almost as efficient in disinfecting the virus as a wavelength of 265 nanometers, requiring less than half a minute to destroy more than 99.9% of the coronaviruses. This result is significant because the cost of 285 nm LED bulbs is much lower than that of 265 nm bulbs, and the former are also more readily available. Eventually, as the science develops, the industry will be able to make the necessary adjustments and install the bulbs in robotic systems, or air conditioning, vacuum, and water systems, and thereby be able to efficiently disinfect large surfaces and spaces. Prof. Mamane believes that the technology will be available for use in the near future.

“The entire world is currently looking for effective solutions to disinfect the coronavirus,” says Prof. Mamane. “The problem is that in order to disinfect a bus, train, sports hall or plane by chemical spraying, you need physical manpower, and in order for the spraying to be effective, you have to give the chemical time to act on the surface. We know, for example, that medical staff do not have time to manually disinfect, say, computer keyboards and other surfaces in hospitals – and the result is infection and quarantine. The disinfection systems based on LED bulbs, however, can be installed in the ventilation system and air conditioner, for example, and sterilize the air sucked in and then emitted into the room.”

“We discovered that it is quite simple to kill the coronavirus using LED bulbs that radiate ultraviolet light,” explains Prof. Mamane. “But no less important, we killed the viruses using cheaper and more readily available LED bulbs, which consume little energy and do not contain mercury like regular bulbs. Our research has commercial and societal implications, given the possibility of using such LED bulbs in all areas of our lives, safely and quickly. Of course, as always when it comes to ultraviolet radiation, it is important to make it clear to people that it is dangerous to try to use this method to disinfect surfaces inside homes. You need to know how to design these systems and how to work with them so that you are not directly exposed to the light.”

Ultraviolet radiation is a common method of killing bacteria and viruses, and most of us are familiar with such disinfecting bulbs from their use in water purifiers, such as Tami4. UV radiation mainly damages nucleic acids. Last year, a team of researchers led by Prof. Mamane and Prof. Gerchman patented a combination of different UV frequencies that cause dual-system damage to the genetic load and proteins of bacteria and viruses, from which they cannot recover-which is a key factor that is ignored.“ In the future, we will want to test our unique combination of integrated damage mechanisms and more ideas we recently developed on combined efficient direct and indirect damage to bacteria and viruses on different surfaces, air and water.”

Featured image: Prof. Hadas Mamane

COVID-19 Takes TAU’s Legal Clinics into High Gear

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Clinic staff share experiences of protecting those most affected by pandemic

Dr. Yuval Livnat, Adv. Anat Ben Dor and Adv. Irina Rozina

The Refugee Rights Clinic

“The coronavirus crisis forced the Clinic to shift to remote work. However, this style of working is not ideal for asylum-seekers, and significant challenges arose. Intake interviews with new clients are complex; they touch on sensitive issues and may require translation services. The absence of face-to-face interviews makes it hard to build trusting relationships, and the completion and transfer of required forms and documentation is difficult; protecting personal privacy and information is problematic when communication takes place over the telephone or on Zoom. During this period, the refugee and asylum-seeker community faces a major economic crisis. Israeli citizens are supported by a social safety net. Asylum-seekers are not eligible for this support and have legitimate fears that they will be unable to pay rent and feed their children. In light of this harsh reality, April’s Supreme Court ruling cancelling the “Deposit Law” (authorizing the expropriation of 20% of an asylum seeker’s monthly earnings) provided some relief. This decision came three years after the Clinic filed the Supreme Court petition arguing that the deposit violated the workers’ legal rights, in cooperation with Kav LaOved. The Supreme Court ordered that funds be returned. The Clinic’s students, along with volunteers from Kav LaOved, helped asylum-seekers to complete the required forms and open bank accounts, so their deposits could be returned.”

Adv. Liad Strolov and Adv. Yael Havassy

The Clinic for the Rights of Holocaust Survivors and the Elderly

“The coronavirus crisis has significantly impacted our clinic. Firstly, the way we work with clients and students changed entirely after we transitioned to online rather than in-person meetings. This is particularly challenging for older clients that are unfamiliar with Zoom and other technologies. In addition, since the elderly population faces the greatest risk from the coronavirus, many are suffering from side issues caused by the crisis such as intense loneliness; inaccessibility to caregiver services; threats of eviction from nursing facilities due to an increased demand for space to care for COVID-19 patients; restrictions on movement in public housing facilities; and of course, restrictions barring them from returning to work under the current emergency regulations.”

Adv. Irit Ulman and Adv. Idit Zimmerman

The Workers’ Rights Clinic

“At the onset of the pandemic, it was clear that regulations regarding labor law and social security would be greatly affected. Israel opted to deal with the widespread closure of workplaces by increasing and extending unemployment benefits. As the number of unemployed Israelis continued to rise, those of us working in the field were occupied with unprecedented challenges to labor law resulting from the crisis. From the outset, the Clinic collaborated with various organizations to ensure that workers’ rights were protected. In early April, the government passed emergency regulations eliminating the legal requirement for employers to obtain a permit prior to sending female employees under protection (e.g. during pregnancy, maternity leave, etc.) on furlough. We submitted an urgent petition to the Supreme Court on behalf of a group of organizations, demanding that the regulations be repealed; the petition argued that the process by which the regulations were passed were flawed, and that the regulations caused disproportionate harm to women. Following the petition’s submission, and prior to a hearing at the Supreme Court, the regulations were annulled.

The crisis also created increased challenges for foreign caregivers working with the elderly, due to severe movement limitations. Since there is an increased risk to the elderly, family members often placed severe restrictions on the movements of in-home caregivers. Although their fears may have been warranted, severe restrictions could result in infringements on human rights and workers’ rights (e.g. freedom of movement, loss of days off, etc.). The Clinic, in cooperation with the Clinic for the Rights of Holocaust Survivors and the Elderly, appealed to policy-makers to ensure that the rights of caregivers and the elderly people they support were protected.”

Dr. Eran Tzin and Adv. Amnon Keren

The Clinic for Environmental Justice and the Protection of Animal Rights

“At the beginning of the crisis, the Clinic offered support for animal welfare organizations and activists struggling with challenges arising from the imposed lockdown; the Clinic helped to map crucial issues, formulate strategies, and provided legal advice and representation, as needed. A key aspect of the Clinic’s activities was ensuring ongoing routine care of animals in various facilities (e.g. sanctuaries, shelters, etc.) since severe restrictions on activity and movement limited the possibility of providing them with food and vital veterinary care. The Clinic appealed to the Ministry of Health and other relevant parties, requesting that those caring for animals be exempted from emergency regulations, including in areas heavily affected by the virus. Furthermore, we requested that measures preventing harm to animals be an integral part of any national plan to deal with the crisis. Our efforts, in combination with public pressure, were successful and led to the requested policy changes. The Clinic also succeeded in canceling fines given to individuals while caring for animals, despite their compliance with emergency regulations. These are concerned and caring citizens who volunteered and used their own funds to care for animals, even though they faced financial difficulties due to the crisis.”

Featured image: Human Rights Clinic students and attorneys, Hicham Chabaita and Debby Tal Sadeh.

Lack of Teacher Support during Pandemic Causes Acute Emotional Harm

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TAU study provides insights into preventing burnout among educators.

A new Tel Aviv University study led by Dr. Shahar Lev-Ari, Head of the Department of Health Promotion at TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine study examined the psychological resilience of teachers before and during the coronavirus pandemic. The researchers monitored two groups of teachers in central Israel through the greater part of a single schoolyear. The first group received professional support (via the IBSR method), which included workshops and tools for promoting personal health, relieving stress and strengthening mental resilience, while the control group continued to work “as usual“ in class and then in online sessions, without this support.

The study took place from November 2019 to May 2020, with participants teaching first in the classroom and then, starting with Israel’s first lockdown in March 2020, exclusively online.  In a questionnaire handed out before the beginning of the first study, teachers reported high levels of burnout as a result of large classes, schedule overload and lack of satisfactory resources.

The research team’s findings indicate significant gaps: On one hand, teachers in the group that received psychological support reported a significant rise in mental resilience and satisfaction with their lives in general, which continued after the onset of the pandemic. During the pandemic, they reported a better ability to cope and an improvement in their emotional welfare, including more positive emotions, a stronger sense of connection to their work and purpose, and greater drive and ambition. They also reported enhanced ability to relate to and listen to their students and to maximize their professional capabilities in class.

On the other hand, the control group, which did not receive support, reported that feelings of frustration and burnout, exhaustion and low self-fulfillment intensified, both during the academic year and the pandemic, when online teaching was required. The teachers in this group reported feeling “total exhaustion” at the end of the day, and sometimes also frustration and a lack of motivation to start a new workday.

The study was conducted by: Dr. Shahar Lev-Ari, research student Tsafnat Zadok from the Department of Health Promotion, Dr. Ronit Jakobovich, Etti Dvash and Keren Zafrani. The workshops were led by Keren Zafrani, a professional teacher and IBSR expert.

Dr. Shahar Lev-Ari: “The pandemic posed new challenges that naturally generated feelings of stress and anxiety among teachers. In addition to the quick transition to online teaching, teachers had to cope with uncertainty and constantly changing regulations, as well as personal fear of contracting the virus.

Our study clearly shows that when mental resilience is prioritized and tools for overcoming their stress and anxiety are provided, a rise in motivation and emotional welfare is observed. Accordingly, we observed that when teachers did not receive the required guidance and mental skills, their negative feelings, which were also reported in normal times, grew and intensified. This was especially acute during the pandemic – reaching levels of extreme exhaustion and a lack of motivation to start the workday.”

Dr. Lev-Ari adds: “Many studies have shown that teachers’ burnout is a covert cause of heart disease and sleep disorders, and also has a negative impact on the immune system. Burnout is also the reason why many teachers leave the profession after just a few years of teaching. I hope that following the significant improvement exhibited in this study, the education system will implement intervention programs based on the model described above or similar models. This is especially critical during the pandemic, when teachers face new pressures that intensify feelings of stress, anxiety and frustration.”

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