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The '''Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences''' is the oldest life sciences [[research institute]] in [[Israel]]. It is part of the Faculty of Sciences<ref>{{Cite web |title=Faculty of Sciences, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem |url=https://en-science.huji.ac.il/}}</ref> at the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]], and is located in the Edmond J. Safra Campus ([[Givat Ram]]) in Jerusalem.
The '''Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences''' is the oldest life sciences [[research institute]] in [[Israel]]. It is part of the Faculty of Sciences<ref>{{Cite web |title=Faculty of Sciences, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem |url=https://en-science.huji.ac.il/}}</ref> at the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]], and is located in the Edmond J. Safra Campus ([[Givat Ram]]) in Jerusalem.


As per 2022, the institute comprises seventy research groups, conducting [[basic research]] as well as [[applied science]] in the fields of [[biomedicine]], [[biotechnology]] and [[agriculture]]. Research in the institute covers many disciplines at multiple [[Biological organisation|levels of organization]], from molecular mechanism in cells, through processes within the whole [[organism]], and to studies at the population level.
As per 2023, the institute comprises seventy three research groups, conducting [[basic research]] as well as [[applied science]] in the fields of [[biomedicine]], [[biotechnology]] and [[agriculture]]. Research in the institute covers many disciplines at multiple [[Biological organisation|levels of organization]], from molecular mechanism in cells, through processes within the whole [[organism]], and to studies at the population level.


Each year, the institute enrolls about 900 students. Of them, roughly 600 study in [[Undergraduate education|undergraduate]] programs, and the rest are [[graduate students]] and [[Postdoctoral researcher|postdoctoral fellow]]<nowiki/>s. Prof. Guy Bloch is currently the 19th chairperson of the institute.
Each year, the institute enrolls about 900 students. Of them, roughly 600 study in [[Undergraduate education|undergraduate]] programs, and the rest are [[graduate students]] and [[Postdoctoral researcher|postdoctoral fellow]]<nowiki/>s. Prof. Guy Bloch is currently the 19th chairperson of the institute.

Revision as of 11:07, 10 January 2023

  • Comment: we have very little interest in what their own website says, articles are based on what independent sources have reported. Theroadislong (talk) 16:05, 6 December 2022 (UTC)
  • Comment: At is stands this is blatant, unsourced advertising and totally inappropriate for an encyclopaedia. Theroadislong (talk) 10:14, 30 November 2022 (UTC)
Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences
TypeResearch Institute
Established1925
Parent institution
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
ChairpersonProf. Guy Bloch
Students900
Undergraduates600
Location
Jerusalem
,
Israel
LanguageHebrew & English
Websitehttps://www.bio.huji.ac.il/en

The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences is the oldest life sciences research institute in Israel. It is part of the Faculty of Sciences[1] at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is located in the Edmond J. Safra Campus (Givat Ram) in Jerusalem.

As per 2023, the institute comprises seventy three research groups, conducting basic research as well as applied science in the fields of biomedicine, biotechnology and agriculture. Research in the institute covers many disciplines at multiple levels of organization, from molecular mechanism in cells, through processes within the whole organism, and to studies at the population level.

Each year, the institute enrolls about 900 students. Of them, roughly 600 study in undergraduate programs, and the rest are graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Prof. Guy Bloch is currently the 19th chairperson of the institute.

History

The origins of the institute date back to 1925, the year that the Hebrew University was founded,[2] when the department of Botany was formed as part of a research unit called "the institute for studying the natural history of the land of Israel". Among the founding researchers were Profs. Otto Warburg[3], Alexander Eig,[4] Michael Zohary[5] and Naomi Feinbrun-Dothan.[6] During the first years of the department, several large-scale projects that continue to this day have been started off, including the establishment of the Herbarium Collection,[7] today part of Israel's Natural History Collections,[8] and the establishment of the National Botanic Garden of Israel at Mount Scopus, which was the first of its kind in the Middle East.

In 1928, Prof. Simon Bodenheimer joined the nascent institute and established the department of Zoology, leading the institute to probe into new scientific fields.[9]

Research activities at both departments (and at the Hebrew University in general) were diminished during the War of Independence, and were brought to a complete stop following the Hadassah medical convoy massacre. Several members of the department of Botany were supposed to join this convoy, but were saved because they postponed their journey due to a wedding of their colleague Avraham Fahn, which took place on exactly the same day. Activity in both departments was renewed after the war, on April 1949

The following decades saw the establishment of additional departments, including the department of Genetics, the department of Neurobiology, and the department of Evolution, Systematics and Ecology (today the department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior).

After years that the different departments were scattered throughout the city of Jerusalem, the 1960s saw a structural reorganization, with the different departments grouped together to form the Institute of Life Sciences, which in itself was grouped with other (non-Life Sciences) departments to form the Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences. In 1968, construction of a dedicated building for the Institute had begun in the Edmond J. Safra (Givat Ram) Campus in Jerusalem. In 1976, the Institute was named after Alexander Silberman, founder of the Penn Corporation in Philadelphia. Two years later, in 1978, the building was populated by the various research groups.

The first chairperson of the Institute was Prof. Alexander Keynan, who started his office at 1967. He was followed by Profs. Avraham Mayer, Gideon Orshan, Dan Cohen, Daniel Zohary, Heftziba Eyal Giladi, Abraham Loyter, Alexander Levitzki, Etana Padan, Hermona Soreq, Shimon Schuldiner, Yosef Yarom, Joseph Hirschberg, Ioav Cabantchik, Shy Arkin, Ran Nathan, Yosef Gruenbaum, Oded Livnah, and as of 2022 the 19th chairman is Prof. Guy Bloch.

Research

The institute comprises six departments, that together study a wide variety of topics in Life Sciences.

  • Department of Bioengineering
    • Research in this department focuses on studying biological systems, ranging from the molecular scale to entire organisms, by applying engineering-based analytical and experimental approaches.
  • Department of Biological Chemistry
    • Research in this department focuses on studying the mechanisms involved in cellular information processing during normal conditions and stress, while examining function and structure of proteins.
  • Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
  • Department of Genetics
    • Research in this department focuses on DNA, and the ways by which modifications and variations affect cellular environments, biological functions, and organismal traits.
  • Department of Neurobiology
    • Research in this department focuses on studying functions of the nervous system under different conditions, from the single cell to the entire brain.
  • Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences
    • Research in this department focuses on studying the interactions between plants and microbes and their environment, from the molecular level to the organism level.

Awards And Honors

Researchers in the institute have won numerous accolades:

Nobel Prize [10]
Israel Prize [13][14]
  • Prof. Michael Zohary won the 1954 Israel prize in Life Sciences.
  • Prof. Simon Bodenheimer won the 1954 Israel prize in agriculture. Prof. Bodenheimer founded the department of zoology during the early days of the institute, and then moved to the Faculty of Agriculture.
  • Profs. Gad Avigad and Shlomo Hestrin won the 1957 Israel prize in Sciences.
  • Prof. Avraham Fahn won the 1963 Israel prize in Life Sciences.
  • Prof. Michael Evenari won the 1986 Israel prize for life achievements in desert studies.
  • Prof. Alexander Levitzki won the 1990 Israel prize in Life Sciences.
  • Prof. Naomi Feinbrun-Dothan won the 1991 Israel prize for Eretz Israel studies.
  • Prof. Zvi Selinger won the 2007 Israel prize in Biology.
EMET Prize[15]
  • Prof. Zvi Selinger – 2005.[16]
  • Prof. Batsheva Kerem – 2008.[17]
  • Prof. Marshall Devor – 2012.[18]
  • Prof. Giora Simchen – 2013.[19]
  • Prof. Moshe Soller – 2015.[20]
  • Prof. Alexander Levitzki – 2017.[21]
  • Prof. Hermona Soreq – 2022.[22]
Rothschild Prize[23]
  • Georg Haas - 1963.
  • Michael Zohary - 1973.
  • Alexander Levitzki - 1990.
  • Zvi Selinger - 2002.

Researchers

As of 2022, the institute comprises 73 research groups. A partial list includes Prof. Shy Arkin, Nissim Benvenisty, Guy Bloch, Liran Carmel, Batsheva Kerem, Roger Kornberg, Michael Levitt, Alexander Levitzki, Eran Meshorer, Ran Nathan, Shimon Schuldiner, Sagiv Shifman and Hermona Soreq.

Previous generations

Renowned researchers have been part of the institute since its foundation. A partial list includes Shimon Bodenheimer, Ariel Darvasi, Alexander Eig, Michael Evenari, Avraham Fahn, Naomi Feinbrun-Dothan, Elisabeth Goldschmidt, Georg Haas, Clara Heyn, Alexander Keynan, Yehuda Lapidot, Karl Reich,[24] Tsvi Sachs,[25] Aharon Shulov, Moshe Soller, Wilfred Stein, Heinz Steinitz, Eitan Tchernov, Yehudah L. Werner, Daniel Zohary and Michael Zohary.

Study Programs

Undergraduate programs

The undergraduate programs equip the students with the tools required to investigate biological questions at any level of organization. The studies cover many disciplines, including structural and molecular biochemistry, genetics, genomics, cell biology, developmental biology, microbiology, plant biology, evolution, ecology, animal behavior, neurobiology and more.

The institute offers a number of programs, including a single major program, joint dual major programs, supplementary units, and a number of excellence programs.[26][27][28]

Graduate programs

Graduate studies are performed in a research track,[29][30][31][32][33] which requires – in addition to taking courses – finding a supervisor among the Institute's researchers and submitting a thesis. The institute hosts hundreds of graduate students that are spread among the different research groups.

References

  1. ^ "Faculty of Sciences, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem".
  2. ^ "Higher Education in Israel: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem".
  3. ^ "JSTOR, Otto Warburg (botanist)".
  4. ^ "JSTOR, Alexander Eig".
  5. ^ "JSTOR, Michael Zohary".
  6. ^ "Jewish Women Archive, Naomi Feinbrun-Dothan".
  7. ^ "The Israel national herbarium".
  8. ^ "The Israeli National Natural History Collections".
  9. ^ "Annual Review of Entomology, Frederick Simon Bodenheimer (1897-1959):Idealist, Scholar, Scientist".
  10. ^ "The Nobel Prize, official website".
  11. ^ "The Nobel Prize, Roger D. Kornberg".
  12. ^ "The Nobel Prize, Michael Levitt".
  13. ^ "Jewish Virtual Library, the Israel Prize".
  14. ^ "Jewish Virtual Library, list of Israel Prize Winners".
  15. ^ "EMET Prize, official website".
  16. ^ "Prof. Zvi Selinger, EMET Prize".
  17. ^ "Prof. Batsheva Kerem, EMET Prize".
  18. ^ "Prof. Marshal Devor, EMET Prize".
  19. ^ "Prof. Giora Simchen, EMET Prize".
  20. ^ "Prof. Moshe Soller, EMET Prize".
  21. ^ "Prof. Alexander Levitzki, EMET Prize".
  22. ^ "Prof. Hermona Soreq, EMET Prize".
  23. ^ "The Rothschild Prize, official website".
  24. ^ YASHOUV, A (2013). "PROFESSOR K. REICH PIONEER OF HYDROBIOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN ISRAEL". Israel Journal of Zoology. 12 (1–4): 3–6.
  25. ^ "Tsvi Sachs (1936–2007)".
  26. ^ "Life Sciences, B.Sc studies".
  27. ^ "Chemistry & Life Sciences, B.Sc. studies".
  28. ^ "B.Sc. study programs in the Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences".
  29. ^ "Brain & Behavioral Sciences graduate studies".
  30. ^ "Ecology, Evolution & Behavior graduate studies".
  31. ^ "Genetics graduate studies".
  32. ^ "Plant Sciences graduate studies".
  33. ^ "Structural & Molecular Biochemistry graduate studies".
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