Rapaport awards for excellence in the field of biomedical research to Prof. Hagai Bergman from the Hebrew University and to Dr. Yaakov Hana, from the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Prof. Bergman won an award for his contribution to the fight against Parkinson's and Dr. Hana for being one of the pioneers in the field of cellular reprogramming

The Rapaport Awards for excellence in biomedical research for 2013 will be awarded this year by the Rapaport Family Foundation to Prof. Hagai Bergman from the Hebrew University and Dr. Yaakov Hana from the Weizmann Institute of Science.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony to be held at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, on March 13, 2013. The Excellence Award was founded with the goal of promoting visionary, ground-breaking and innovative research that has unique and significant therapeutic implications for promoting human health.

Prof. Bergman, from the Hebrew University, wins the prize and 60 thousand dollars, in the senior researcher category, for his groundbreaking contribution to the study of Parkinson's disease and its treatment, in a procedure known as deep brain stimulation - a neurological and psychiatric treatment method based on electrical stimulation and changing the activity of areas of the brain. The method is currently the main treatment method for the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease and other motor disorders associated with Parkinson's disease, such as tremors, muscle stiffness and difficulty moving.

Prof. Bergman's research and discoveries have contributed to a dramatic improvement in the functioning and quality of life of thousands of patients around the world. To date, over 400 surgeries have been performed in Israel using the method, of which 300 were attended by Prof. Bergman.

Dr. Hana, from the department of molecular genetics at the Weizmann Institute of Science, receives the award in the debut award category for a young researcher. The amount of the prize - 40 thousand dollars. The award is given as a token of appreciation for being one of the pioneers in the world in the field of reprogramming cells and his research in the field of using embryonic stem cells and promoting their use as a powerful medical tool in cell and tissue regeneration, and their use to cure severe genetic diseases.

Dr. Hana plans to use the reprogramming process to produce stem cells derived from mature cells of patients with genetic diseases. On these cells it will be possible to use the various research methods of genetic engineering: insertion or deletion of genes, insertion of markers, and more. In this way, an effective model for the study of genetic diseases will be obtained - which will also make it possible to search for cures for these serious diseases.