ABOUT DR. SARIG:

Dr. Rachel Sarig received her BSc summa cum laude from Bar-Ilan University in the Faculty of Life Sciences in 1992, and her M.Med.Sc summa cum laude from Ben-Gurion University Medical School in 1994. She received her PhD with distinction from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2000, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Weizmann Institute from 2000-2004. In 2004, she became a staff scientist in the Department of Biological Regulation.

Dr. Sarig research focuses on the biology of stem cells and cancer cells. More recently she has begun studying the biology of cardiac cells in attempts to advance heart regeneration. Ischemic heart disease is the most common cardiac ailment and the leading cause of death in the Western world today. Males are affected more often than females; however the rates equalize between men and women following menopause, and, in recent years, there is a persistent tendency of rising prevalence and mortality rate in women. The developments of novel procedures that can facilitate cardiac cells (cardiomyocytes) renewal, as well as stem cell therapy are a major challenge in current biomedical research. Dr. Sarig combines these novel approaches to study the biology of cardiomyoctyes and their microenvironment in an attempt to improve heart regeneration.

ABOUT WEIZMANN INSTITUTE:

The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the world's top-ranking multidisciplinary institutions. Noted for its wide-ranging exploration of the natural and exact sciences, the Institute is home to 2,600 scientists, students, technicians and support staff working on over 1,200 research projects. Research efforts include the search for new ways of fighting disease and hunger, examining leading questions in mathematics and computer science, probing the physics of matter and the universe, creating novel materials and developing new strategies for protecting the environment.