The Leo and Julia Forchheimer Center for Molecular Genetics
   
Yosef Shaul, Director, The Oscar and Emma Getz Chair

    Forchheimer Center supports directly and indirectly research conducted in the field of molecular genetics. The Center supports activities to provide state of the art facilities and tools at both institutional and individual groups levels.

    During 2008, the Leo and Julia Forchheimer Center supported Molecular Genetics Retreat to share and to exchange information and novel achievements. This was indeed an important occasion that brought senior staff and young students close to each other under scientific but yet intimate atmosphere to inspire and to “feed the brain” of each other.

    The Center supported maintaining and enlarging biological services in the campus and in the Department of Molecular Genetics, among them the laboratory for the production of transgenic and gene “knock-out” mice. The Center’s support has also led to the establishment of advanced facilities for DNA analysis and protein identification by mass spectrometry. This equipment enables the Institute’s molecular geneticists to perform genetic studies in vertebrate model organisms and to conduct functional studies on isolated genes and proteins.

    During the past year Molecular Genetics department has recruited two excellent young scientists, Rotem Sorek that studies bacterial genetics and Maya Schuldiner investigating Yeast genetics. Thanks to the Center the recruitment became smooth and pleasant and certain items and facilities were purchased for their immediate and long-term needs.

    The Center also provided partial supports to students for attending scientific workshops and meetings, to share their results with the international scientific communities. Forchheimer Center has established in the campus a repository of plasmids and vectors of wide interest. The Center continues to keep this collection updated to assist our scientists to use the state of the art tools. An updated list of available plasmids is posted on the Web, so that our researchers, upon request, have easy access to the repository.