Adelis Foundation bestows its Brain Research Award

The Adelis Foundation awarded its Brain Research Award to Assistant Prof. Asya Rolls of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology on June 12. Prof. Rolls is a Weizmann Institute alumna who received her PhD in the lab of Prof. Michal Schwartz of the Department of Neurobiology. She also is a prior recipient of the Israel National Postdoctoral Award Program for Advancing Women in Science, run by the Weizmann Institute.

“Prof. Michal Schwartz, my PhD mentor, taught me that science is about asking questions and not being afraid of the answers,” said Prof. Rolls.

The Adelis Brain Research Award is given annually to a Technion or Weizmann Institute scientist as part of the five-year collaboration in neuroscience between the two institutions which is sponsored by the Adelis Foundation. The collaboration is co-managed by Prof. Rony Paz of the Weizmann Institute and Prof. Jackie Schiller of the Technion.

“Adelis is truly unique in Israel,” said Prof. Schiller. “It identified the need for collaborative research in neuroscience and initiated the collaboration between the two institutions.”

“The brain is the body’s most complex organ and therefore we need to take a multidisciplinary approach in investigating it. The two best institutions in Israel in this area complement each other in basic research on the brain, and Adelis understands that well,” says Prof. Paz.

To date, 15 publications have emerged from the collaboration, and some 30 collaborations between scientists are ongoing.

Associate Prof. Ayelet Baram-Tsabari of the Technion’s Faculty of Education in Science and Technology led the panel, which also included Dr. Ofer Yizhar of the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Neurobiology.

“The collaboration between our institutions has created new opportunities in the field and a new state of mind,” said Prof. Schiller.