Prof. Michael Fainzilber
(CV)Mail:
mike.fainzilber@weizmann.ac.ilOffice:
+972-8-934-4266
Location:
Nella and Leon Benoziyo Building for Biological Sciences , Room: 405
Group Members
PhD Students
Didi Andreas Song
PhD student 2017 - 2023
Fascinated by the mechanisms of axon-soma communication in healthy and injured neurons, Andreas joined Mike`s lab in April 2017 to realize his long-standing interest in investigating the signaling components in nerve regeneration and growth. His work was focused on Importin beta1 interactors which are key signaling molecules in regenerative response to peripheral nerve injury. Recently he has moved to Vienna to take up a position in Merck company.
Ella Doron-Mandel
PhD Student 2012-2018
Ella studied the role of nucleolin in sensory neuron growth and in cell size sensing. She moved on to a postdoc in the laboratories of Marko Jovanovic (Columbia) and Rob Singer (Albert Einstein) in New York in 2018.
Stefanie Alber
PhD Student 2012-2018
Stef studied the role of an axonal RNA binding protein in sensory neuron growth and regeneration. She spent some additional time with us as a postdoc to complete her main paper, and then moved to Switzerland in early 2020.
Meir Rozenbaum
M.Sc. and Ph.D. studies, 2008-2016
Meir studied the roles of translational regulation in growth and regeneration of sensory neurons. He then moved to a postdoc at Tel Aviv University and Tel HaShomer Hospital.
Shachar Dagan
Ph.D., 2010-2015.
Shachar worked on the roles of transcription factors in neuronal retrograde injury signaling. He moved on to a postdoc with Chenghua Gu at Harvard Medical School in October 2015.
Dima Yudin
Ph.D., 2005-2011.
Dima characterized the role of the small Ran GTPase system in regulation of neuronal retrograde injury signaling. After a postdoc with Chris Henderson at the Motor Neuron Center of Columbia University (New York) he returned to Israel to a position in the biotech industry.
Keren Ben-Yaakov
PhD 2005-2010.
Keren examined involvement of the STAT3 transcription factor in the retrograde injury signal complex. She then moved to a postdoc with Eran Perlson at Tel-Aviv University, and is now a research associate at Kaplan Hospital.
Liraz Harel
PhD, 2005-2010.
Liraz studied the role of CCM2 in TrkA-mediated cell death in pediatric tumors of neural origin. She then moved to a position in the biotech industry.
Anat Lavi-Itzkovitz
PhD, 2005-2009.
Anat worked on characterizing the nuclear and cytoplasmic roles of necdin – a growth suppressor that promotes neuronal differentiation. Her postdoctoral training was in Erel Levine's lab' at Harvard, and she then shifted fields to become a bioinformatics analyst.
Yael Segal-Ruder
PhD, 2004-2009.
Yael worked on identifying the transcriptional response to the retrograde injury signal using microarray-based approaches.
Shlomit Hanz
Ph.D., 2000-2005.
Shlomit discovered the central role of nuclear import factors in retrograde injury signaling in nerve axons. Her postdoctoral training was with Gabriel Corfas at Harvard Medical School.
Eran Perlson
Ph.D., 2000-2005.
Eran used proteomic approaches to identify axoplasmic proteins involved in retrograde injury signaling, and discovered a role for the intermediate filament vimentin in Erk transport in this system. He continued to a postdoc in Erika Holzbaur's group at the University of Pennsylvania during 2005-2010. Towards the end of 2010 he moved back to Israel to establish his own laboratory in the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University.
Marianna Tcherpakov
Ph.D., 2000-2004.
Marianna's PhD thesis highlighted new MAGE family interactors for the p75 receptor. She moved on to a postdoc at the Burnham Institute (San Diego) in the autumn of 2004, and is now a biotech industry consultant in San Diego.
Hanna Jaaro-Peled
Hanna completed her PhD studies on different p75 ligands, during which she also developed a new yeast screen for membrane-targeted proteins. She then moved on to a postdoc with Akira Sawa at Johns Hopkins (2005-2009), and is currently an Instructor in the Hopkins Schizophrenia Center.
Gad Beck
Ph.D., 1998-2003.
Gadi's PhD thesis was on the trk family of neurotrophin receptors in invertebrates. He did a postdoc at the National Institute of Aging (NIH, Baltimore) between 2003-2006, and then returned to Israel to take a position in biotech’.
Research Associates and Postdoctoral Fellows
Nicolas Panayotis
Postdoc 2012-2017 and Senior Intern 2017-2022
Nicolas’ work elucidated the role of importins nuclear transport factors in key neuronal functions and behavior in mice. He moved to Paris in 2023 to set-up is own laboratory at the Saints-Pères Paris Institute for the Neurosciences (SPPIN) of the CNRS. His lab website is at https://www.sppin.fr/team-7-molecular-biology-of-neuronal-transport/
Letizia Marvaldi
Postdoc 2014-2021
Letizia joined Mike's lab in 2014, focusing on the Importin alpha function in peripheral nervous system, working with Importin alpha KO mice. She discovered the role of Importin alfa-3 in the chronic pain pathway in peripheral sensory neurons by publishing her discovery in the journal Science. After that, she moved to the University of Turin, where she opened her laboratory.
Indrek Koppel
Postdoc 2015-2020
Indrek unveiled new aspects of size sensing and growth control mechanisms, and discovered a critical role of noncoding RNAs in neuronal regeneration. He moved to a faculty position at the Tallin Institute of Science and Technology in December 2020.
Marco Terenzio
Postdoc 2012-2019
Marco discovered a critical role for mTOR mRNA localization in local translation regulation in axons. He moved to a faculty position at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in August 2019. His lab' website is at https://groups.oist.jp/mnu
Sandip Koley
Postdoc 2014-2018
Sandip studied mechanisms of local translation regulation in axons. He moved to a second postdoc in the U.K., and from there to a senior research scientist position at Evotec (Oxford, U.K.), where he is working on drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases.
Christin Albus
Postdoc 2012-2016
Christin studied protein-protein interactions in the axonal retrograde signaling complex, and initiated a still-ongoing project to understand the role(s) of alternative polyadenylation on growth and regeneration of sensory neurons. She moved to the U.K. in 2016.
Rotem Ben-Tov Perry
Ph.D. 2007-2012, Postdoc and Senior Intern, 2012-2015.
Rotem analyzed subcellular localization mechanisms for Importin beta1 mRNA. She generated a knockout mouse model of the 3'UTR, identified the specific localization motif, and characterized an RNA binding protein responsible for Importin beta1 axonal localization. She moved on to a staff scientist position in Igor Ulitsky's laboratory at WIS in November 2015.
Barbara Costa
Postdoc and Visiting Scientist, 2007-2013.
Barbara studied cell death mechanisms downstream of the TrkA neurotrophin receptor and identified Stk25 as a catalytic effector for receptor tyrosine kinase death signaling. She then did a second postdoc with Prof. Peter Angel at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, before moving in 2019 to work at EIT Health, also in Heidelberg.
Shelly Tzlil
Guest researcher, 2011–2012.
Shelly joined the group after a postdoc at Caltech, and then continued to a faculty position in the Technion. We continue to collaborate on the effects of mechanical stretch on neuronal growth and viability.
Marek Rajman
Postdoc, 2008-2011.
Marek's postdoctoral projects were focused on proteomics analyses of neuronal growth and injury responses. After a second postdoc in the Schratt group at the University of Marburg, he moved to a position in the pharma industry.
Na'aman Kam
Postdoc, 2007-2010.
Na’aman used in silico approaches to model length sensing mechanisms in injured and growing neurons. At the beginning of 2011 he moved on to a second postdoc with Mike Levine at UC Berkeley.
Izhak Michaelevski, Ph.D
Postdoc, 2004-2009.
Izhak combined proteomics, mass spectrometry, and bioinformatics approaches to characterize signaling to transcription networks in axonal injury, working in collaboration with Al Burlingame’s mass spectrometry facility at UCSF. He now heads his own laboratory at Ariel University.
Ofra Chen, Ph.D
Postdoc, 2006-2008.
Ofra’s project focused on identification of p75 interacting proteins. She then moved to a position in biotech.
Avi Rimler
Postdoc 2003-2006.
Avi worked on regulation of neuronal signaling by the p75 receptor.
Francisca Bronfman
Postdoc, 2000-2003.
Francisca (known to all as 'Kika') worked on signaling and internalization of the p75 neurotrophin receptor, utilizing fluorescence methodologies. She moved back home to Santiago, Chile in March 2003, where she is now a Full Professor at the Andres Bello University - https://icb.unab.cl/francisca-bronfman/
Silvestro Conticello
Postdoc, 1998-2002.
Silvo's work with us was focused on evolutionary studies of hypervariable gene families. He then did a second postdoc with Michael Neuberger' at the LMB in Cambridge (U.K.), before moving back home to Italy to start his own group at the Istituto Tumori Toscano in Firenze.
Msc student
Hadar Reisin-Tzur
MSc Student 2018-2019
Hadar studied mechanisms of local translation. She then decided on a career change and shifted to Medical School. We look forward to clinical consults with Dr. Reisin-Tzur in the future!
Yarden Tzur
MSc Student 2018-2020
Yarden studied the mechanisms of local translation. She then decided to change her profession and switched to industry. We wish her well in her career in the industry.
Technicians
Zehava Levy
Zehava retired at the end of 2014 after over 38 years work at the Weizmann Institute. She was a member of the Fainzilber lab from it's inception. We miss her, and wish her all the best for a happy and healthy retirement.
Tal Gradus
Tal worked as a technician in the lab during the years 2006-2008. She then moved to a position in the glaucoma research laboratory at Tel-HaShomer Medical Center, and after that to Eran Perlson's laboratory in Tel-Aviv University.
Albina Lin
Albina worked as a technician in the lab during the years 2013-2017. She subsequently moved to the biotech industry.
Guest Researchers
Prof. Jeff Twiss
Sabbatical guest May-June 2022, South Carolina University
https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/biological_science...
Prof. Wilma J. Friedman
Sabbatical guest 2010-2011, Rutgers University