Faculty of Medicine Newsletter 36 (February 15 - 28, 2021)

לניוזלטרים בעברית, לחץ כאן.
For PDF version, click here.

Appointments, Grants, and AwardsJohnny Younis

Congratulations to Prof. Johnny Younis, Vice Dean for Clinical Education, on his appointment to the committee updating regulations for fertility preservation, of the Ministry of Health National Council for Obstetrics & Gynecology, Neonatology and Genetics. Prof. Younis explains: In the past decade a novel method of oocyte (egg) freezing termed vitrification was developed. This method was shown to be very effective and reliable to freeze oocytes before fertilization, opening new horizons for fertility preservation in the reproductive age, for medical (e.g. before chemotherapy) and non-medical (e.g. social) indications especially in unmarried women. Regulations were published by the Ministry of Health a decade ago, and since then this issue has developed significantly. The purpose of the newly appointed committee is to revise and update these regulations in a contemporary and timely manner, especially for non-medical indications and specifically for cases with low ovarian reserve (i.e. young women with a lower oocyte storage than anticipated).

Seminars

  • Special Seminar: Using high-resolution mass spectrometry for etiology, biomarker research, and precision medicine (Dr. Lauren Petrick, hosted by Dr. Keren Agay-Shay)
  • Special Seminar: Liver Stability and Plastitsity are Regulated by the FoxA Pioneer Factors and DNA Methylation (Dr. Tzachi Reisel, hosted by Prof. Amnon Harel)
  • Upcoming Special Seminar: The mitochondrion as a key regulator of the immune system and the gut microbiome (Dr. Tal Yardeni, hosted by Prof. Tzipora Falik-Zaccai)
  • Upcoming Special Seminar How Beliefs Shape Daily Experiences: From Cognition to Well-Being (Dr. Liron Rozenkrantz, hosted by Dr. Hava Gil-Henn)

Zoom Webinar with AFBIUDanny Glikman zoom

On February 24, 2021, approximately two dozen friends of Bar-Ilan University (majority but not exclusively, from Florida) convened via Zoom. After warm greetings by the American Friends of Bar-Ilan University reps and the Dean, Prof. Karl Skorecki, Prof. Daniel Glikman, Vice Dean Pre-Clinical Studies, spoke about various aspects of the Coronavirus and vaccination. A lively Q&A session ensued.

The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine thanks its supporters and is deeply appreciative of AFBIU’s efforts. Special thanks to Ms. Melina Gimal of AFBIU and Ms. Naty Glikin of BIU Global Resource Development for organizing the event.

Our Students

  • Prof. Johnny Younis reports that the clinical rounds in the internal medicine departments began on January 31, 2021. Clinical studies include two rounds in internal medicine, the first round of twelve weeks during the earlier stages of studies, and a short round of 3-6 weeks during the final stages of studies. Because internal medicine departments are at the forefront of treating Corona patients, and with the outbreak of the third wave of the disease, four of the twelve affiliated internal medicine departments were converted to Corona wards. Medical students at this stage are not allowed to enter Corona departments, making it difficult to find suitable study frameworks that will comply with the requirements. The educational administration has been working very hard with the department heads and hospital directors in order to stick to the regular curriculum. This is challenging, but due to the close cooperation, to date we are keeping pace. Clinical rounds are scheduled to end at the end of August 2021.
  • Dr. Dorith Raviv Shay reports that on February 8-9, 2021, a tour was held at the research laboratories at the Faculty as well as the research institutes of the Galilee Medical Center and Poria Medical Center, for students of the pre-clinical course in the three-year MD program. The purpose of the tour was to offer the MD students aGMC PMC glimpse of the world of research and the connection between research and clinical practice. Thanks extended to everyone who took part in organizing and leading the tours.
  • Dr. Itay Onn reports that the Faculty has seen a 20% increase in applicants for the four-year track, for AY 2021-22 as compared to AY 2020-21. Acceptance exams will commence this month. Good luck!

Condolences

Condolences to Dr. Emil Aamar on the passing of his mother.

Website: What’s New?  

Publications 

Reminder that publications by Azrieli faculty are generally posted in chronological order based on publication date, per PubMed listings. If you have published an article recently that appears on PubMed but that was not listed in a Newsletter, please do let me know.

  • Gassan Moady, Shelly Vons, Shaul Atar: A Comparative Retrospective Study of Patients with Takotsubo Syndrome and Acute Coronary Syndrome (Isr Med Assoc J . )
  • Amir Mari, Tawfik Khoury, Mahamid Baker, Halel Said Ahmad, Fadi Abu Baker, Mahmud Mahamid: The Impact of Ramadan Fasting on Fatty Liver Disease Severity: A Retrospective Case Control Study from Israel (Isr Med Assoc J . )
  • Alexander Lerner: COVID-19 Crisis Effect: Experience at Two Orthopedic Trauma Units (Isr Med Assoc J . )
  • Elon Glassberg: Post-expiry stability of freeze-dried plasma under field conditions - Can shelf life be extended? (Transfusion . )
  • Tzipora Falik-Zaccai: The effect of polyhydramnios degree on chromosomal microarray results: a retrospective cohort analysis of 742 singleton pregnancies (Arch Gynecol Obstet .)
  • Tom Domovitz, Meital Gal-Tanamy: Tracking Down the Epigenetic Footprint of HCV-Induced Hepatocarcinogenesis (J Clin Med . )
  • Soboh Soboh, Arnon Blum: Effect of Telemedicine Dietary Intervention for Endothelial Function in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus on Mediterranean Diet (Randomized Controlled Trial)
  • Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern: The use of aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease is associated with a lower likelihood of COVID-19 infection (FEBS J .)
  • Emergency open surgery with a duodenotomy and successful removal of an impacted basket following a complicated endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography procedure: a case report (J Med Case Rep . )
  • Assaf Adar, Hiba Zayyad, Orna Nitzan, Avi Peretz: Clinical and Demographic Characteristics of Patients With a New Diagnosis of Carriage or Clinical Infection With Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacterales: A Retrospective Study (Front Public Health .)
  • Tawfik Khoury, Wisam Sbeit: Cost-Effectiveness of Rapid On-Site Evaluation of Endoscopic Ultrasound Fine Needle Aspiration in Gastrointestinal lesions (Cytopathology .)
  • Ola Jahshan-Doukhy, Jacob Bornstein: Long-Term Efficacy of Physical Therapy for Localized Provoked Vulvodynia (Int J Womens Health . )
  • Wisam Sbeit, Tomer Greener, Anas Kadah, Amir Mari, Eran Goldin, Mahmud Mahamid, Tawfik Khoury: Pancreatic and hepatobiliary manifestations of nonalcoholic fatty pancreatic disease: a referral multi-center experience (Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol .)
  • Amiel A Dror , Eli Layous, Matti Mizrachi, Amani Daoud, Netanel Eisenbach, Doaa Rayan, Edward Kaykov, Masad Barhum, Samer Srouji, Eyal Sela: United by Hope, Divided by Access: Country Mapping of COVID-19 Information Accessibility and Its Consequences on Pandemic Eradication (Front Med (Lausanne) .)
  • Johnny S. Younis: Does large endometrioma per se increase AMH level? (Reprod Biomed Online .)
  • George Habib, Adel Jabbour: The impact of medical cannabis consumption on the oral flora and saliva (PLoS One . )
  • Michal Werbner, Joel Alter, Moshe Dessau, Meital Gal-Tanamy: Multi-clonal SARS-CoV-2 neutralization by antibodies isolated from severe COVID-19 convalescent donors (PLoS Pathog . )

Faculty News 

DeCrowning Corona DeCrowning Corona

On the evening of February 17, 2021, some 150 parents, students, teachers, and municipality leaders convened via Zoom to hear Prof. Daniel Glickman, Vice Dean Pre-clinical Studies at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine speak about the Coronavirus vaccine, and answer questions….

Inaugural Meeting of BIU/GMC and Gulf Medical University Departments of Surgery

A first at the Faculty! The international forum convened at three o'clock Israel time, eight AM eastern standard time, and five o'clock UAE time….

Online BIU Corona Panel with Dr. Meital Gal Tanamy

On February 18, 2021, Dr. Meital Gal Tanamy participated in a Q&A panel with Prof. Cyrille Cohen, Prof. Mira Barda-Saad, and Prof. Eitan Okun, via Zoom, to answer questions regarding the Coronavirus vaccine….

Media Exposure     

Kan.org.il radio: Study - One dose of coronavirus vaccine prompts strong response among previously infected (Prof. Michael Edelstein)

Israelnationalnews.com: Delayed medical treatment of high-impact injuries: A lesson from the Syrian civil war (Prof. Samer Srouji)

Vice.com: Researchers Are Experimenting With COVID-Safe Festivals (Prof. Michael Edelstein)

prnewswire.com: Promising Treatment for Covid-19 Enters Clinical Trials in Israeli Medical Centers (Prof. Karl Skorecki)

Image Gallery

Snow!

The Dean and Mr. Snowperson

 

 

 

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