Faculty News

Dr. David Peleg, head of the High-risk Unit at Ziv Medical Center in Safed's Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, has just been informed by Dr. Roberto Romero, Editor-in-Chief for Obstetrics of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, that his paper, published in 2018 in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, “A randomized clinical trial of knotless barbed suture vs conventional suture for closure of the uterine incision at Cesarean delivery,” is one of the top-cited papers over the last two years in AJOG, as determined by Scopus. Each year, AJOG recognizes top-cited papers presented at the SMFM and published in AJOG. Dr. Peleg's contribution will be the subject of recognition during the Awards Ceremony at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

Dr. Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern's team was the only Israeli group to take part in the genomics and transcriptomics studies of the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Project (PCAWG), also known as the Pan-Cancer Project. A collaboration of over 1,300 scientists and clinicians from 37 countries, more than 2,600 genomes of 38 different tumor types, were analyzed, creating a huge resource of primary cancer genomes. Sixteen working groups studying many aspects of cancer’s development, causation, progression and classification ensued.

Two of the PanCancer papers resulting from this collaboration have just been published back-to-back in Nature, among five papers published in Nature from the PanCancer consortium: 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-1970-0

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-1969-6

These projects were carried out over the past seven years and are the most comprehensive study of whole cancer genomes to date, significantly improving our understanding of cancer and offering new directions for diagnosis and treatment.

On January 30, 2020, Azrieli Faculty clinical instructors from the Galilee Medical Center in Naharia were awarded certificates of appreciation for their hard work. Dean Karl Skorecki opened the ceremony, praising the close and special relationship between the Faculty and affiliate hospital. Following the Dean, Prof. Eric Shinwell, Associate Dean of Medical Education, spoke, then Dr. Nomy Dickman Head of Educational Evaluation and Advancement, read aloud kind words from the students. Dr. Masad Barhoum, GMC General Director then offered words of thanks to the excellent instructors. In all, 56 outstanding doctors were awarded by the Faculty for their excellence as clinical instructors.

Dr. Ayelet Shai has been invited to join the new research fellows forum at the International Center for Health, Law, and Ethics at Haifa University. This interdisciplinary forum includes law, ethics, sociology, and anthropology researchers, to name a few. Her current research will include gender and medicine and end of life care, in light of the Dying Patient Act (2005).

Congratulations to Prof. Tzipora Falik Zaccai who was appointed member of the national committee for multi-center clinical trials, by the Directorate of Medical Technologies, Informatics & Research of the Israeli Ministry of Health.

Dr. Erez Onn, General Director of The Baruch Padeh Medical Center, Poria (an Azrieli Faculty of Medicine affiliate hospital) has been appointed Head of the Government Hospitals Division. Congratulations!

On January 9, 2020, the Israel Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ICOG) held its annual conference and conferred upon Dr. Menachem Fisher a prestigious certificate of appreciation. Dr. Fisher, viewed as a visionary, has through his involvement, contributed considerably to patients, colleagues, and to the advancement of the fields of ob/gyn and fertility in Israel.

Dr. Fisher studied medicine at the Technion, specializing in ob/gyn at the Rambam Hospital. He proceeded to pursue a sub-specialty in "mother and fetus" at the University of Vancouver. Returning to Israel in 1986, Dr. Fisher chose to settle down in the Galilee where he devoted himself to women's health in the Galilee, all the while recruiting senior gynecologists from all over the country to join him in this mission.

Dr. Fisher established the Society for Community Gynecology and served as its head for many years. He made other physicians and scientists aware of this important field of medicine and as such is being awarded a certificate of appreciation by the ICOG.

Meet Omri Cohen, 33, a third-year student at Bar-Ilan University’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine and President of the Medical Student Association of the Galilee. Born and raised in Petach Tikvah, the former lawyer and Israeli Navy Command and Operation Officer is enrolled in the Faculty’s three-year MD study track for Israelis who completed three years of pre-clinical medical studies abroad. Glad to be back in Israel after attending medical school in Italy, Omri is engaged in clinical work at Safed’s Ziv Medical Center – one of six area hospitals affiliated with the Azrieli Faculty.

One of 600 students at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Omri was the BIU rep on the Israeli delegation to the General Assembly of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations, held in Taiwan last August. “We were vastly outnumbered by the many delegations from Arab countries and there was also a vocal Palestinian group, but I think we had a very positive effect and it may have curbed attempts to boycott Israel,” relays Omri. “We introduced ourselves as having served in the IDF and had discussions with activists from various nations, including Iran and Iraq, who initially seemed hesitant to talk to us. We were even invited to Morocco by one of the delegates.”

Why I chose to study this area:
After initially earning a double bachelor’s degree in law and government at IDC Herzliya and interning at a legal firm specializing in the area of medical negligence, I decided that my true passion is medicine. I began my medical studies in Italy and then, after three years, applied to Bar-Ilan University’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine. This is a wonderful program and the only one in Israel that enables Israeli students who began their medical studies abroad to return home. We don’t feel like the odd ones out. I like the idea of studying in the Galilee and the national and Zionist vision of improving medicine in the periphery of Israel and, specifically, in the Galilee.

What I enjoy most at BIU’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine:
Because we are a small faculty of medicine and are engaged in intensive study, we feel like we’re part of a family, of a cohesive community. We are close to the Faculty’s academic and clinical staff. Everything is very open and we know each other on a first-name basis. I also like the quality of medical training. This academic year, we have already done three rotations in surgery and one in family medicine, and I have also worked on research projects for our dissertation concerning mental fatigue of medical students during their long, arduous training, and changes in cardiac muscle in people who have started a running regimen. And, of course, here in Safed, I just love the view of the Sea of Galilee and Mt Hermon.

Future Plans:
Next year, I will be doing a one-year internship at an Israeli hospital before officially getting my MD title. After that, I definitely plan to specialize in a surgical field. I like working with my hands. All of the surgical clerkships are very long – usually about six years – and it’s a serious commitment. There are so many possibilities. I would like to stay in Israel in the long-run but I might consider accepting a fellowship to the US for the latter part of my surgical training.

My favorite corner on campus:
The small grassy area outside of the main building where one can relax – but I rarely have time to sit. With my very busy schedule, I’m constantly on the move from the hospital to the Faculty, where I study and teach, and mentor outstanding high school students from the periphery who hope to pursue a medical career. I also teach anatomy and physiology at Tel-Hai College, which is about an hour away from our own faculty.

What I will take with me from my Bar-Ilan University studies:
A sense of humility and a commitment to improving healthcare in the Galilee. Because the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine is situated in the periphery, we are exposed to different communities than what we would generally see elsewhere in Israel. Here there’s a mix of Moslem, Druze, Christian and Jewish populations. We need to remember that we don’t have all the knowledge and we must be able to look patients in the eyes without feeling superior or acting in a patronizing manner, but to be there for them. After spending three years in Safed, I am so much more aware of the need to upgrade the quality of medical care for the diverse populations in Israel’s north.

January 1, 2020, Kinneret Academic College

The sixth annual Galilium conference took place on January 1, 2020, this year at the Kinneret Academic College. Forty two high school students from the Galilee presented 34 final science projects at six parallel sessions. The projects are considered five full "bagrut" topic matriculation points. Twelve third year "medical cadet" students presented their projects, to an impressed audience of participants and judges. Of six projects chosen as exemplary, three were of the cadets:

• Lior Cohen and Aviv Ben David, supervised by Dr. Vyacheslav Gurevich of the Faculty of Medicine
• Avtihael Hayb, supervised by Hatem Mahmood of the Galilee Research Institute

Of four honorable mention projects, two were of the cadets:

• Siran Saad, supervised by Dr. Baruh Polis
• Aviv Rafter, supervised by Dr. Dorit Avni of the Galilee Research Institute

Much thanks is extended to Dr. Shira Perez and Dr. Gal Levy Cohen of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine for their active and dedicated involvement in this important community outreach initiative.

To learn more about Galilium, click here.

The Faculty is proud to announce that the neonatal departments at its affiliate hospitals were again ranked "excellent" on 2019 Ministry of Health inspections - Ziv Medical Center in Safed, the Galilee Medical Center in Naharia, the French Hospital in Nazareth, the EMMS Hospital (Scottish) in Nazareth, and the Holy Family Hospital (Italian) in Nazareth. We are proud that our students learn at such impressive departments and are given the opportunity to see first hand the true meaning of excellence.

Also ranking among the top - in prevention of infectious diseases - are the French Hospital, EMMS, and the Baruch Padeh Medical Center in Poria (Tiberias).

Hard work pays off!

At the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine we lead by example and are following the recommendations of the Israeli Ministry of Health.
As of 1 January 2020, the campus will be smoke free - no smoking allowed on the premises, or within 10 meters of the entrance. לבריאות! To your health!

Every year since 2013, Prof. David Karasik and Dr. Nomy Dickman have been offering a course to train students to mentor their fellow classmates, primarily in pre-clinical courses, especially Anatomy. The course includes content on anatomy, along with general and specific didactics in anatomy, ethics, and leadership. The students learn about leadership, especially as it relates to the field of medicine.

This year, a panel on leadership, headed by Dr. Barbara Schuster, Founding Campus Dean of the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership, was added to the curriculum. Participants in the panel included professionals from various stages in their careers, including many ex-mentors who themselves now hold leadership positions. The course is run by the anatomy course coordinators, students, and guest lecturers. Those who have completed the course and are teaching Anatomy as well as Brain and Soul have scored very high on the Faculty's student teaching surveys.

We all took a break to light candles and eat sufganiyot (jelly donuts)! 

Dozens of high and middle school biology teachers from the Galilee and the North of Israel came to the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine on December 16, 2019 for the second annual biology teachers hishtalmut (in-house professional training). Dr. Ronit Ilouz opened the gathering with a lecture and Dr. Irit Sadeh the Ministry of Education supervisor spoke. An anatomy workshop also took place. The Faculty is proud of its involvement in local educational initiatives.

Above: Dr. Ronit Ilouz

The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine hosted the Esther and Haim Carasso Microbiome Israel Workshop to an over-subscribed, standing-room-only audience. Opening the day, Dr. Shai Bel thanked the participants for coming to Safed. Bel tied in parallels between the large yeshiva constituent in the city, and the university – its dedication to learning, the necessity for family cooperation, and jokingly even mentioning the lack of remuneration for the long hours put into the studying.

Dean Karl Skorecki then welcomed the crowd, warmly thanking the Carasso family for their generosity. He shared that Carasso and microbiome are the two most frequently heard words at the Faculty – Carasso as the main Faculty auditorium is named the Carasso Auditorium. He admitted that in the past he had been skeptical of microbiome research but as of taking on the role of Dean one year ago, and being exposed to the Faculty labs, he has become a convert. The Carasso family members were then presented with tokens gifts, accompanied by applause of appreciation.

The first session, sponsored by Ilex Biotech, opened with a presentation by Eran Segal of the Weizmann Institute. He gave a brief overview of the Personalized Nutrition Project that is making international headlines. According to his research, an “algorithm diet” may be more successful at reducing the incidence of diabetes than traditionally accepted guidelines.

Yoram Louzoun of BIU’s mathematics department took to the podium next, introducing the audience to the possible role of microbiomes in allergies. By looking at one’s microbiome will we be able to identify allergies? Perhaps even cure them? How long will it take?

Ravid Straussman of the Weizmann Institute then brought in some historical background related to microbiome tumor research and stressed the necessity of being especially careful when carrying out studies and arriving at conclusions. He looked at breast cancer and also at smoking behavior. Hopefully one day bacteria will be a useful tool in fighting cancers.

Naama Geva Zatorsky of the Technion discussed mining the gut microbiome, looking at healthy microbiome and the immune system. And, is microbiome behavior static, or does its function change?

Yehudit Bergman of the Hebrew University, a specialist in epigenetics, mentioned how the intestine is a wonderful place to study environmental challenges. She suggests a very strong link between microbiome, inflammation, and epigenetics.

After the lunch break and poster session, Itzick Mizrahi of Ben Gurion University opened up the first afternoon session, sponsored by Rhenium. His presentation included an evolutionary explanation of the development of microbes up through vertebrates. Studying fish as well as ruminants (cows), Mizrahi, among other ideas, tied in global methane levels to the topic at hand.

Yael Haberman of Sheba Medical Center then discussed the recent increase in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), suggesting that genetics cannot account for such a drastic change, for the “epidemic,” but rather, industrialization and westernization. Why do some people respond to medication, while others do not? Where do antibiotics fit in, considering recent microbiome research?

Noam Shental, a computational neuroscientist at the Open University sets as one of his research goals, profiling bacteria in tumor microenvironments.

And Evan Elliot of the Faculty brought up another area – the interaction between genetics and microbiome in autism. It is known that ASD is often accompanied by gastrointestinal issues, and there has been anecdotal evidence pointing to ASD symptoms and antibiotics. This frontier is also being explored.

After a brief coffee break, the second afternoon session opened with a clinical talk by Ilan Youngster of Assaf Harofeh hospital discussing fecal microbiota transplant (FMT). He cited encouraging cure rates, mentioning Clostridium difficile and even GvHD (graft versus host disease), a side effect of some aggressive cancer treatments.

Iris Dotan of Beilinson Hospital then gave some insights on IBD, especially with regard to the Israeli population – immigrants, and year of immigration. She stressed that this is exclusively a human disease, and mentioned the risk of causing antibiotic resistance and the possibility of treating some illnesses such as pouchitis (inflammation) via diet.

Eran Elinav of the Weizmann Institute discussed the microbiome-gut-brain axis, having studied ALS in mice and humans. He, like other researchers at the workshop were careful to point out the difference between causation and correlation.

The final presenter was Omry Koren of the Faculty. He has spent much of his time studying microbiome changes during pregnancy, finding that bacteria react to hormones. He tied in diabetes, newborn antibiotic exposure, and sex differences. Koren signed off the most eye-opening conference stressing, “Humanity is a passing episode in the life of bacteria.”

For more information, feel free to contact the Faculty.

Pictured left to right: Arik Carasso, Omry Koren, Eran Carasso