Prof. Welch won the award for his contribution to the research of inflammatory signaling mechanisms and laying the foundations for the development of treatments and drugs for chronic inflammatory diseases and Prof. Sobel was awarded as a token of appreciation for research in the field of the brain systems of the human sense of smell, and the translation of this knowledge into useful applications in the field of medicine and rehabilitation
The Rapaport Awards for Excellence in Biomedical Research for 2012 will be awarded this year by the Rapaport Institute and the Rapaport Family Foundation to Prof. David Valach and Prof. Noam Sobel, both from the Weizmann Institute of Science. The prizes will be awarded to the researchers at a ceremony to be held at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, on March 14, 2012, on the eve of the opening of the P4H conference - the first international conference for personalized health - by Baruch Rappaport.
Prof. Welch receives an award in the senior researcher category for his groundbreaking contribution to the study of the signaling mechanisms of TNF (necrotic growth factor) and laying the foundations for the development of treatments and drugs for chronic inflammatory diseases. The amount of the prize is 60 thousand dollars. Prof. Welch's research, which lasted for almost thirty years, shed light on the mechanisms for cell destruction and tissue inflammation. The studies, during which specific molecules involved in the body's natural defense mechanisms were identified, provided the basis for the development of a drug that is widely used in the treatment of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The research even contributed to the development of antibodies that are used as drugs that inhibit TNF activity to treat the diseases mentioned, and even for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
In addition, the success of the application of drugs that inhibit the activity of TNF paved the way for a new research area of developing biological drugs, which work by blocking the action of cytokines (small proteins with hormone-like activities whose role is to reset the immune system, but can also cause autoimmune damage) . These drugs relieve the symptoms of various chronic inflammatory diseases.
Prof. Sobel receives the award in the debut award category for a young researcher, as a token of appreciation for his research in the field of the brain systems of the human sense of smell, and the translation of this knowledge into useful applications in the field of medicine and rehabilitation. The amount of the prize is 40 thousand dollars. Professor Sobel has identified the brain structures that control sniffing behavior in the human nose. He also found that part of the damage to the sense of smell resulting from Parkinson's disease is actually damage to the sniffing mechanism. The studies formed the basis for various clinical applications. One application is in sleep disorder (apnea), characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. Prof. Sobel's research team found that the sniffing response is present even while sleeping and that this response can restart the respiratory system and thus prevent the pauses in breathing that characterize sleep apnea. The research team developed a device that generates odors in a controlled manner and this device is currently being tested in the homes of epilepsy patients.
Prof. Sobel even invented a device that converts sniffing into electrical commands. By using a sniffer controller, paraplegics can move independently in an electric wheelchair and paraplegics can use a computer. People who cannot communicate with the world, will be able to write and communicate with the device. The device is already being used by paralyzed people in Israel and Europe, and Prof. Sobel expresses hope that the use of this device will be available worldwide soon.
The Rapaport Prize, awarded by the Rapaport Institute and the Rapaport Family Foundation, will be awarded to the two researchers in a festive ceremony to be held at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, on March 14, 2012, on the eve of the opening of the P4H conference - the first international conference for personalized health - by Baruch (Bruce) Rapaport. The award for excellence in the field of biomedical research was founded with the aim of promoting "vision-leading, ground-breaking and innovative research that has unique and significant therapeutic implications for promoting human health" and this year will mark the 90th birthday of the late Baruch Rappaport.
The prize is awarded at the same time as the Rapaport Art Prize awarded over the years by the Rapaport Family Foundation in collaboration with the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
The Rapaport Prize in the field of biomedical research was awarded for the first time in 2010 to Prof. Samder Cohen, of Uni' Ben Gurion, for the development of an innovative product in the field of heart disease treatment.
The award committee includes, among others, Prof. Aharon Chachanover, research professor at the Technion, 2004 Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry, Prof. Rivka Karmi, president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Prof. Karl Skortsky, director of the Rapaport Institute, Prof. Ariel Miller, from the medical center Carmel and the Faculty of Medicine and the Rapaport Institute for Medical Research, the Technion, and Prof. Amir Lerman from the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, USA.
The Rapaport Foundation has been donating for years to Israeli cultural and research institutions, including the Rapaport Faculty of Medicine and the Rapaport Institute of Science at the Technion in Haifa, to the Wizo organization, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and many other institutions and organizations.
The P4H conference - the first international conference for personalized health - by Baruch (Bruce) Rapaport, will be held on March 15 at the Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv.
The conference will be held in collaboration with the "Mayo Clinic" medical center and under the auspices of the Rapaport Institute, the Technion Faculty of Medicine and the Rambam Medical Center, and will deal with a variety of research and clinical fields. The event will be attended by researchers from Israel and the world, professionals in the fields of health and medicine, scientists and researchers in the field of life sciences and biomedicine, health care providers, venture capital funders and representatives of the biotech industry.
