SignGene – German-Israeli Helmholtz Research School
Frontiers in Cell Signaling and Gene Regulation
Profil
Launched in 2013, SignGene is an international exchange program for PhD students in biomedical sciences.
All students work on collaborative research projects jointly supervised by the principle investigator at their home institute and a partnering group leader from abroad. The main location of a student is defined by the main supervisor's affiliation. As an essential part of the training, SignGene students spend around 6 months of their PhD in the partnering co-mentor's lab in the other country.
PhD Program
The SignGene program builds on exceptional network of distinguished scientists from Berlin in Germany and Haifa and Jerusalem in Israel.
We offer a unique 3-year doctoral training program in the fields of cell signaling, gene regulation, and quantitative biology. Our research approaches range from basic molecular and cellular biology, proteomics and transcriptomics, to structural biology, biophysics, and bioengineering.
Scientific training
The core of your education is an exciting thesis research project in the laboratory of one of our outstanding faculty members at top research institutions in Germany and Israel. Depending on the affiliation of your main thesis supervisor, your home institute will be in Berlin, Haifa, or Jerusalem. Each thesis project is designed as a bilateral collaboration between your main supervisor and a co-mentor abroad, allowing you to draw from the scientific expertise of two laboratories. At the same time, you will gain experience in carrying out international scientific collaborations and acquire intercultural skills.
Upon admission to SignGene, you will enroll as a doctoral student at your home institute (MDC and Charité students enroll at HU or FU Berlin), which will be the degree awarding organization (Dr. rer. nat. in Germany, PhD in Israel). Following the training guidelines of your home institute, you will participate in local courses, which will account for the majority of your scientific training recognized by SignGene.
On top of this, SignGene offers a number of training and networking opportunities within our unique German-Israeli scientific community:
Dual mentoring, supported by regular thesis committee meetings
Fully supported prolonged exchange stays to research and study in the partner laboratory abroad (6 months cumulative during your PhD)
Annual scientific symposia and annual thematic schools/workshops with external speakers, these events alternate between Germany and Israel
Proteomics Course by Gunnar Dittmar: This is an annual specialized methods course locally organized at the Technion and the MDC
Annual PhD retreats for scientific exchange with your peers in an informal setting
Every student receives travel grants to support attendance of international methods courses and scientific conferences
Personal development
To complement the scientific training, SingGene offers a comprehensive transferable skills program to help you build your own career as an independent scientist. Organized by the Helmholtz Association and conducted by trainers from the Imperial College London, UK, these courses are tailored to the needs of students at distinct stages during their graduate work.
1st year - Research skills development
This course covers topics such as working in a team of international scientists, networking and communication skills, personal effectiveness and time management.
2nd year - Presentation and communication skills
During this course, you will learn how to communicate your science effectively: How to write an abstract or scientific paper, how to present complex scientific topics to an audience in a poster or talk.
3rd year - Career and leadership
This course prepares you for advancing your career to the next level. Topics such as career planning and development, and your personal style of leadership are covered.
Faculty
Our faculty consists of a group of outstanding scientists from Berlin (MDC, Humboldt Universität (HU) and the Charité-Universitätsmedizin), Haifa (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, TEC), and Jerusalem (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, HUJI), whose research falls into the three main areas Cell Signaling, Gene Regulation, and Quantitative Biology.
To ensure the proper development and function of an organism, individual cells need to respond to changes in their environment, and to fulfill the demands of the tissue in which they operate. A number of SignGene laboratories are focusing their research on the signaling pathways regulating these processes. This includes the investigation of genes and signaling pathways that are key to development, normal physiological functions, and processes such as inflammation and cancerogenesis. The research is performed at several levels, from receptors at the cell surface to intracellular signaling pathways in the cytosol and the nucleus.
The identity and function of a cell is ultimately determined by its global gene expression pattern. Several SignGene groups focus on elucidating the fundamental molecular principles of gene regulation from the single gene level to global genetics networks. This research spans a variety of themes, including epigenetics, chromosomal structure dynamics, and genomic instability, as well as the occurrence of gene mutations leading to cancer and other diseases. Further molecular principles concern the function of protein ubiquitylation or SUMOylation in multiple pathways, including those controlling inflammation, neurodegeneration, or cancer.
The development of major technologies in recent years has enabled direct manipulation and probing of biological processes at the single-molecule and single-cell levels. These approaches probe the physical properties of diverse biological systems, resonating from the determination of the rate and fate of chemical reactions all the way up to the regulation of gene expression and cell differentiation. Researchers within this area combine experimental biological approaches with mathematical modeling and bioinformatic tools to elucidate gene regulatory and cell signaling modules networks.
The Role of Sept4/ARTS in Intestinal Regeneration and Tumorigenesis
Lab of Yaron Fuch, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Co-mentor: Walter Birchmeier, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Publications
Yosefzon Y, Soteriou D, Feldman A, Kostic A, Koren E, Ankawa R, Brown S, Sedov E, Glaser F, Fuchs Y. Caspase-3 regulates YAP-dependent organ size and Skin Regeneration (2018). Molecular Cell 70, 573–587.
Koren E. and Fuchs Y. The bad seed: cancer stem cells in tumor development and resistance (2016). Drug Resistance Updates 28, 1-12.
The Role of Sonic-Hedgehog in the Development of Wnt-Met Driven Basal-Like Breast Cancer
Lab of Walter Birchmeier, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Co-mentor: Yaron Fuchs, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Class of 2016
Alba Ferri Blázquez
Molecular analysis of Ubiquitin modifications on Serine/Threonine residues
Lab of Thomas Sommer, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Co-mentors: Michael Glickman & Aaron Ciechanover, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Eric Hung
CKI as a therapy target in the haematopoiesis malignancies
Lab of Yinon Ben-Neriah, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Co-mentors: Klaus Rajewsky, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine & Clemens Schmitt, Charité Universitätsmedizin
Class of 2015
Alon Appleboim
A systematic approach to RNA effects on cellular localization
Lab of Nir Friedman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Co-mentor: Nikolaus Rajewsky, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Publications
Ichikawa Y, Connelly CF, Appleboim A, Miller TC, Jacobi H, Abshiru NA, Chou HJ, Chen Y, Sharma U, Zheng Y, Thomas PM, Chen HV, Bajaj V, Müller CW, Kelleher NL, Friedman N, Bolon DN, Rando OJ, Kaufman PD (2017). A synthetic biology approach to probing nucleosome symmetry. eLife6.
Weiner A, Hsieh TH, Appleboim A, Chen HV, Rahat A, Amit I, Rando OJ, Friedman N (2015). High-resolution chromatin dynamics during a yeast stress response. Mol. Cell 58, 1-16
Geffen Y, Appleboim A, Gardner RG, Friedman N, Sadeh R, Ravid T. Mapping the Landscape of a Eukaryotic Degronome (2016). Mol. Cell 63(6), 1055-65
Nagarjuna Reddy Pamudurti
Biogenesis and function of circRNAs in Drosophila
Lab of Sebastian Kadener, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Co-mentor: Nikolaus Rajewsky, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Publications
Pamudurti NR, Bartok O, Jens M, Ashwal-Fluss R, Stottmeister C, Ruhe L, Hanan M, Wyler E, Perez-Hernandez D, Ramberger E, Shenzis S, Samson M, Dittmar G, Landthaler M, Chekulaeva M, Rajewsky N, Kadener S (2017); Translation of CircRNAs. Mol Cell 66(1):9-21.e7.
Ashwal-Fluss R*, Meyer M*, Pamudurti NR*, Ivanov A, Bartok O, Hanan M, Evantal N, Memczak S, Rajewsky N, Kadener S (2014). circRNA biogenesis competes with pre-mRNA splicing. Mol. Cell 46, 55-56 | *equal contribution
Pamudurti NR*, Bartok O*, Jens M*, Ashwal-Fluss R*, Stottmeister C, Ruhe L, Hanan M, Wyler E, Perez-Hernandez D, Ramberger E, Shenzis S, Samson M, Dittmar G, Landthaler M, Chekulaeva M, Rajewsky N, Kadener S (2017). Translation of CircRNAs. Mol. Cell 66(1), 9-21 | *equal contribution
Yana Rozevsky
Single-molecule quantification of the cancer biomarkers KRAS, MACC1 and S100A4 using solid-state nanopores
Lab of Amit Meller, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Co-mentor: Ulrike Stein, Charité - Universitätsmedizin / Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Class of 2014
Dhana Friedrich
Oscillatory transcription factors and stochastic gene expression
Lab of Alexander Loewer, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Co-mentor: Amit Meller, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Christian Lips
Characterization of membrane-associated ubiquitin ligases
Lab of Thomas Sommer, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Co-mentors: Michael Glickman/Aaron Ciechanover, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Christin Suenkel (geb. Stottmeister)
Exploring circRNA functions in Neuronal Differentiation and Disease
Lab of Nikolaus Rajewsky, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Co-mentor: Sebastian Kadener, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Publications
Pamudurti NR, Bartok O, Jens M, Ashwal-Fluss R, Stottmeister C, Ruhe L, Hanan M, Wyler E, Perez-Hernandez D, Ramberger E, Shenzis S, Samson M, Dittmar G, Landthaler M, Chekulaeva M, Rajewsky N, Kadener S (2017); Translation of CircRNAs. Mol Cell66(1):9-21.e7.
Rybak-Wolf, A*, Stottmeister, C*, Glažar, P*, Jens, M, Pino, N, Giusti, S, Hanan, M, Behm, M, Bartok, O, Ashwal-Fluss, R, ..., Kadener S, Rajewsky, N (2015). Circular RNAs in the Mammalian Brain Are Highly Abundant, Conserved, and Dynamically Expressed. Mol. Cell1–16. | *equal contribution
Class of 2013
Dámaris Anell Rendon
Proteotoxicity in therapy-induced senescence
Lab of Clemens Schmitt, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine / Charité Virchow Klinikum MKFZ
Co-mentor: Michael Glickman, Technion - Israel Institute of Technolog
Publications
Bouzas-Rodríguez J, Zárraga-Granados G, Sánchez-Carbente MdR, Rodríguez-Valentín R, Gracida X, Anell-Rendón D, Covarrubias L, Castro-Obregón S (2012). The nuclear receptor NR4A1 induces a form of cell death dependent on autophagy in mammalian cells. PLoS ONE 7(10), e46422
Alumni
Waleed Minzel
Regulation of quiescence entry and exit of hematopoietic stem cells
Lab of Yinon Ben-Neriah, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Co-mentor: Clemens Schmitt, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Haddad A, Flint-Ashtamker G, Minzel W, Sood R, Rimon G, Barki-Harrington L (2012). Prostaglandin EP1 receptor down-regulates expression of cyclooxygenase-2 by facilitating its proteasomal degradation. J. Biol. Chem. 287(21), 17214-17223
Sood R, Minzel W, Rimon G, Tal S, Barki-Harrington L (2014). Down-regulation of cyclooxygenase-2 by the carboxyl tail of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor. J. Biol. Chem. 289(45), 31473-31479
Upasana Das Adhikari
p53 control of intestinal stem cell fate
Lab of Yinon Ben-Neriah, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Co-mentors: Walter Birchmeier and Alexander Loewer, Max elbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Publications:
Morgenstern Y*, Das Adhikari U*, Ayyash M, Elyada E, Tóth B, Moor A, Itzkovitz S, Ben-Neriah Y (2017). Casein kinase 1-epsilon or 1-delta required for Wnt-mediated intestinal stem cell maintenance. EMBO J. 36(20):3046-306. | *equal contribution
Simon Prisner
Molecular mechanisms of viral infection
Lab of Andreas Herrmann, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Co-mentor: Amit Meller, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Publications
Jin S, Kedia N, Illes-Toth E, Haralampiev I, Prisner S, Herrmann A, Wanker EE, Bieschke J (2016). Amyloid-β(1-42) Aggregation Initiates Its Cellular Uptake and Cytotoxicity. J Biol Chem. 291(37), 19590-606
Haralampiev I, Schade M, Chamiolo J, Jolmes F, Prisner S, Witkowski PT, Behrent M, Hövelmann F, Wolff T, Seitz O, Herrmann A (2017). A Fluorescent RNA Forced-Intercalation Probe as a Pan-Selective Marker for Influenza A Virus Infection. Chembiochem 18(16):1589-1592.
Jane Joy Thomas
Role of RNF4 in oncogene activation
Lab of Amir Orian, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Co-mentor: Walter Birchmeier, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Publications
Thomas JJ, Rekha Chandra MR, Sharma P (2010). Dextran glycidyltrimethylammonium chloride conjugate/DNA nanoplex: A potential non-viral and haemocompatible gene delivery system. Int. Journal of Pharmaceutics 389(1-2), 195-206
Thomas JJ, Rekha Chandra MR, Sharma P (2010). Unraveling the intracellular efficacy of Dextran-Histidine Polycation as an efficient non-viral gene delivery system.Mol. Pharmaceutics (ACS)9(1), 121-134
Thomas JJ, Rekha Chandra MR, Sharma P (2012). Dextran-protamine polycation: An efficient nonviral and haemocompatible gene delivery system. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biosurfaces 81(1), 195-205
Thomas JJ, Abed M, Heuberger J, Novak R, Zohar Y, Beltran Lopez AP, Trausch-Azar JS, Ilagan MX, Benhamou D, Dittmar G, Kopan R, Birchmeier W, Schwartz AL, Orian A (2016). RNF4-Dependent Oncogene Activation by Protein Stabilization. Cell Rep. 16(12), 3388-400
Naama Flint Brodsly
Elucidating a genetic network that maintains the differentiated identity of enterocytes and gut homeostasis
Lab of Amir Orian, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Co-mentor: Walter Birchmeier, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Inbal Ipenberg
Mechanisms of signal-dependent activation of NF-kappaB precursor complexes
Lab of Claus Scheidereit, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Co-mentor: Aaron Ciechanover, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Publications
Ipenberg I, Guttmann-Raviv N, Khoury HP, Kupershmit I, Ayoub N (2013). Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) selectively regulates the stability of KDM4B/JMJD2B histone demethylase. J. Biol. Chem.288(21), 14681-14687
Yilmaz ZB, Kofahl B, Beaudette P, Baum K, Ipenberg I, Weih F, Wolf J, Dittmar G, Scheidereit C (2014). Quantitative dissection and modeling of the NF-kB p100-p105 module reveals interdependent precursor proteolysis. Cell Reports 9(5), 1756-1769
Khoury-Haddad H, Guttmann-Raviv N, Ipenberg I, Huggins D, Jeyasekharan AD, Ayoub N (2014). PARP1-dependent recruitment of KDM4D histone demethylase to DNA damage sites promotes double-strand break repair. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A 111(7), E728-737
Juliane Rademacher (geb. Brümmer)
Rho GTPase signaling downstream of guidance receptors
Lab of Oliver Rocks, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Co-mentor: Gera Neufeld, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Undine Hill
Epigenetic functions of the transcription factor CEBP/alpha
Lab of Achim Leutz, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Co-mentor: Amir Orian, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Publications
Bledau AD, Schmidt K, Neumann K, Hill U, Ciotta G, Gupta A, Torres DC, Fu J, Kranz A, Stewart AF, Anastassiadis K (2014). The H3K4 methyltransferase Setd1a is first required at the epiblast stage, whereas Setd1b becomes essential after gastrulation. Development 141(5), 1022-1035
Shari Orlanski
Lab of Yehudit Bergman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Co-mentors: Klaus Rajewsky and Martin Janz, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Publications
Penaloza C, Orlanski S, Ye Y, Entezari-Zaher T, Javdan M, Zakeri Z (2008). Cell death in mammalian development. Curr. Pharm. Des. 14(2), 184-196
Penaloza C, Estevez B, Orlanski S, Sikorska M, Walker R, Smith C, Smith B, Lockshin RA, Zakeri Z (2009). Sex of the cell dictates its response: differential gene expression and sensitivity to cell death inducing stress in male and female cells. FASEB J 23(6), 1869-1879
Orlanski S, Bergman Y (2012). Chapter 12: MicroRNAs in embryonic stem cells. In Appasani K (Ed.), Epigenomics: From chromatin biology to therapeutics (pp 163-178) Gene Expression Systems, Inc. ISBN: 9781139533997
Ludwig G, Nejman D, Hecht M, Orlanski S, Abu-Remaileh M, Yanuka O, Sandler O, Marx A, Roberts D, Benvenisty N, Bergman Y, Mendelsohn M, Cedar H (2014). Aberrant DNA methylation in ES cells. PloS One 9(5), e96090
Popowski M, Templeton TD, Lee BK, Rhee C, Li H, Miner C, Dekker JD, Orlanski S, Bergman Y, Iyer VR, Webb CF, Tucker H (2014). Bright/Arid3A acts as a barrier to somatic cell reprogramming through direct regulation of Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog. Stem Cell Reports 2(1), 26-35
Orlanski S, Labi V, Reizel Y, Spiro A, Lichtenstein M, Levin-Klein R, Koralov SB, Skversky Y, Rajewsky K, Cedar H, Bergman Y (2016). Tissue-specific DNA demethylation is required for proper B-cell differentiation and function. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 113(18), 5018-23
Sylvia Zérath Gurevich
Biology and proteomics of the small protein modifier, Rub1
Lab of Michael Glickman, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Co-mentors: Gunnar Dittmar and Thomas Sommer, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Publications
Singh RK, Zérath S, Kleifeld O, Scheffner M, Glickman MH, Fushman D (2012). Recognition and cleavage of related to ubiquitin (Rub1) and Rub1-ubiquitin chains by components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Mol. Cell. Proteomics 11(12), 1595-1611
Scientific Events
As a central component of the training program, SignGene organizes scientific events that bring together members of the SignGene program, as well as internationally recognized guest speakers from all over the world. These events aim to expose our students to high-level scientific presentations and discussions with experts in their field of research, and foster the exchange within our community.
As a central component of the training program, SignGene organizes scientific events that bring together members of the SignGene program, as well as internationally recognized guest speakers from all over the world. These events aim to expose our students to high-level scientific presentations and discussions with experts in their field of research, and foster the exchange within our community.
Each year, SignGene organizes intensive, 3-day workshops dedicated to a specific topic within the scientific scope of the program. These workshops are key to the scientific training within SignGene and are open to a limited number of external graduate students and postdocs. In addition to experts from the SignGene faculty, the workshops feature lectures by internationally distinguished invited speakers.
SignGene Winter School & PhD Retreat in Eilat, Mar 2020
"Observing the Invisible: Technology to Address the Unknown"
Date:
COVID-19 update (March 05, 2020): With great regret, we have to announce that the upcoming SignGene Winter School and the prior PhD Retreat have to be cancelled. Due to official regulations by the Ministry of Health in Israel and the Federal Foreign Office in Germany, we do not see any possibility to proceed with the event as planned. We hope to be able to postpone the event to a later date.
COVID-19 update (March 05, 2020): With great regret, we have to announce that the upcoming SignGene Winter School and the prior PhD Retreat have to be cancelled. Due to official regulations by the Ministry of Health in Israel and the Federal Foreign Office in Germany, we do not see any possibility to proceed with the event as planned. We hope to be able to postpone the event to a later date.
Alon Appleboim (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Dhana Friedrich (Humboldt University Berlin) Sandra Krull (MDC Berlin) Ronit Moshel (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Hosts
Dámaris Anell Rendón (Charité Berlin) Alon Appleboim (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Upasana Das Adhikari (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Naama Flint Brodsly (Technion Haifa) Dhana Friedrich (Humboldt University Berlin) Inbal Ipenberg (MDC Berlin) Christian Lips (MDC Berlin) Nagarjuna R. Pamudurti (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Simon N. Prisner (Humboldt University Berlin) Christin Stottmeister (MDC Berlin)
The SignGene Symposium 2016 in Potsdam will consider recent progress in the understanding of regulatory processes in gene expression and proteostasis control with primary relevance to cancer.
The Symposium brings together invited speakers from Europe, Israel and the USA, as well as SignGene students and investigators, who will present novel cutting edge results and innovative experimental and computational approaches.
SignGene Winter School in Haifa, Feb 14 – 17, 2016
High Precision, High Throughput: Biochemistry, Sequencing, and Imaging
At the student-organized SignGene Winter School in Haifa, invited speakers join the SignGene faculty and students in a series of talks and workshops.
The focus of this Winter School lies on the scientific and technical aspects of I) Single Molecule and Quantitative Imaging approaches, II) High-Throughput Sequencing (RNA-Seq, CHIP-Seq), and III) Methods in Protein Biochemistry and Proteomics.
Speakers
Naama Barkai, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Gunnar Dittmar, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
Dhana Friedrich (Löwer/Herrmann Lab), Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany
Roi Gazit, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Arik Girsault (Meller Lab), Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
David Grünwald, University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA
Nikolaus Rajewsky, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
Itamar Simon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Christin Stottmeister (N. Rajewsky Lab), Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
At the student-organized SignGene Winter School in Haifa, invited speakers join the SignGene faculty and students in a series of talks and workshops.
The focus of this Winter School lies on the scientific and technical aspects of I) Single Molecule and Quantitative Imaging approaches, II) High-Throughput Sequencing (RNA-Seq, CHIP-Seq), and III) Methods in Protein Biochemistry and Proteomics.
Speakers
Naama Barkai, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
Gunnar Dittmar, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
Dhana Friedrich (Löwer/Herrmann Lab), Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany
Roi Gazit, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Arik Girsault (Meller Lab), Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
David Grünwald, University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA
Nikolaus Rajewsky, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
Itamar Simon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Christin Stottmeister (N. Rajewsky Lab), Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
SignGene Symposium 2015 Berlin
Singles in Biology: Proteins, Cells and Stem Cells
At this year's SignGene Meeting near Berlin, SignGene faculty and students join internationally renowned guest speakers to discuss scientific topics in cell and molecular biology.
A focus point of this Symposium will be the analysis of chromatin and protein dynamics, as well as cell signaling pathways on the single-cell level.
Speakers
Ido Amit, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
At the last SignGene retreat in Jerusalem, SignGene faculty and students as well as a few internationally renowned guest speakers and, plus a few other students from SignGene labs, convened for scientific exchange, discussions, and social networking.
Nir Friedman (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Yaakov Nahmias (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Shari Orlanski (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Dana Levy (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Ronit Moshel (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Sabine Loewer (MDC Berlin)
"Quantitative Approaches in Cell Biology: Biophysics, Bioengineering & Systems Biology"
The 2014 SignGene Symposium centered around quantitative biology, ranging from nanobiotechnology at the single molecule level to systems biology of entire cellular networks. Organized in cooperation with the Integrative Research Institute for the Life Sciences (IRI-LS) at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the symposium brought together young talents and established scientists from both programs, as well as a number of invited international experts in the field.
To download the detailed program, please click here
The first SignGene PhD Retreat took place in Karei Deshe, at the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Israel, from January 30 - February 1, 2014.
On the way to Karei Deshe, the students visited the Hula Valley nature reserve, which is a major resting place for birds migrating from Europe to Africa and back. Following arrival at Karei Deshe, the first guest speaker, Dr. Sebastian Kadener from Hebrew University, presented his work on the molecular control of circadian rhythms in Drosophila. In addition to two student presentations, the first day of the retreat featured a special lecture by Dr. Ety Klinger, Vice President Research & Development at Proteologics, Israel, focusing on drug development in biotech / pharmaceutical companies.
On the way to Karei Deshe, the students visited the Hula Valley nature reserve, which is a major resting place for birds migrating from Europe to Africa and back. Following arrival at Karei Deshe, the first guest speaker, Dr. Sebastian Kadener from Hebrew University, presented his work on the molecular control of circadian rhythms in Drosophila. In addition to two student presentations, the first day of the retreat featured a special lecture by Dr. Ety Klinger, Vice President Research & Development at Proteologics, Israel, focusing on drug development in biotech / pharmaceutical companies.
The program of the second day consisted of student presentations and an excursion to the alligator farm and hot springs at Hamat Gader. The retreat ended with a tour to the archeological excavations at Capharnaum.
The program of the second day consisted of student presentations and an excursion to the alligator farm and hot springs at Hamat Gader. The retreat ended with a tour to the archeological excavations at Capharnaum.
SignGene Winter School in Haifa, Jan 2014
Biology of Differentiation & Cancer
How are processes such as cell proliferation, growth, and differentiation regulated at the molecular level? What happens when a cell turns into cancer?
These are just some of the questions that were addressed during the 3-day workshop, covering topics such as
Transcription factor networks in differentiation and cancer
Signaling pathways in development and cancer
Genetics and functional genomics
Cellular microenvironment
January 27 - Open Day
The winter school started with the open day at the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine. 140 registered participants attended lectures by eight internationally distinguished scientists, 41 graduate students and postdocs presented their work in the poster session.
During the second and third days of the winter school, experts from the SignGene faculty and invited guest speakers delved deeper into the topics touched upon on the open day. In a smaller forum, SignGene students and 40 additional registered graduate students and postdocs had the opportunity to meet and discuss their research with their peers and experienced senior scientists.
Complementing the scientific program, participants had the chance to learn more about how to build a successful academic career in science during a special career pathways seminar. To download the complete program, please click here
Scientific Sessions
I - Signaling Pathways in Differentiation & Cancer
In addition to SignGene funding from the Helmholtz Association, this Winter School was kindly supported by the Moshe Yanai Technion Fund, the Mechora Foundation, Merck-Serono Ltd., Bar-Naor Ltd., Eldan/Neofram Ltd., Daniel Biotech Ltd., and Levant Ltd.
1st Scientific Symposium & Workshop in Zeuthen, Jun 2013
Frontiers in Cell Signaling and Gene Regulation
The first SignGene symposium took place at the Seehotel Zeuthen close to Berlin from June 17-18. All six students and 27 out of the 34 group leaders including Nobel laureate Aaron Ciechanover attended the meeting to discuss ongoing projects and future collaborations.
The scientific sessions covered the whole range of SignGene topics with highlighted keynote lectures by our four invited speakers Anjana Rao (La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, La Jolla CA, USA), Dirk Schübeler (Friedrich-Miescher-Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland), Alexander van Oudenaarden (Hubrecht Institute-KNAW & University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands), and Hao Wu (Harvard Medical School & Children's Hospital Boston MA, USA):
Signaling pathways in normal and cancerous cells
Genetic and epigenetic control of differentiation
Quantitative approaches to understand cell decision processes
The ubiquitin-proteasome system
Impact of structure-function relationships on cellular processes
In addition to the scientific program, the SignGene community convened in a workshop to discuss topics for future Winter/Summer Schools of the program. The first Winter School, focusing on "Biology of Differentiation and Cancer" will be organized by Amir Orian (Technion) and Achim Leutz (MDC) to take place at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa in January 2014.
In a workshop on funding opportunities for German-Israeli cooperation projects, Christoph Mühlberg from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG ), Marion Müller from the Einstein Foundation Berlin, and Thomas Sommer from the MDC informed about existing programs for funding and new developments.
HFSP fellowship awarded to Waleed Minzel Congratulations to our alumni Waleed Minzel for receiving the prestigious HFSP postdoctoral fellowship! During his PhD, Waleed was supervised by Yinon Ben-Neriah (HUJI) and Clemens Schmitt (MDC & Charité) and is now continuing his successful path in the lab of Jonathan Kipnis at the University of Virginia.
March 2020
Winter School canceled Due to the current COVID-19 situation and the official regulations by the Ministry of Health in Israel and the Federal Foreign Office in Germany, the Winter School and PhD Retreat have to be canceled.
Dec 2019
Save the date SignGene PhD Retreat 2020: March 21-22 & SignGene Winter School 2020: March 23-25 in Eilat/Israel.
June 2019
Registration is open Register now for the SignGene Symposium 2019 "Immunotherapy of Cancer" ☐ Sep 19 - 22, 2019 ☐ Neuruppin, Germany.
May 2019
SignGene Symposium 2019 "Immunotherapy of Cancer" Organized by Thomas Blankenstein (MDC) and Yinon Ben-Neriah (HUJI). September 19 - 22, 2019. Neuruppin, Germany.
January 2019
Upcoming PhD Retreat & Winter School This year's SignGene Winter School "From Macro to Micro – Technology and Disease" will take place in Nahsholim, Israel. Dr. Emma Harris from the ORION project will join us during the PhD Retreat with exciting workshops on open science. PhD Retreat: March 24 - 25, 2019 // Winter School: March 26 - 28, 2019
September 2018
New SignGene Student We welcome our newest member of the SignGene community. Elle Koren from the lab of Yaron Fuchs at the Technion was admitted to the program during the recent SignGene Symposium. Elle has started her PhD in 2017 and will now be co-mentored by Walter Birchmeier at the MDC. Welcome Elle!
August 2018
Published in Cell: Congratulations Waleed Minzel, Eric Hung & Yinon Ben-Neriah Small Molecules Co-targeting CKIα and the Transcriptional Kinases CDK7/9 Control AML in Preclinical Models (Pubmed)
