Dr. Novick was born in Poland in 1948, a daughter to two Auschwitz and death march survivors. In 1957 her family immigrated to Israel, where in 1967, she served in the Israeli air force. Dr. Novick received an M.S. in Microbiology in 1972 from Tel-Aviv University and in 1973 was a Research Assistant in the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, England. Dr. Novick received her Ph.D. in 1979 from The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel and holds the position of tenured Senior Staff Scientist in the Department of Molecular Genetics. In 1979, she and Dr. Rubinstein generated a battery of monoclonal antibodies to IFN-α, -β and -γ, which was a pioneering achievement at that time.
Since 1987, in the laboratory of Dr. Rubinstein, Dr. Novick’s research focuses on cytokines and their receptors. Dr. Novick’s work has been translated into clinically useful therapies, and her research expertise made a major contribution to the isolation and development of IFN-beta and tumor necrosis factor soluble receptor p75, each of which has reduced the severity of multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis for hundreds of thousands of patients.
Dr. Rubinstein was educated as a biochemist, earning his Ph.D. degree from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel in 1975. As a postdoctoral fellow and later as a visiting scientist at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology (Nutley, New Jersey), he developed the RP-HPLC method for protein fractionation, which he utilized for the first purification and characterization of human leukocyte IFN in 1979. This work, which was done in collaboration with Dr. Sidney Pestka, then at the Roche Institute, culminated in the development of Roferon-A by Roche. Since 1980, Dr. Rubinstein has been a member of the Department of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute of Science. In 1983, he was appointed to the Maurice and Edna Weiss Professorial Chair of Cytokine Research. In addition, Dr. Rubinstein served as Chief Scientist of Interpharm Laboratories in Israel from 1987 to 1990. During that period he headed the team that developed recombinant IFN-β (REBIF) for clinical use.
At the Weizmann Institute, Dr. Rubinstein joined forces with Professor David Wallach’s team to purify and sequence the two soluble TNF receptors, one of which (TNFR2) is the active core of the anti-inflammatory drug Enbrel. Dr. Rubinstein and his long-time colleague Dr. Daniela Novick have discovered and isolated many soluble cytokine receptors, including sIL-6R, sIFNγR, sTNFR2 and sIFNAR2.Based on the protein sequence of the later, Dr. Batya Cohen of Rubinstein’s team cloned the IFN receptor IFNaR2. In collaboration with Dr. Charles Dinarello, Rubinstein, Dr. Daniela Novick, and Ph.D. student Soo-Hyun Kim discovered and cloned the IL-18-binding protein, a natural inhibitor of IL-18.Later, they showed its role in various inflammatory diseases. IL-18-binding protein is now undergoing extensive clinical development as a potential treatment for various autoimmune diseases.
Dr. Reich received her B.A. from Hofstra University and her Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.She performed postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. James Darnell at Rockefeller University where she became interested in the IFN signaling pathways.
In 1988 Dr.Reich became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology, Stony Brook University and became a Full Professor in 2002. In 2004 she moved to the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Stony Brook.
Her investigations have led to the discovery of a primary defense response of the cell that is stimulated by dsRNA and is independent of interferon. dsRNA activates a latent transcription factor, designated Interferon Regulatory Factor-3 (IRF-3) th at directly induces a subset of interferon stimulated genes.
Announcing the 2020 Milstein Young Investigator Awardees
Aaron M Ring
Assistant Professor of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine
New Haven, United States
Elia Tait Wojno
Assistant Professor
Department of Immunology, University of Washington
Seattle, USA
Zhenyu Zhong
Assistant Professor
Department of Immunology,
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, USA
Young Investigators to Watch for 2019
Here are some of the emerging scientists in the field of interferon and cytokine research:
Assistant Professor in Immunology
Dept. Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine,
JF Coordinator for BSc in Human Health and Disease, TBSI, Head of Immunobiology Research Group, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience (TCIN), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Dr. Rajsbaum performed his PhD in the laboratory of Anne O’Garra at the MRC-NIMR, London in 2009, and completed his postdoctoral training at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, with Dr Adolfo Garcia-Sastre.
Dr. Sonnenberg completed his doctoral research training at the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine in 2011, focusing on mucosal immunology.
ISRAEL
ISRAEL
USA
Dr. Rathinam received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Madras Veterinary College, India and PhD from Michigan State University in 2009.
Dr. Sonnenberg completed his doctoral research training at the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine in 2011, focusing on mucosal immunology.
