Wikipedia

Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences

Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC) (Hebrew: מרכז אדמונד ולילי ספרא למדעי המוח) is a brain science research center affiliated with Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The director of the center is Israel Nelken.[1]

Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences
Founder(s)Eilon Vaadia
Established2009
AddressGivat Ram, Jerusalem
Location
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Websitehttps://elsc.huji.ac.il/

History

edit

The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences was established in 2009. It is located in the Goodman Brain Sciences building on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.[2] The mission of the center is to gain more insight into the theoretical, biological and cognitive aspects of the brain; pursue interdisciplinary research to meet the scientific and technological challenges of the 21st century; promote academic collaboration and engage in community outreach.[3]

In 1991, the university founded the Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computation (ICNC) which introduced a new interdisciplinary doctoral program combining life science, psychology, cognition and other disciplines associated with brain research. [4]

In 2006, the president of Hebrew University, Menachem Magidor, appointed the Neuroscience International Review Committee to explore possibilities for the expansion of neuroscience research. With the financial support of the Edmond Safra Foundation, the university opened a new center dedicated to the study of the brain.[5]

The center's International Steering Committee established in 2009 is composed of 11 prominent neuroscientists, including Nobel laureates Bert Sakmann, Richard Axel and Edvard Moser.[6]

Academic programs

edit

The center runs two main academic programs: A five-year Ph.D. program in computational neuroscience open to students from many different disciplines established in 1992; and an undergraduate program offering a major track in brain sciences and a minor track in computational neuroscience established in 2021. Classes are held in English, which makes study accessible to foreign students from around the world.[7]

Scientific research

edit

Research at ELSC is based on interactive dialogue and studies that combine biological and cognitive research with theoretical studies and computational methodology. The focus is understanding brain mechanisms, ranging from studies on the genetic, molecular, cellular and synaptic levels to computation of biological and artificial neural networks. Scientists at the center are also involved in translational and clinical research of brain malfunctions in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, in addition to conditions like dyslexia and autism.[8]

ELSC scientists are working on quantitative MRI methods to “quantify and characterize changes in the biological composition of brain tissue.”[9]Based on a measurement called macromolecular tissue volume (MTV), the ELSC team has been able to create a map of the living brain and detect molecular level changes in different brain regions related to aging. [10]

Idan Segev, a professor at ELSC, was appointed head of a team of Israeli scientists collaborating on the Blue Brain Project, a Swiss brain research initiative led by Henry Markram[11] working on a digital reconstruction of the mouse brain.[12]

Architecture

edit
 
Close up of neuron screen facade

The Goodman Brain Sciences building was designed by the British architect Norman Foster.[13] The building is a reinforced concrete structure with an overhanging steel roof.[14] Construction commenced in 2013 under the supervision of an Israeli architectural firm.

The façade consists of an aluminum “neuron screen” inspired by the drawings of Santiago Ramon y Cajal with digital simulations of real neurons. In an interview with ELSC professor Idan Segev, he explains that these are actually the neurons mapped by Henry Markram based on rat brains: "We at ELSC had the idea of this neuron trellis wrapping round the building,” combining "pattern and order [yet] embedded in randomness."[15]

The architectural team placed great emphasis on environmental design for optimal energy saving. The building consists of two parallel wings housing 28 labs around an open central courtyard.[16]In an interview with Haaretz newspaper, Spencer de Grey, the chief designer of the project, commented that in his opinion the common spaces were the most important part of the building.[17]

Facilities

edit

Viral vector core unit

edit

The Vector Core Facility is a core technology and research center for the design of viral vectors used to deliver genetic material into cells.[18]

Fablab

edit

The Fablab is a fabrication laboratory for the design of custom hardware solutions for neuroscience experiments. The unit uses 3-D printers and CNC milling machines.[19]

MRI neuroimaging unit

edit

In 2012, the center opened a unit for imaging services for all Hebrew University laboratories. In addition to its MRI scanner, eye-tracking system, BIOPAC system, active noise control system and visual stimuli delivery system, the unit provides assistance with paradigms and scanning optimization.[20]

Core microscopy unit

edit

The center runs a core microscopy unit open to all Hebrew University laboratories. It is equipped with multi-photon, confocal and fluorescence microscopes, and provides consulting services.[21]

Community outreach

edit

To make science more accessible, ELSC holds conferences, seminars and cultural events that are open to the general public. “Art & Brain Week” is an annual event organized in collaboration with the Jerusalem Cinematheque which offers scientific lectures followed by films or cultural programs.[22]

The center’s Martine de Souza-Dassault Brain Art Gallery, also open to the public, displays brain art,[23] and sponsors an artist residency program in which scientists team up with artists.

Awards and recognition

edit

Hagai Bergman, a neuroscientist and physician at ELSC and the Faculty of Medicine of the Hebrew University, was awarded the Israel Prize for Life Sciences in 2024. Bergman's research has enhanced understanding of basal ganglia physiology and made significant contributions to the study and treatment of Parkinson’s disease.[24]

In 2024, Haim Sompolinsky, one of the founders of the center, was the first Israeli scientist to win the Brain Prize, an international prize awarded annually to leading brain researchers.[25]Sompolinsky's work illustrates how the brain "identifies spatial positioning and coordinates physical movements." This knowledge, he explains, allows us to record brain activity and increase our understanding of brain functions like language, planning and reasoning. Sompolinsky's concept of the “ring attractor” shows how neural groups operate in a circular architecture and generate patterns that "hypothesize about the world." [26]

Hermona Soreq, another founding member of the center, won the 2022 EMET Prize for her research achievements in molecular biology, the nervous system and the genetics of degenerative diseases.[27] Soreq’s interdisciplinary approach has led to a better understanding of the role of acetylcholine in the brain and its involvement in the brain’s response to stressful situations.[28]

In 2021, Naomi Habib, an assistant professor at ELSC,[29] won the Krill Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research for her study of communication between brain cells and how the immune system and environmental risk factors impact on aging.[30]Her focus is on the mechanisms that lead to devastating brain diseases like Alzheimer's. By mapping cellular changes, she seeks to discover both triggers of the disease and protective molecules.[31]

In 2010, Baruch Minke, professor emeritus at ELSC, won the EMET Prize for brain research and the 2010 Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research.[32]Minke discovered a new type of ion channel, the Transient Receptor Potential or TRP channel while studying phototransduction and vision in fruit flies.[33]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Administrative staff: Israel Nelken
  2. ^ "Construction of brain research center set to begin", Jerusalem Post
  3. ^ Hebrew University to dedicate new home of the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences
  4. ^ The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, From Vision to Impact
  5. ^ "Hebrew U to unveil largest neurological center", Jerusalem Post
  6. ^ Extraordinary new project launched by Mrs. Lily Safra at Hebrew University
  7. ^ First conference at multidisciplinary brain research center, Jerusalem Post
  8. ^ New research unveils cellular pathways to Alzheimer’s and alternative brain aging
  9. ^ A better MRI test to study aging in the brain
  10. ^ New MRI technique can visualize brain molecular composition, study shows
  11. ^ Blue Brain Project
  12. ^ Israelis to join human brain project
  13. ^ "Foster plus partners completes Safra Center for Brain Sciences in Jerusalem", ArchDaily
  14. ^ "Foster + Partners wraps aluminum screens around university laboratory in Jerusalem"
  15. ^ "A look into the human brain with a world-renowned Israeli neurobiologist", Jerusalem Post
  16. ^ First conference at multidisciplinary brain research center, Jerusalem Post
  17. ^ "Cerebral Design for Hebrew University's New Brain Science Building", Haaretz
  18. ^ Facilities: Viral vector core
  19. ^ Facilities: Fablab
  20. ^ ELSC neuroimaging unit
  21. ^ ELSC core microscopy
  22. ^ Art and Brain Evening 2024
  23. ^ Archi Expo Magazine
  24. ^ Bergman Israel Prize
  25. ^ Physicist Haim Sompolinsky first Israeli to win largest brain science research prize
  26. ^ Danish King awards prestigious brain research prize to top Hebrew University professor
  27. ^ Hermona Soreq awarded EMET Prize
  28. ^ Hermona Soreq: Rapport Prize
  29. ^ Dr. Naomi Habib on her team's faster, cheaper COVID-19 tests
  30. ^ Naomi Habib - Uncovering disease mechanisms of the aging brain: cracking the code for healthy ageing
  31. ^ Wolf Foundation: Krill Prize 2021, Naomi Habib
  32. ^ Fruit fly fluke
  33. ^ ELSC Faculty members
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edmond_and_Lily_Safra_Center_for_Brain_Sciences&oldid=1246388281"