Faculty News

Prof. Chaim Putterman, Associate Dean Research (pictured to left with Prof. Fahed Hakim, General Director of EMMS Nazareth Hospital), represented the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine at the 10th Annual Galilee Conference that took place in Migdal HaEmek on September 13, 2022. The conference is a meeting ground for local decision makers to discuss gaps felt in various realms, including medicine, in the periphery.

The conference opened with greetings from Oded Forer, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and Minister for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee. Full itinerary can be seen here.

Noam David Reshelbach, Administrative Head of Faculty, also attended this important event whose byline was "Turning the Galilee into Midtown." Local Hebrew coverage can be seen here.

As part of the MAHAR (Hebrew acronym for medical social responsibility) course requirements, the Student Leader’s Wellness Team of the Healthy Faculty initiative, led by Dr. Jumanah Essa-Hadad and Dr. Lilach Malatskey, organized various activities during the 2021-2022 academic year to improve student health and wellbeing.  These activities included active breaks for all students at the faculty (e.g. healthy snacks, exercise sessions, yoga), hikes in the Galilee to encourage social engagement and physical activity, a mental health media campaign, among others. It is sometimes a challenge to find time for active breaks within the heavy course load, or rooms/resources for activities, but we believe in the important impact this initiative has on the wellbeing of the students. 

To see a short video prepared by the class, click here.  

The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine Eleventh Annual Research Day took place on September 5, 2022 and was dedicated to the memory of Eli Hurwitz.

An excellent opportunity for the students to share their research, the day included presentations by keynote speakers, Prof. Ran Balicer, Chief Innovation Officer
at Clalit who spoke about Data-driven innovation in healthcare, as well as Prof. Batsheva Kerem, Department of Genetics, HUJI who spoke about The Cystic Fibrosis Journey: from gene cloning to drug development.

Graduate degree students from the Faculty presented posters and gave lectures on their research. Prizes were given for the most impressive posters and lectures.

Some pictures can be seen here (photo credit Maor Elhyani).

Congratulations to Prof. Meital Gal-Tanamy who was elected president of the Israel Microbiology Society (ISM).
Congratulations also to Dr. Moshe Dessau who was elected treasurer.
The elections took place at the annual conference in July 2022.
The Israel Microbiology Society is the largest scientific society in Israel, including some 500-700 members. It unites all microbiologists, including virology, bacteriology, mycology, and parasitology.

On August 11, 2022 the ninth cohort of the Anatomy Instructors course, led by Prof. David Karasik and Dr. Nomy Dickman, convened for their final meeting.

This year's 40-hour training course included thirteen participants, carefully chosen from among first year Azrieli medical school students. They were trained to teach the anatomy course to next year's first year students, with some also trained in histology and in brain and mind.

Prof. Eric Shinwell, Associate Dean Medical Research, recapped for the students the importance of the course and the task facing its graduates, and received from them feedback regarding the course. He then personally distributed certificates of completion (pictured), with the assistance of the course coordinators.
 

Organized by Prof. David Karasik and Dr. Chen Shochat-Carvalho of the Musculoskeletal Genetics Laboratory, this workshop took place at the Azrieli Faculty on July 27-29, 2022.

Based on a project funded by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) the team introduced zebrafish as a model to validate musculoskeletal genome-wide association studies. The workshop, funded by the ISF, provided a platform for omic-centered researchers from Israel and abroad to facilitate crosstalk, establish collaboration, and validate new experimental models of musculoskeletal health. A variety of world-renown speakers provided their insights into the current and future work on the fast-growing field of the post-genomic exploration.

​The two main objectives:

• Acquire a better understanding of advantages and challenges in using the functional approaches for the bone biology in piscine and rodent models, and ultimately human cells. Specific focus is on latest advancement in imaging modalities, genetic methodologies, and nano-technology approaches. 
• Learn about the current state of knowledge and ongoing research activities in the musculoskeletal diseases, such as osteosarcopenia, falls and fracture.

The researchers hope to translate the findings of this research into novel therapeutic strategies effective for the musculoskeletal system, for preventing and treating fractures and muscle loss by targeting actionable genes.

The seventh annual conference of the Israeli Society for Medical Education (היל"ר) of the Israeli Medical Association was held on July 6, 2022.

At the session on active learning, a roundtable was held, moderated by Prof. Barbara Schuster and Dr. Nomy Dikman, with the participation of Prof. Sophia Eilat-Tsanani, Prof. Bashara Basharat, and Prof. David Karasik.

The roundtable discussed "Reflecting on Active Learning Pedagogy: a collaborative book writing experience" focusing on two key topics:

• How did the process of writing impact me as an educator

• How could the book, or my individual chapter, help facilitate active learning/teaching

The final of a series of ceremonies this academic year aimed at thanking the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine's excellent clinical lecturers, was held on August 4, 2022 at the Baruch Padeh Medical Center in Poria.

Representing the Faculty were Prof. Karl Skorecki, Dean; Prof. Eric Shinwell, Associate Dean Medical Education; and Dr. Nomy Dickman, Head of Unit, Evaluation and Advancement of Education. Dr. Erez Onn, director general of Poria said, "Excellence is the first value among the core values of our organization and you fulfill this value....The ceremony is a humble opportunity to express our gratitude and appreciation for your important contribution."

In addition to the teachers receiving awards, two departments received awards of excellence - the newborn and neonatal department, which was chosen for the sixth time in a row, and the OB/GYN department.

(Photo credits: Above, הרון נלגאבץ, מרכז רפואי פדה-פוריה; below, Noam David Reshelbach)

Congratulations to 27 medical professionals who received certificates following their completion of a Bar-Ilan University Designated Programs course on mental health in the first five years of a child's life.

The ceremony, which was held at the Bar-Ilan U. Ramat Gan campus, was attended by Prof. Offer Amir, Associate Dean, Specialization and Continuing Education, and Noam David Reshelbach, the Administrative Head of the Faculty, along with Dr. Miri Keren and Dr. Izabella Mirochnik, the program coordinators.

The third cohort of this program will commence this year. Details (in Hebrew) here.

Congratulations to Azrieli Faculty of Medicine PIs (principal investigators) who just won ISF Grants.

Prof. Evan Elliott (Role of chromosome regulators in maintenance of neuronal function and behavior in adulthood)
Prof. Amnon Harel (Pushing pores to their limit - a study of perturbed nuclear pore function)
Dr. Ronit Ilouz (Characterization of protein aggregation promoted by a PKA-RIb mutation in a rare neurodegenerative disease)

In January 2022 we reported on the launch of an important program, the Ilanot Medical Leadership Program, thanks to the initiative and under the auspices of the Israeli Ministry of Health.

We are now excited to share, that a festive kick-off gathering took place at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine on July 14, 2022. In attendance were directors of affiliate hospitals Baruch Padeh Medical Center in Poria (Dr. Erez Onn), Ziv Medical Center (Prof. Salman Zarka), and EMMS (Scottish) Hospital (Dr. Fahed Hakim), as well as the CEO of the Office for the Development of the Periphery, Negev and Galilee (Ilan Shohat) - among other dignitaries.

This leadership program will open in the fall, with 20-30 first year Azrieli medical students from the four-year track. It includes substantial financial assistance throughout the medical training, mentorship, leadership training, and support during internship. Recipients commit to settling in the Galilee for 7 years after they graduate.

Following ceremonies at Ziv Medical Center and the Galilee Medical Center, on July 21, 2022 the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine hosted a ceremony to thank the excellent lecturers from the Faculty as well as the affiliated hospitals in Nazareth and area kupot holim and hospitals who are also actively involved in teaching the next generation of Israeli physicians.

Opening with a welcome by Sharon Mines, Administrative Deputy to the Associate Dean of Medical Education, the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Karl Skorecki; Associate Dean of Medical Education, Prof. Eric Shinwell; and the Head of Unit, Evaluation and Advancement of Education, Dr. Nomy Dickman, then took to the podium to warmly greet the crowd.

After a musical interlude, certificate recipients were invited one by one to the stage to receive their awards, by Profs. Skorecki and Shinwell as well as Prof. Michael Blank and Bat-El Yamin (Academic Staff Coordinator). Dr. Yossi Glustein spoke in the name of all of the award recipients.

A few pictures of the event, held in the Esther & Haim Carasso Auditorium, can be seen here (photo credit: Dror Miller).

List of recipients (in Hebrew) as follows:

תארים מתקדמים

• פרופ' מיטל גל תנעמי
• ד"ר רונית אילוז

קדם קליני

• ד"ר אוסאמה חלבי
• ד"ר אלון ברש
• מר באסם חג'אזי
• ד"ר ג'ומאנה עיסא-חדד
• ד"ר דוד אנשל
• מר לי אזולאי
• פרופ' מיטל גל תנעמי
• פרופ' מיכאל אדלשטיין
• מר נדב טולדנו
• ד"ר ניר קוויט
• ד"ר עדי אור – מכבי משפחה
• ד"ר קובי ממן
• ד"ר רולא פרח- כללית גליל מערבי
• גב' רחל לוין
• פרופ' אוון אליוט + תארים מתקדמים
• פרופ' פיטר גילבי
• ד"ר סיוון שפיצר שוחט
• ד"ר שירל אוחיון
• גב' שלומית נשרי
• פרופ' אורלי אבני
• ד"ר זהר שני- גרשון
• ד"ר מיכאל בנד
• ד"ר מיכאל דה פריס
• גב' קרינה בוקלן
• ד"ר אכרם שרף

רפואת משפחה

• ד"ר ווליד טרבי- כללית גליל מערבי
• ד"ר מיכל גרינברג- מכבי
• ד"ר פהד סכס- כללית גליל מערבי
• ד"ר איריס הלביץ- כללית צפון
• ד"ר אלכסנדרה ורז'יביצקי- כללית צפון

ילדים בקהילה

• ד"ר איאד עסאווי- כללית צפון
• ד"ר היתם שלבי- כללית צפון
• ד"ר ויקטוריה ויסמן- כללית גליל מערבי
• ד"ר יוסי גלושטיין- כללית צפון
• ד"ר נדיה לומלסקי- כללית צפון
• ד"ר עדיאל מרום- כללית גליל מערבי
• ד"ר עיסאם מוקלאשי- כללית צפון
• ד"ר שיבלי רושדי- כללית צפון

נשים בקהילה

• ד"ר איריס אוהל שני- כללית צפון
• ד"ר דרור להב- כללית גליל מערבי
• ד"ר אופליה אבו נסרא- כללית צפון

פסיכיאטריה

• ד"ר ג'ק חג'ז- שער מנשה
• ד"ר ורוניקה מירונוב- מזור
• ד"ר טטיאנה זיקר- שער מנשה
• ד"ר רונן הוברפלד- שער מנשה
• ד"ר יבגני שינקרנקו- שער מנשה

גינקולוגיה ומיילדות

• ד"ר אתי דניאל שפיגל- העמק
• ד"ר דניאל מלחי- העמק
• ד"ר הדס רובין- העמק
• ד"ר ניבאל חמאיסי- סקוטי
• ד"ר סוזן עבדל גאני- העמק
• ד"ר פאדל אבוסיביה- סקוטי
• ד"ר שבתאי רומנו- העמק
• ד"ר אלון טל- העמק
• ד"ר מנאל מסאלחה- העמק
• ד"ר לילך כהן- העמק
• ד"ר יהודה בן דוד- העמק

המטולוגיה

• ד"ר אביב אריאל- העמק

עיניים

• ד"ר נאיל מזאוי- צרפתי

גסטרו

• ד"ר אמיר מרעי- סקוטי

כירורגיה

• ד"ר אחמד לובאני- סקוטי

כירורגית לב חזה

• ד"ר רונן גלילי

פלסטיקה

• ד"ר טל טוביאס- העמק

אא"ג

• ד"ר נביל פראנש- צרפתי

מחלקות מצטיינות

•  מחלקת גינקולוגיה ומיילדות - העמק
• מחלקת המטולוגיה- העמק
• מחלקת גסטרו - סקוטי

קורסים מצטיינים

• פתולוגיה בסיסית – סרג'יו שוולב
• יק"ר ארבע שנתי – נג'יב דלי 

The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine congratulates Dr. Shai Bel upon his receipt of a prestigious and competitive BSF grant.

The topic of his research is "Defining the role of interleukin 1b in host manipulation by Salmonella Typhimurium."

The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine mourns the premature passing of one of its dear academic faculty members, Dr. Amir Kuperman z"l.

Translated from the ארגון רופאי המדינה (Israeli physicians association) Facebook post:

Below is what his friends, doctors in the pediatric ward at the Galilee Medical Center in Naharia, wrote about him.

Amir was born in 1966 in Petah Tikva. After military service he received his degree in medicine from the Tel Aviv University. After graduating, he specialized in pediatrics at the Edith Wolfson Medical Center and then went on to specialize in pediatric hemato-oncology at Schneider Children's Hospital.

Amir married Hila, and together they built their home at Kibbutz Ayalon in the north. In 2005, he began working at the Galilee Medical Center as a senior physician in the Department of Pediatrics and at the same time established the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Coagulation Disorders. Amir stood out as a dedicated, diligent, and curious doctor who devoted his energy to the field of research and study which he loved very much.

Amir was an outstanding teacher for many interns and students at the Medical Center and Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in Safed. He was a teacher par excellence and just recently received an award for being an outstanding lecturer in courses in various fields such as Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology, Infectious Diseases, Genetics, Introduction to Clinical Medicine and Pediatrics.

Dr. Kuperman was in the process of being promoted to professorship, a degree he obtained after much effort and work and was most deserving of it.

Amir was first and foremost a family man, and then a doctor. His many patients, thalassemia patients and patients with a variety of chronic hematological diseases, saw him as a constant address for problem solving and he was for them a father-doctor.

Amir was a humane and dedicated physician to the many children he treated and a consultant available to many physicians in the Galilee region.

In addition to being a family man, Dr. Kuperman was a loving husband and a devoted and proud father to his children. Amir and his wife had many plans for the future but suddenly in January this year his family received the bitter news that Amir was suffering from a tumor which could not be overcome. Amir and his family did not give up and tried every possible weapon to fight the tumor. And this was Amir's way of treating his patients as well. He always looked for a solution and even believed in "miracles".

Amir's desire to return to his family and work that he loved so much, to return to teaching young doctors and feeling needed for his illness pushed him forward and again and again Amir emphasized this to his friends. It was one small moment of light in a difficult time when Amir managed despite the treatments to attend the Clinical Lecturers Certificate of Appreciation Ceremony, a moment that ignited hope in everyone's hearts, with great excitement.

On Friday, July 8, 2022, after several days of medical deterioration, Amir's soul was taken from us and returned to the Creator.

We will remember Dr. Kuperman as a son, a devoted and loving husband and father, and as a humane and diligent physician with a desire to move forward and advance the field of hematology for children in the Galilee.

Amir's departure from us very prematurely is a severe loss for all of us. But the memory of his actions, his concerns and achievements in the field of hematology, will accompany us as we continue on the path. His vision that good and professional medicine can be provided in the Galilee will continue to lighten our path.

May his memory be for a blessing.
 

Every year it gets more and more exciting - the MD graduation ceremony at Bar-Ilan University's Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in Safed.

This year, with beautiful July 4th weather, 62 students from the sixth four-year track graduating class, and 43 students from the seventh three-year track graduating class, were sworn in as physicians in the State of Israel. Fifty seven of these students - new doctors - are women.

Noam David Reshelbach, the Faculty Administrative Head, led the ceremony that was held outdoors on campus, with hundreds of proud participants gleaming.

After the official processions of Academic Management and Faculty, and the students, offering words of inspiration were Prof. Eric Shinwell, Associate Dean Medical Education, who opened with Maimonide's Physician's Prayer; Prof. Arye Zaban, President of Bar-Ilan University; the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Karl Skorecki; the Rector of Bar-Ilan University, Prof. Amnon Albek; the Mayor of Safed, Mr. Shuki Ohana; parent representative Dr. Dov Bandel; student Dr. Shirel Ohayon. The Maqamat Ensemble from Safed performed musical interludes throughout the ceremony.

The students took the Oath of the Hebrew Physician (written by Prof. L. Heylprin) then proceeded one by one to the dais, to the Dean and Rector. Handing out the diplomas were Sharon Mines, Administrative Deputy to the Associate Dean of Medical Education, and Bat El Yamin, Academic Staff Coordinator.

Congratulations!

Pictures can be seen here (Dror Miller, photographer).