Scientific Advisory Board
Prof. Michel Revel, MD, PhD - Head of the Scientific Advisory Board
Prof. Revel is Professor Emeritus of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute of Science. His research on Interferon, its mechanisms of action and the isolation of the human Interferon-beta gene, have led to the biotechnological development of Interferon-beta therapy for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. The drug, Rebif®, is now a US$ 1.7 billion drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is presently marketed worldwide. Revel also discovered the human gene for the cytokine Interleukin-6 which was developed at his laboratory and at InterPharm (now Merck-Serono) based on its activity for protecting nerve cells and the nerve myelin coating in neuropathies. In recent years, Revel's laboratory focused on hESC and succeeded to produce nerve myelinating cells that reconstitute the myelin coating after transplantation into myelin-deficient animals. These studies contributed to the development of the suspension culture technology for hESC which can then be used to produce differentiated human cells such as insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells and nerve myelinating cells.
Alongside his research and development activity, Prof. Revel is deeply involved in the ethics of science and biotechnology, and serves as chairman of the Israel National Bioethics Council and was a member of the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO. He integrates his work in science with traditional Judaism and Jewish philosophy in addressing bioethical issues such as use of hESC, genetic intervention in man and cloning. Prof. Revel was the recipient of the Israel Prize for medical research, the EMET Prize for biotechnology and is a member of the Israel Academy of Science and Humanities. He has been a member of Israel's National Committee for Biotechnology, serving for three years as its chairman.
Prof. Benjamin Reubinoff, MD, PhD – Senior Member of the Scientific Advisory Board
Prof. Reubinoff, Director of the Hadassah Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center and Senior Physician at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, is one of the pioneers of hESC research. He was second to derive hESC from blastocysts and first to demonstrate that they could develop in culture into the three major cell types of the human body. He was further the first, simultaneously with scientists at Wisconsin University, to produce highly enriched cultures of neural precursor cells from hESC.
Prof. Eddy Karnieli, MD - Member of the Scientific Advisory Board
Professor Karnieli is the Director of the Institute for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
Professor Karnieli's main research interests are the molecular mechanisms for regulating cellular glucose uptake and transporters and their implications in diabetes, obesity and insulin resistance; Gene therapy modalities to trans-differentiate human cells toward beta-cells as a potential cure for type 1 diabetes; Medical informatics, telemedicine and personalized medicine. He has published about 70 peer reviewed papers and reviews. Professor Karnieli serves on the editorial board of several scientific journals and review boards.
Professor Karnieli is a retired Colonel from the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps and is a former Deputy Director of the Rambam Medical Center.