Faculty News

Ministers from the Ministry for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee, headed by Minister Oded Forer, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and Minister for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee convened on April 25, 2022 at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine to promote a special program to strengthen the health sector of the Negev and Galilee. The Cabinet approved a multi-year plan (2022-2026) designed to improve the quality of public health services provided to residents of the Negev and Galilee via dedicated programs in the fields of health, manpower and infrastructure.

They discussed the key role played by the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in promoting the program. Tens of millions of shekels will be invested in increasing the number of physicians in the Galilee, the number of medical and nursing students from the Negev and Galilee localities, and strengthening the hospitals by supporting advanced medical equipment and promoting research in hospitals affiliated with the Faculty.

The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine welcomes and promotes this initiative, accompanying its ongoing efforts to promote health services in the Galilee.

Just before the Passover break, students and faculty from the the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine convened on April 11, 2022 at the campus main entrance lobby to toast to the seasonal holidays - Passover, Easter, Ramadan - and at the same time, thank Noga Ganor for her years of dedication and very professional work at the Faculty.

After opening remarks by the Administrative Head, Noam David Reshelbach, the Campus Rabbi, Rav Shlomo Shefer, who joined from the main Ramat Gan campus, gave a short dvar torah about the Haggadah. And of course, the Dean, Prof. Karl Skorecki, shared kind words via Zoom.

Noga Ganor, who was responsible for marketing, PR, and community relations since the inception of the Faculty, spoke warmly about her years at the Faculty. We all wish her the best, and thank her for her years of active involvement in the growth and development of the Faculty.

In honor of the hard-working and dedicated students, a fun evening of food, comedy, and socializing took place at the Hatzor HaGlilit Cultural Center on April 3, 2022.

Sponsored by the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Anna Sherman, the head of the student union, opened up the evening with a few words then invited Prof. Eric Shinwelll, Associate Dean of Medical Education, to welcome the students. The highlight of the evening (other than the food!) was a stand-up performance by Ori Hizkiah.

Where does the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine see itself in five and twenty five years?

This was the topic of discussion at a daylong retreat, attended by academic as well as administrative staff on March 31, 2022.

At the inspirational setting off the Kinneret Lake, at the Ginosar Kibbutz Hotel, some hundred faculty members met to discuss the future mission, educational and teaching tracks, research plans, academic and professional affiliations, and Galilee development of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine.

After a morning of background lectures* summing up two years of hard work - and a gender equality workshop led by Prof. Rivka Tuval-Mashiah of the Department of Psychology, introduced by Prof. Orna Sasson-Levy, Bar-Ilan Presidential Advisor for Gender Equity - four round-table groups brainstormed about the topics that were presented earlier that morning.

Summaries were prepared the following day by select Faculty who remained.

A few pictures of the day can be seen here.

* Given by Prof. Karl Skorecki (Dean of the Faculty), Prof. Itay Onn, Dr. Keren Agay-Shay, Prof. Meital Gal-Tanamy, Prof. Chaim Putterman, Prof. Johnny Younis, Prof. Orly Avni.

At long last, despite inclement weather, the administrative staff of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine left for a day excursion on March 24, 2022 for some fun and bonding. The previously planned Staff Day had been cancelled due to Covid-19 limitations at the time.

After departing by chartered bus from the Faculty campus in Safed, the group's first stop was at the escape room "Quest Room" in Haifa where a rich breakfast spread greeted them. Afterwards, the group broke up into teams for the escape rooms. Yes, everyone found there way out - with smiles on their faces!

The next stop was the Tishbi Winery in Binyamina near Zichron Yaakov where lunch was served, to be followed by an informative and very fun wine and chocolate tasting session.

With thanks to all those involved in the planning (including the gifts!), we look forward to next year's Staff Day.

A few pictures of the fun and bonding can be seen here.

The Jewish holiday of Purim was celebrated on Thursday March 24, 2022 (in Jerusalem, on March 25).

One of the activities of the day includes "Mishloah Manot" - giving fun food packages to one another.

In an attempt to make sure that no one was left out, the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine sent delegates to the Ziv Medical Center in Safed to distribute Mishlohei Manot to children and other hospitalized patients (Bar-Ilan University main campus Ramat Gan staff distributed similar packages at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan).

More pictures can be seen at the Ziv Facebook page here.

Congratulations to two graduates of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine upon receipt of certificates of excellence on February 27, 2022 from the Emek Medical Center in Afula where they are doing their internship. Of five recipients, two are Azrieli graduates:

Dr. Orel Levy - who will be specializing in dermatology at Emek

Dr. Nadav Bandel - who will be specializing in orthopedic surgery at Emek

You make us proud!

The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine was excited to host, in person, the 8th annual Galileum high school science and technology research final project conference. The Medical Cadet project, a prestigious three-year program for high school students in the Galilee, includes lectures, seminars, excursions, and ultimately, preparation of a final research paper under the supervision of an Azrieli Faculty of Medicine researcher. The highly regarded program counts towards the Bagrut matriculation for the students.

Dr. Shai Bel of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, pictured above, was guest lecturer.

This year, 33 students submitted research projects in the fields of medicine, agriculture, the environment, biology, microbiology, physics, genetics, and more. Four of the twelve prize winners at the March 10, 2022 conference and ceremony were supervised by Azrieli researchers:

נועה ויקסמן, מקיף אנה פרנק סאסא, חוקרת מלווה שולמית בן עוליאל
רננה פרץ, אולפנת אמי״ת צפת, חוקרת מלווה ד"ר שירה פרץ
גאזל עאמר, מקיף שש-שנתי עתיד פקיעין חוקרת מלווה ד"ר מיכל ורבנר
נעמה שרה לוי, אולפנת בני עקיבא מירון, חוקרת מלווה שולמית בן עוליאל 

Below are some pictures from the evening (sponsorship at the bottom).

Prof. Amnon Albeck, Rector of Bar-Ilan University, has sent a personal congratulatory letter to Prof. Omry Koren, one of fifteen Bar-Ilan University researchers who were chosen this year for this prize, for his achievements in the 2020-21 academic year. A celebratory event will take place in the coming months.

Congratulations, Prof. Koren!

Congratulations to Prof. Meital Gal-Tanami, Dr. Fadi Hassan, and Dr. Zaid abu Zaid on being chosen for the the Bar-Ilan University Vice Rector's Outstanding Teacher Award for the 2021-22 academic year. Ceremony to take place end of May 2022.

"Innovation" has become an integral part of day-to-day medical practice, based on unmet needs presented by health challenges. Accessibility of rapidly evolving technologies to health professionals, greatly expands opportunities for the benefit of patient care.

Professor Samer Srouji, Director of the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, and a leading clinician scientist at the Galilee Medical Center, an Azrieli Faculty of Medicine affiliate hospital, has proven experience in technologies such as advanced 3D printing in medicine among others.

Prof. Karl Skorecki, Dean of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, has now announced: "Professor Srouji, has now taken this expertise to lead Azrieli Faculty of Medicine activity as Chief Innovation Officer and founding director of the  program in Medical Innovation Education."

Welcome aboard!

Pictured left to right: Prof. Chaim Putterman, Associate Dean for Research; Prof. Srouji; Prof. Skorecki

Over 100 potential medical students Zoomed in to the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine "Open House" on February 9, 2022. Led by the Administrative Deputy to the Associate Dean of Medical Education, Sharon Mines, the evening opened with a few words by the Dean, Prof. Karl Skorecki; the Associate Dean of Medical Education, Prof. Eric Shinwell; the Vice Dean of Pre-Clinical Studies, Prof. Daniel Glikman; and the head of the four-year track application committee, Prof. Itay Onn. The potential students then went to separate "rooms" to meet with current students for a Q&A session.

Applications are no longer being accepted for the 2022-23 academic year, and we wish the applicants success. Applications for the Ilanot medical leadership program are being accepted through March 2022. An Ilanot Zoom Open House was held on February 7, 2022.

Bar-Ilan University will be holding Open House days via Zoom on February 18 and 20, 2022 for potential graduate degree students and those who wish to inquire about the MD program for the future.

Congratulations to the forty-eight Azrieli Faculty of Medicine students who received their White Coats on February 2, 2022.

Students from the eleventh class of the three-year track MD program convened at the Faculty to ceremoniously mark the transition from pre-clinical to clinical studies. 

Sharon Mines, Administrative Deputy to the Associate Dean of Medical Education, led the event, with the students watching the Zoom broadcast in the classrooms, and their friends and families, from home, due to the sensitive Covid-19 situation. After an opening "dvar Torah" by a student, Shenhav Albo, Ms. Mines invited Prof. Karl Skorecki (the Dean), Prof. Eric Shinwell (Associate Dean, Medical Education), and Prof. Johnny Younis (Vice Dean, Clinical Education) to share a few words. Afterwards, the students received the White Coats (in person) and posed for a group picture.

A short video prepared by the students, and a pre-recorded greeting from a class parent, were shown, and Basic Clinical Principles course coordinator, Prof. Kamal Hassan was presented with a certificate of appreciation.

We wish our students - our future doctors - success as they enter the next stage of their training.

The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine woke to a barrage of press coverage following the publication of an important archeological finding in Scientific Reports by an international team led by Azrieli's Dr. Alon Barash, Prof. Ella Been of Ono Academic College, Prof. Miriam Belmaker of the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Omry Barzilai of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Examining the fossil, a 1.5 million year old bone, and the second-oldest hominin fossil to be found outside Israel, the researchers have been able to scientifically explain the nature of human migration from Africa.

Read more in Haaretz here and here, in ynet here, in the Jerusalem post here, and in walla here. In addition, a news item and interview on Israel's Kan 11 TV channel can be seen here.

It's a match made in heaven...or better yet, Safed.

Congratulations to two Azrieli Faculty of Medicine graduate students who met while studying at the Faculty and are now happily married.

What makes this story special is that both students are from different regions in India, and met here.

Rajesh Detrojais is from Dr. Frenkel-Morgenstern's lab, and Trishna Saha from Dr. Avraham Samson's lab. After the wedding, which was just held in December 2021, in India, Rajesh set off for Canada for his post-doc and Trishna has returned to Safed to finish her PhD, after which she will join her new husband in Toronto.

The young couple have shared with us a few words:

"This is Rajesh Detroja and Trishna Saha, students of Bar-Ilan University, now husband and wife too. Rajesh came from the west part of India (Rajkot) to study towards his PhD at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in March 2017; Trishna from the east part of India (Kolkata) in March 2018. Since then, we have become best friends and started sharing our student and personal life together in the beautiful city Safed. We enjoyed many events and festivals at both the campuses, Safed and Ramat Gan. We cooked food together, studied, enjoyed the weekends with other friends, traveled to tourist as well as other offbeat places in Israel and Jordan. We also enjoyed the company of Israeli families and friends outside the campus. All these events kept us closer always, which eventually lead to our marriage and made us partners for life. We thank Bar-Ilan University, friends, and Israel for all the memorable events and life experiences."

Mazal tov!