Postdoctoral fellowship established by Brazilian friends

When the Lederman family of Brazil decided to honor and memorialize a member of the family, they chose to establish a postdoctoral fellowship that will fund Brazilian scientists doing research at the Weizmann Institute. The Morá Miriam Rozen Gerber Fellowship represents a gift made by Marcos and Vivian Lederman and their TVLM Foundation to honor Vivian’s mother.

The establishment of the fellowship was celebrated in São Paulo in April, in the presence of Prof. Israel Bar-Joseph, the Institute’s Vice President of Resource Development and Public Affairs. Prof. Bar-Joseph bestowed a certificate of appreciation upon Vivian’s father, Hugo. Her brother, Daniel, was also in attendance.

Miriam Rozen Gerber was born and raised in Israel and moved to Argentina at age 16, where she became a teacher. “She taught Hebrew, and the language and culture associated with it was her passion,” said Vivian at the dedication. “In Brazil, she was known as Morá Miriam [using the Hebrew name for teacher]. She didn´t even need her last name to be recognized. She had many students. But in her unique way, my mother also considered the students of her students to be her own, as well as the students of the teachers under her supervision—and even family members of these students. That shows how proud she was of her profession. By putting the title ‘Morá’ in the Fellowship name, we want to honor her and all people committed to education, including our daughter, Mariana.”

Vivian said that the family takes pride in the connection with Weizmann, describing how her mother witnessed Israel’s independence in 1948 and that she used to say, “How many countries, at the time of their birth, had outstanding scientific institutions already up and running? That says a lot about the people of the country and their priorities.”

Vivian added that she and her brother were “among the few Brazilians who grew up hearing about the Weizmann Institute and Rehovot… There was an expectation that one of us would study there.” Neither of them did, though Vivian became a biologist and stayed in Brazil, “because I never believed I was at the level of a Weizmann student and I didn’t have the financial resources to do it. This is another reason we are supporting this fellowship: to provide the opportunity and encouragement to creative and dedicated Brazilian scientists to work at this truly exceptional place.”

She concluded: “Through the Morá Miriam Gerber Fellowship, we are thanking the State of Israel for receiving our family after World War II and for raising my mother, as Israel did for so many families. And we are thanking Brazil, because it received my parents, and it is where Daniel, Marcos, I, and our children had the opportunity to be raised. And in Morá Miriam’s way of thinking, many students will benefit from this fellowship in perpetuity, and thus become, in a way, her own students.”