Celebrating Women in STEM Speakers

Kelly Avidan was born in Israel, earned a BA in Political Science at Tel Aviv University, and a post-BA certificate in Communications and Journalism at Bar Ilan University.Kelly Avidan was born in Israel, earned a BA in Political Science at Tel Aviv University, and a post-BA certificate in Communications and Journalism at Bar Ilan University.Kelly Avidan was born in Israel, earned a BA in Political Science at Tel Aviv University, and a post-BA certificate in Communications and Journalism at Bar Ilan University.

Upon her return to Israel, Prof. Ben-Yehuda started a lab for the diagnosis and research of malignant hematological diseases at Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Medicine. In 2000, she was appointed Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, and has since been running the hospital’s Hematology Department. She is involved in innovative research, focusing on the use of a novel pro-apoptotic protein packed in nanoparticles as a treatment for lymphoma. She also does extensive clinical work. Over the years, Prof. Ben-Yehuda has received numerous prizes for excellence as an outstanding physician and teacher. Her work has contributed tremendously to the field of hematology and cancer research. Since October 2017, Prof. Ben-Yehuda has been serving as the first female Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the Hebrew University.

During his subsequent training at Harvard, where he was a Fulbright and Rothschild post-doctoral fellow, Dr. Ben-Zvi switched fields. He studied the new physiology that ensues after bariatric (“weight loss”) surgeries leading to rapid diabetes resolution and sustained weight loss. Today Dr. Ben-Zvi is an assistant professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem-Hadassah Medical School, and he continues to study how bariatric surgeries affect metabolism and physiology. His long-term goal is to discover how to achieve the positive effects of bariatric surgery without surgical intervention, potentially leading to a cure for type 2 diabetes and to reversing obesity.

She also works on health-related technologies and applications. In her lab, Dr. Bisker develops optical nanosensors for targeting biomolecules using fluorescent nanomaterials. Her goal is to utilize these optically active nanoparticles to probe living systems at the nanoscale, aiming for real-time detection of intracellular biomarker dynamics with high spatial and temporal resolution. Focusing on cancer research, her tools can enable long-term monitoring, and open new opportunities for diagnostics and treatment.

Her research utilizes the larval zebrafish model together with these technologies to both explain the function of intact brains and characterize dysfunction in neurological disorders, thus enabling the development of effective interventions.

Dr. Idan holds a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the Faculty of Physics at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. In parallel to her work at Rafael, she has continued to advance her academic research in Theoretical Astrophysics. She has received numerous research grants and published scientific journal and conference papers on accretion discs and novae evolution. She serves on the Board of Directors of several companies, both in Israel and abroad, and is a member of the Technion Council and the Technion International Board of Governors. Dr. Idan served as a senior member of the Steering Committee of Israel’s Grand Strategy Forum, led by Prof. Uzi Arad. The Forum submitted its report to the President of the State of Israel in 2017.

Prior to joining Pershing in 2008, Ms. Lewin was a public relations manager for Toys “R” Us, Inc., where she was responsible for developing the firm’s public relations strategies and served as a corporate spokesperson for reporters and industry analysts. During her tenure, Lisa developed and implemented media and public relations campaigns for numerous national programs, including Toys for Tots, Autism Speaks, and the company’s toy safety initiative. Lisa earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in History from the University of Kansas. She completed her undergraduate degree in three years and earned Highest Distinction upon graduation. She is Phi Beta Kappa. Her philanthropic interests include financial literacy and the advancement of diversity and inclusion in the financial services industry.

In her lab, she uses cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) – a cutting-edge technology that enables visualization of biological molecules at near-atomic resolution – to study the complicated 3D architecture of proteins: macromolecular machineries residing within our cells that mediate every aspect of cellular physiology.

Ms. Shalom Revivo was named by Lattice80 as one of the top 100 women to know and follow in the Fintech industry in 2019. She works to actively promote women in the tech industry on the national and municipal level.

In her lab, Dr. Soifer explores the possibilities of nonlinear optical phenomena in quantum materials to enable a better understanding of the coupling of light to topological band structures. Focusing in particular on photocurrent generation – where light absorbed in the material induces a current flow – is of special promise for paving the way to optical quantum control of currents in devices.

Her lab explores the clocks in pacemaker tissue in mammals, including humans. Prof. Yaniv received her B.Sc. in both Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, her M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, and her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, all from the Technion—IIT, Israel. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, under the auspices of Dr. Edward Lakatta. She was a Research Fellow at the National Institute of Aging, National Institutes of Health. She has been honored with awards for innovation, research, and excellence in teaching.

In 2009, Prof. Yonath was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for “her studies of the structure and function of the ribosome.” To date, she is one of only five women to ever receive the Chemistry Prize in Nobel’s 108-year history. Prof. Yonath’s discoveries have stimulated intensive research around the globe. Her research has revealed the details of how genetic information is decoded, how the ribosome’s inherent flexibility contributes to antibiotic selectivity, and the secrets of cross-resistance to various antibiotic families. Her findings are crucial for developing advanced antibiotics. Prof. Yonath is a professor of Structural Biology, and head of the Martin S. and Helen Kimmel Center for Biomolecular Structure & Assembly at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Prof. Zilbershats has published numerous articles in various areas of international and constitutional law. She published a book in English, The Human Right to Citizenship. She has served on public committees for: preparing immigration and citizenship legislation, drafting a constitution for the State of Israel, and drafting a new bill for equality in the army and civilian service. Prof. Zilbershats served as the Deputy President of the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, and as a board member of the Israel Democracy Institute.

Dr. Zurbuchen has authored or coauthored more than 200 articles in refereed journals in solar and heliospheric phenomena. He has been involved with several NASA science missions involving Mercury, the Sun and more. He is an advocate of sharing NASA’s messages on social media and can be found on Twitter at the handle @Dr_ThomasZ. Dr. Zurbuchen earned his Ph.D. and his Master of Science degree, both in Physics, from the University of Bern in Switzerland.