New research grants for young scientists


First Year

1. Dr. Amir Amedi
Department of Physiology,
Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University - Hadassah
Cognitive neuroscience of mental imagery & perception in 3 topographical senses.

2. Dr. Sharon Anavi-Goffer
Behavioral Sciences and Molecular Biology,
Ariel College
A role for the cannabinoid CB2 receptor in schizophrenia.

3. Dr. Galia Avidan
Psychology,
Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva
Organizational principles of human cortical eye fields & their role in visual perception.

4. Dr. Miki Bloch
Ambulatory Psychiatric Department, Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv
The effect of gonadal steroids on emotional processing and regulation abnormalities in women with a predisposition for postpartum depression.

5. Dr. Yoav Gothilf
Neurobiology,
Tel Aviv University
Light entrainment of the circadian clock.

6. Dr. Tzuri Lifschytz
Psychiatry, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center
RGS2 gene activity levels and the propensity to develop anxiety and/or depression following chronic mild stress.

7. Dr. Anat Maril
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences,
Hebrew University
Subsequent memory effects & the process of internal generation in prefrontal cortex.

8. Dr. Yehuda Pollak
Psychology,
Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem
Risk taking and decision making under uncertainty in adolescents with attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder.

9. Dr. Irit Shapira-Lichter
Functional Brain Center,
Institute for Advanced Imaging, Sourasky Medical Center
Brain mechanisms underlying free recall versus recognition retrieval processes.

10. Dr. Rami Yaka
Pharmacology,
School of Pharmacy, Hebrew University
Identification of new drug targets for cocaine addiction using a proteomics approach.

Second Year

1. Dr. Irit Akirav
Psychology,
Haifa University
Stress effects on extinction and reacquisition of inhibitory avoidance: Possible involvement of cannabinoid CB1 receptors.

2. Dr. Ron Amir
Cell and Animal Biology,
Hebrew University
The role of the sodium channel in chronic neuropathic pain.

3. Dr. Yaniv Assaf
Neuro-biochemistry,
Tel Aviv University
Can imaging be used as a biomarker of cognitive decline?

4. Dr. Ohad Ben-Shahar
Computer Science and Neuroscience,
Ben Gurion University
Perceptual singularities without feature contrast – implications for covert
and overt attention.

5. Dr. Claude Brodski
Morphology,
Ben Gurion University
Ritalin Treatment: Pharmacological mode of action and consequences for brain development.

6. Dr. Rena Cooper-Kazaz
Psychiatry,
Hadassah Medical Center
Augmentation of the antidepressant action of sertraline with triiodothyronine (T3) and reboxetine: Clinical efficacy, adverse effects and predictors of response.

7. Dr. Daniel Gitler
Physiology,
Ben Gurion University
Determination of the molecular and cellular basis of epileptogenesis induced by synapsin loss of function.

8. Dr. David Gurwitz
Human Molecular Genetics & Biochemistry,
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University
Transcriptional and functional regulation of the serotonin transporter in human lymphoblasts by estradiol and SSRI drugs.

9. Dr. Raphael Lamprecht
Neurobiology,
Haifa University
Molecular chaperone in memory formation.

10. Dr. Yonatan Loewenstein
Neurobiology and Cognitive Sciences,
Hebrew University
Computational principles and neural mechanisms underlying contraction bias.

11. Dr. Mouna Maroun
Neurobiolgy & Ethology,
Haifa University
Effects of stress on plasticity in the hippocampus, amygdale and prefrontal cortex.

12. Dr. Marina Pavlovskaya
Neurophysiology,
Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital, Raanana
Hemispheric and cross-dimensional transfer of perceptual learning effects under conditions of varying difficulty.

13. Dr. Ronit Pinkas-Kramarski
Neurobiology,
Tel Aviv University
Use of an autophagy-inducing drug as a novel treatment for brain injury.

14. Dr. Uri Polat
Vision Research,
Tel Aviv University
Probing levels of deficient visual information processing.

15. Dr. Hamutal Slovin
Brain Research,
Bar Ilan University
Real-time imaging of saccadic suppression in the visual cortex.

16. Dr. Michael Wagner
Industrial Engineering and Psychology,
Ariel College
Virtual depth in static and dynamic displays: cognitive versus physiological factors of depth perception and vergence control.

Extended Grants in Memory, Basic & Clinical Psychobiology

First Year

1. Dr. Leon Deouell
Psychology, Hebrew University
In the eyes of the beholder: Correlation between induced gamma band responses and eye movements.

Second Year


1. Prof. Edi Barkai, Prof. David Golomb & Dr. Israel Sekler
Biology & Neurobiology,
University of Haifa, and
Physiology,
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva
Learning-induced modification in inhibitory synaptic transmission: mechanisms and functional significance.

2. Prof. Hagit Cohen
Anxiety and Stress Research Unit.
Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva
Assessment of differential effects of stress hormones and noradrenergic manipulation on traumatic memory (re)consolidation as reflected in behavioral stress responses.

3. Dr. Reuven Stein
Life Sciences Faculty,
Tel-Aviv University
Molecular characterization of neuropathology and cognitive deficits in a model of neurofibromatosis and an evaluation of potential treatments.

Third Year

1. Dr. Anat Barnea
Natural and Life Science,
The Open University of Israel
Neurobiological aspects of migratory behavior in birds: a neuroethological study, comparing migrant and resident species in Israel.

2. Prof. Ehud Zohary
Neurobiology,
The Hebrew University
Cortical plasticity in the adult human visual system following retinal damage caused by Macular Degeneration.

Core Facility

Second Year

1. Dr. Talma Hendler
Functional Brain Imaging Unit ,
Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center
Levi-Edersheim-Gitter Institute for Human Brain Mapping,
Psychology Department and Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University
Spatio-Temporal Features of in-vivo Human Brain Mapping:
Complementary measures from EEG, fMRI, and DTI.