Faculty of Medicine is proud to congratulate the faculty researchers, Prof. Rami Aqeilan, Nadav Wallis, Avanthika Venkatachalam and Hiba Natsheh, on winning the Kaye Award for Innovation

• Prof. Rami Aqeilan - In the faculty category
  Prof. Aqeilan developed a unique delivery method for gene therapy in WWOX-related human neurological diseases
• Nadav Wallis - (Yoel Israeli Laboratory, IMRIC) - in the category for students
  Nadav's research in the laboratory focuses on Igf2bp1which is an Oncofetal RNA binding protein which is associated with aggressive cancers. Nadav have performed a large screen for small molecule inhibitors of igf2bp1 RNA binding, and isolated a small molecule that interacts with Igf2bp1 and inhibits binding to RNA. Inhabitation of IGF2BP1 with the small molecule shows promising results In cells and in vivo shrinking primary tumors and preventing metastases, all in the absence of any toxicity.
• Avanthika Venkatachalam - (Laboratory of Yinon Ben Neria, IMRIC) - in the category for students
  The research spans a range of leukemia cell biology, from basic science to drug development with translational impact. The two primary research areas that engage me are (1) to understand and target the differences in transcription between leukemic cells and a normal blood cell and (2) developing a state-of-the-art method to visualize oncogenic features modulating drug response in cancer cells
• Hiba Natsheh - (Elka Twito Laboratory, Pharmacy) - In the student category
  Hiba Natsheh, PhD is a post-doctoral fellow in Prof. Elka Touitou's laboratory at the Institute of Drug research, the Faculty of Medicine. Hiba's work focuses on nasal drug delivery to the brain. Prof. Touitou's laboratory is specialized in the design of novel drug delivery systems for dermal, transdermal and trans-mucosal administration and has generated numerous innovations with granted international patents.