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The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Science
Ben-Arie Nissim
Prof. Nissim Ben-Arie
Genetic Regulation of CNS Development & Neurodegenerative Diseases
Genetics
Personal Information
Research Interests
Developmental Neuro-Genetics: the study of bHLH transcription factors regulating embryonic development, focusing on the nervous system. Characterization of the role and function of the transcription factors at the cellular and whole organism levels, utilizing chick embryos and knockout and transgenic mice. Revealing their molecular mode of action at various levels (transcription regulation of target genes, molecular interactions: DNA-protein, protein-protein etc.). We also study the involvement of transcription factors in human diseases (developmental, inherited and cancer).
Dissertation Topics
- Characterizing of the importance and function of bHLH transcription factors during the development of the embryonic nervous system (e.g. the cerebellum, Parkinson’s-related dopaminergic neurons and the spinal cord), using genetically engineered mice and chick embryos.
- Discovering the molecular mechanism through which bHLH transcription factors act.
- Applying the knowledge on normal embryonic development t to direct the fate of stem cells (as a tool for treating diseases like Parkinson’s).
- Identification and study of disease caused by mutations in bHLH transcription factors.
