Faculty of Medicine Newsletter 31 (December 7 - 20, 2020)

לניוזלטרים בעברית, לחץ כאן.

For PDF version, click here.

Covid-19 Update

On the evening of December 17, 2020, Prof. Daniel Glikman, Vice Dean for Pre-clinical Studies, offered an online lecture and Q&A session regarding the Covid-19 vaccination that has arrived in Israel (as of now, from Pfizer). The turnout for this Zoom meeting, which was open to staff and students alike, was so oversubscribed that it had to be rebroadcast from an address with larger participant capabilities.

Prof. Glikman offered an excellent yet brief summary of what we know so far, he explained that for now the best hope for eradicating the pandemic is via prevention (vaccination), and he stressed in no uncertain terms the benefits of getting inoculated. Participants were invited to articulate any special concerns, reservations, or fears they may have, and each question was answered professionally, respectfully, and with patience.

Students and medical staff are scheduled to begin vaccinations this week at hospitals in the Galilee.

Historic Visit to Gulf Medical University

Under the initiative of Faculty Dean Prof. Karl Skorecki, Prof. Samer Srouji, Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Head of the Bone Regeneration Lab at the Galilee Medical Center and a member of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, led a delegation of doctors and researchers to the Gulf Medical University in Ajwan, United Arab Emirates, where they discussed future research and clinical cooperation, and faculty exchange. Pictures from the December 2020 visit can be seen here.

Prof. Chaim Putterman Organizes NIH Lupus Animal Model Conference

Prof. Chaim Putterman, Associate Dean for Research, was a member of the organizing committee for a virtual conference organized by the US National Institutes of Health. The topic of the conference, which took place on December 10, 2020, was “Mouse models of lupus 10 years later: key advances in understanding pathogenesis & remaining uncertainties in translation.”

This conference follows a 2010 meeting that was held at the National Library of Medicine, also focusing on murine models of lupus and their relevance to human disease. The meeting this month revisited murine models of lupus and opened the dialogue as to their value in understanding and treating human disease.

Hanuka at the Faculty

Hanuka cheer was apparent, even in “light” of the current Covid-19 reality. hanuka

The traditional candle-lighting ceremony took place at the Faculty, as every year, led by the Dean – albeit this time via Zoom.
Medical students volunteered to distribute dreidels and sufganiyot to the pediatrics and geriatrics wards in local hospitals (following Corona guidelines, of course).

Seminars

Special Seminar: The Matrix Reloaded: The role(s) of the microbial extracellular matrix in differentiation, stress tolerance and host colonization (Dr. Ilana Kolodkin-Gal hosted by Dr. Shai Bel)
Upcoming - Special Seminar: Picking a brain cell by cell, Cell-type-specific protein dynamics in the nervous system (Dr. Or Shahar hosted by Dr. Moshe Dessau)

Video Filming in Honor of Gabi Weisfeld’s 90th Birthday

The Faculty was honored to participate in a video filming on December 10, 2020, in honor of Gabi Weisfeld’s 90^th birthday. Gabi Weisfeld is president of the Canadian Friends of Bar-Ilan University and a very generous, dedicated, and long-time donor. Prof. Karl Skorecki and Dr. Sivan Spitzer-Shohat were interviewed by Dr. Sharon Goldman V.P. for Global Resources; they visited the Anatomage (Virtual Anatomy Teaching) and spoke to Dr. Yair Blumberg; and shared a few words with the head of the Student Union, Lee Azoulay. We wish Gabi Weisfeld health and a long life.

Website: What’s New? (medicine.biu.ac.il/en) אתר הפקולטה

Publications (https://medicine.biu.ac.il/en/research-news) פרסומי מחקר

Reminder that publications by Azrieli faculty are generally posted in chronological order based on publication date, per PubMed listings.

Tal Shachar: Is Time a Factor in Quality of Life Improvement Following Breast Reduction (Aesthet Surg J .)
Avi Benov: Inclusion of extranodal extension in the lymph node classification of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (Cancer. )
Najib Dally: Management and Outcome of Venous Thrombosis in Patients with Myeloproliferative Neoplasms: Data from the Israeli MPN Working Group (Acta Haematol .)
Naamah Bloch, Shira Ben-Simon, Oren Ziv, Omry Koren: Fecal microbiota transplant promotes response in immunotherapy-refractory melanoma patients (Science .)
Enav Yefet, Abeer Suleiman: Hemoglobin drop following postpartum hemorrhage (Sci Rep . )
Nir Qvit: Peptide Therapeutics: Scientific Approaches, Current Development Trends, and Future Directions (Curr Top Med Chem . )
Chaim Putterman: BTK inhibition modulates multiple immune cell populations involved in the pathogenesis of immune mediated nephritis (Clin Immunol .)
Amir Mari: Cutaneous involvement of hepatitis C virus. Which future after new antiviral drugs? (G Ital Dermatol Venereol .)
The Therapeutic Effect of Active Vitamin D Supplementation in Preventing the Progression of Diabetic Nephropathy in a Diabetic Mouse Model (J Diabetes Res . ) (Nakhoul Nakhoul, Tina Thawko, Evgeny Farber, Inbal Dahan, Hagar Tadmor, Anaam Hanut, Ghasan Salameh, Ibrahim Shagrawy, Farid Nakhoul)
Maayan Gruber, Danny Damry, Nur Ibrahim, Daniel Glikman, Ohad Ronen: Pediatric acute otitis externa: Characteristics and predictors for hospital admission (Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol . )
David Karasik: The influence of adult hip shape genetic variants on adolescent hip shape: findings from a population-based DXA study (Bone . )

Faculty News (https://medicine.biu.ac.il/en/faculty-news) חדשות הפקולטה

Media Exposure (https:/medicine.biu.ac.il/en/media) חשיפה במדיה באנגלית

Image Gallery/Photo Albums (https://medicine.biu.ac.il/en/gallery) גלריית תמונות

Pictures from the Azrieli and GMC Visit to Gulf Medical University (December 2020), here.

Reminders אל תשכחו

Comments/additions/updates? Write to us, here.