Dina Ben-Yehuda, MD

Prof. Dina Ben-Yehuda MD, is an internationally recognized physician-scientist, hematologist and acclaimed investigator in hematological malignancies research. She is the director of the Hematology Division at Hadassah University Medical Center and the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Prof. Ben-Yehuda is the leader of the Jerusalem Center for Computational Precision Medicine and Co-founder of the Sagol Program for Computational Medicine of the Medical School, Faculty of Medicine of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

 

 

 

Ittai Ben-Porath, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research

Vice Dean for Scientific Relations

Faculty of Medicine

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

 

Ittai Ben-Porath joined the Institute for Medical Research and Faculty of Medicine of the Hebrew University on October 1, 2007 as a Lecturer, and was promoted to Assistant Professor in 2009 and to Associate Professor in January 2015. In 2017 Dr. Ben-Porath was appointed Vice Dean of Medicine for Scientific Relations.

Ittai obtained his Ph.D. at the Hebrew University, and performed postdoctoral research under the instruction of Dr. Robert A. Weinberg, a world leading cancer researcher, at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT. His research with Dr. Weinberg, published on 2008, has been recently listed by Nature publications as one of the top cited papers in cancer research.

At the Hebrew University Prof. Ben-Porath established a laboratory studying the biology of cancer, specifically focusing on genes that promote the growth and malignancy of breast cancer. Prof. Ben-Porath studies the genetic mechanisms regulating cancer development and malignant progression, with a focus on breast, pancreatic and skin cancers. The lab studies the molecular programs active within cells to block cancer growth, and their effects on tissue maturation, aging and disease. Specifically, the lab focuses on the program of “cell senescence” – one of the most important cell responses blocking cancer, which has important roles in aging. The lab studies the contribution of cell senescence to cancer, aging, and other diseases, and the potential to target cellular senescence through drug treatment. The lab is also interested in links between normal stem cells and cancer, and studies the manner by which genes that control how cellular heterogeneity can promote tumor growth and metastasis, specifically in aggressive, triple-negative breast cancers. The research conducted by Prof. Ben-Porath has been published in leading scientific journals, and he is a member of multiple world-wide collaborative research efforts in cancer.