Negev Connection - Summer 2023

Your link to the most innovative initiatives at Ben-Gurion University

NEGEV CONNECTION

Table of Contents

SPOTLIGHTS ON BGU RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

Breakthrough Medical Education and Research

Get to know BGU’s groundbreaking research in critical areas including aging, anxiety, cancer, diabetes, and beyond.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: MIRVAT ABU HADOBA-FRIEH

The Bedouin Student Experience at BGU

Against all odds, this Bedouin student never gave up on her education — and now she’s earning a PhD at BGU.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH

New technology from Ben-Gurion University protects football players’ brains

Thanks to BGU, football players who experience head injuries know exactly when it’s safe to return to the field again.

BGU Professor Nadav Davidovitch, Israel’s Leading Voice in Public Health, promotes equitable vaccine access A hero in the fight against Covid, the head of BGU’s School of Public Health is an expert of bringing far-reaching institutions together to work toward a common goal.

LAY

Ellen Marcus: Generously Following In Her Parents’ Footsteps

It was because of Ellen Marcus that BGU received a gift of $500 million — possibly the largest single donation ever made to an Israeli institution.

Cover Photo: Dr. Oren Wacht, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Emergency Medicine Services, in the new Rachel and Max Javit Medical Simulation and Classroom Building

A message from the CEO

Many supporters of Israel in the U.S. and around the world are asking themselves: How should we celebrate the modern state’s milestone 75th anniversary, especially in a time of historic controversy?

The truth is that at a moment like this, celebrating Israel is more important than ever.

Indeed, the days when people supported Israel “just because” are mostly behind us. For Zionism to survive and for Israel to thrive, we need a fresh, compelling rallying cry to mobilize a new generation around a vision for 21st-Century Zionism.

Amid today’s heated discourse about what’s wrong when it comes to Israel, celebrating the Jewish state doesn’t have anything to do with avoiding controversies. Those issues must still be discussed robustly. Rather, this new approach centers on rallying around what’s right, celebrating the remarkable aspects of Israel, and aligning around the values we share.

This is precisely the kind of breakthrough innovation that defines Israel at this milestone anniversary. At its core, the start-up nation of Israel isn’t simply about the next unicorn company.

It’s about a future where Israel is living up to the nation’s promise of being a “Migdal Or”— a beacon of light to the world by helping to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges.

Envisioning Israel’s future also hearkens back to the modern state’s roots — namely, the pioneering spirit of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s founder and first Prime Minister. Ben-Gurion was a visionary who essentially saw the future of Israel in the Negev and Israel’s role as a beacon of light for the world. That vision is still worth celebrating and actualizing today.

With this sentiment in mind, Americans for Ben-Gurion University (A4BGU), a community of like-minded individuals that supports the university bearing BenGurion’s name and raises awareness around his legacy more broadly, is celebrating Israel’s 75th anniversary by amplifying the modern scientific technologies that will be shaping the future of Israel and the world.

As we look to the future, let’s carry with us the spirit of David Ben-Gurion, the visionary who set us on this path to begin with. Be part of solving some of the world’s greatest challenges. Support innovations that are making a difference both in Israel and beyond.

Join us in our mission to fulfill Ben-Gurion’s vision of Israel in the Negev by supporting the Ben-Gurion Annual Fund today. Visit www.americansforbgu.org/donate, mail a gift in the

Doug Seserman CEO of Americans for Ben-Gurion University

Breakthrough Medical Education and Research

Ben-Gurion University is known for its leading medical research teams and facilities. At the forefront of science and technology, BGU has more than 800 senior and 1,100 junior faculty members working with graduate students in advanced laboratories, developing innovative ways to make a positive impact on the world at large.

Explore BGU’s cutting-edge research that’s making a difference in the fields of aging, anxiety, cancer, diabetes, and other critical areas:

Dr. Oren Wacht Transforming Training for Paramedics and EMTs

For more than 25 years, BGU students and Magen David Adom paramedics have trained together, and under Dr. Oren Wacht and the staff of BGU’s Department of Emergency Medicine, that training is reaching new heights. Thanks to a formal affiliation — the first between a national EMS service and a university, the institutions coordinate activities and research collaborations between BGU’s three-year Bachelor of Emergency Medicine program and MDA’s paramedic school, and facilitate more instructor knowledge-sharing, leading to faster and more effective pre-hospital treatment, as well as innovative approaches that create better results for patients. Much of this vital work takes place in the Rachel and Max Javit Medical Simulation and Classroom Building.

Prof. Iris Shai Obesity and its Links to Disease

More than 1 billion people around the world are obese, putting them at risk for illnesses like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or a possible stroke. Prof. Iris Shai and her nutrition and chronic diseases lab explore obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiometabolic risk by performing large-scale, long-term compressive dietary randomized controlled trials. They monitor changes in the gut microbiome, study specific food nutrients and components like vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols, and perform nutritional clinical trials with state-of-the-art methodologies.

Male Fertility

Over the past 50 years, human sperm count has fallen by more than 50%. Prof. Mahmoud Huleihel is working to combat this troubling trend and preserve male fertility. He develops new ways to grow testicular stem cells, searches for genes and environmental factors that impact male fertility, and studies biomolecular agents that might reduce the harmful effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy on male fertility.

Prof. Hagit Cohen Pinpointing Stress and Anxiety in the Brain

Mental health has become a topic of interest for researchers globally, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic. Using animal models of psychopathology, Prof. Hagit Cohen studies the neural mechanisms of post-traumatic stress disorder using a specially-designed rat model.

Attacking Tumor Cells with Genetic Engineering

In Dr. Uri Greenbaum’s lab, fighting cancer is the number one goal. He and his team research how the immune system fights cancer, and in particular CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T) cells. Genetically engineered immune cells go into a patient’s body and make a targeted attack on tumor cells based on surface antigens. Even if a patient had previously been resistant to other types of treatment, this approach is typically successful at destroying any tumors.

Dr. Uri Greenbaum

Prof. Mahmoud Huleihel Preserving

The Bedouin Student Experience at BGU

STUDENT

SPOTLIGHT: MIRVAT ABU HADOBA-FRIEH

Growing up in an unrecognized Bedouin village near Rahat, Mirvat Abu Hadoba-Frieh did not have nearby access to public transportation, paved roads, or health clinics. She and her 19 siblings did not live close to any educational institutions either. Yet, she was determined to go to school — and walked 40 minutes each way to the school bus, every day.

Today, Mirvat is a PhD student in the Department of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University. She says:

“I chose to study politics due to my deep interest in all the things that happen around us, and I intend to devote all of my time and effort to writing papers and developing the full potential of my doctoral research. Thank you for giving generously to Ben-Gurion University and making it possible for me to receive financial support.”

With its scholarship fund, Americans for Ben-Gurion University makes it possible for more than 550+ Bedouin students to enroll in degree programs each year — the highest enrollment rate in Israel. In addition to receiving financial assistance, which covers tuition, transportation, meals, and housing, students may also participate in counseling, mentoring, dropout prevention, and job placement programs. These students are often the first in their families to earn a degree, thrive in their careers, and fully immerse themselves in Israeli society.

Help us advance BGU’s efforts to reach more Bedouin students like Mirvat, to ensure their academic success, and in doing so, to promote development and inclusivity in the heart of Israel’s Negev region.

New technology from Ben-Gurion University protects football players’ brains

RISK OF PLAYING FOOTBALL

Football is full of tradition: crisp fall air, the roar of the crowd, and touchdown dances. But more and more research is emerging about the darker side of football and the toll it takes on players.

Football players are at increased risks of serious side effects from repetitive trauma to the brain, specifically chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE, which results from repeated impact to the head, can lead to cognitive impairment, changes in behavior and mood, dementia, and even early death.

Previously, researchers were only able to diagnose CTE by examining the athlete’s brain after death. Now, researchers at Ben-Gurion University have developed a methodology that can determine whether people have CTE or are at risk of developing it by using brain imaging and predictive analysis while they are still actively playing.

A WINDOW INTO THE BRAIN

Ben-Gurion University researchers use specially developed MRIs to take images of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a network of closely woven blood vessels and tissue that keep harmful toxins or pathogens away from the brain. The imaging can determine if the BBB is intact or whether there have been disturbances that are allowing dangerous substances to pass into the brain itself, which can cause brain diseases. Natural aging can also lead to some degeneration in the BBB, but that kind of degradation generally doesn’t happen among young and healthy athletes.

“Since a leaky BBB is also found in CTE and causes brain dysfunction and degeneration, it now seems that this test could provide the first (and so far the only) evidence for brain injury in the players,” Professor Alon Friedman M.D., a neurosurgeon and researcher at BGU and Dalhousie University in Canada, told the Jerusalem Post.

“We believe that those with persistent leak encompassing months or years are more likely to develop CTE,” Friedman explained. But the MRIs can also provide good news, he said. By testing the athletes over time, they were able to watch as some of the players had BBBs that were able to repair themselves fairly quickly. If those players did not suffer from repeated trauma while they were healing, they were unlikely to develop CTE.

Control Player

THE

EXPLORING BBB AT BGU A SAFE RETURN TO THE FIELD

Prof. Friedman is head of the Blood Brain Barrier Lab at Ben-Gurion University, overseeing students as they research this unique interface in the human body. Their research focuses on epilepsy, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases, brain trauma (including from sports), and psychiatric diseases. Their research explores methods for prediction, early diagnosis, intervention, and treatment.

For the study, Friedman’s team took MRIs of 42 Israelis who play amateur American football in the Israeli Football League (IFL), a control group of 27 athletes who play non-contact sports, and 26 non-athletes. Researchers used modified dynamic contrast-enhanced-MRI (DCE-MRI) and analytical methods to identify fast and slow leakage of the BBB, and tracked whether the leakage persisted over time.

Football players were three times more likely to display a leaky BBB than other test subjects. More than a quarter of the amateur football players studied (27.2%) showed evidence of leaky BBB.

Friedman first published results from the DCE-MRIs and their ability to provide a snapshot of the BBB in real time in 2014. He noted that not all athletes show evidence of “leaky BBBs” even after repeated head traumas, because every athlete is different and reacts differently to concussions. The imaging can help determine when each athlete can safely return to play, rather than relying on the same guidelines for all athletes.

Friedman uses the National Football League’s sideline concussion assessment tool to document the history of previous head injuries, including concussions, as well as symptoms assessment and Standardized Assessment of Concussion tests. The researchers used the DCE-MRIs both during the football season and the off-season to measure if and how the BBBs were able to repair themselves naturally.

More than anything, the DCE-MRIs provide a good tool to help ensure the safety of the players so they can safely play the game they love.

BGU

The coronavirus plunged the world into uncertain times, but amidst the dark times, there were also plenty of reasons to hope. Over the past few years, what brought the most hope to Professor Nadav Davidovitch, the head of Ben-Gurion University’s School of Public Health, a prominent member of the “Magen Israel” coronavirus taskforce, and a hero in the fight against Covid, was the ability for different groups and institutions to work together for a common goal.

The speed in understanding the coronavirus and releasing a vaccine is an example of this cooperative ethic.

“It’s quite astonishing how fast data, including the genetic composition of the virus, was distributed,” Davidovitch told Haaretz last year. “That’s why the vaccine was developed so fast. The pace of research and sharing information... is unbelievable.”

SPREADING RESEARCH AND COMBATING MISINFORMATION

Davidovitch, who serves as Israel’s official representative on the Executive Committee of the European Public Health Association and is sometimes called the “Israeli Fauci” for his public-facing role during the pandemic, is passionate about helping other countries learn from Israel’s successful vaccination programs, and advocating for more equitable access to health care for all.

Davidovitch and other health officials estimate that the first year of the vaccine roll-out saved more than 20,000 lives in Israel. “Without vaccines, instead of 8,500 people, we’d have close to 30,000 people dying – and that would be a disaster,” Davidovitch told Haaretz.

Although Davidovitch credited the fast spread of information with helping researchers, there is also a problematic aspect to the quick exchange of information. Misinformation about COVID-19 can spread like wildfire through social media and the internet. He warned that an “infodemic” of spreading false information can be just as dangerous as the pandemic itself.

If the best protection against the pandemic is the vaccine, then the best protection against the “infodemic” is education, Davidovitch believes.

NAVIGATING THE NEXT STAGE

Now, health officials need to help the public move on to the next stage of the pandemic: understanding that the coronavirus is here to stay, and navigating life in ways that keep people healthy and connected, according to Davidovitch. That includes ensuring that the lessons learned during the pandemic, about equitable access, collaboration, and combating misinformation, are carried forward.

“The social and economic gaps won’t just magically disappear with the vaccines, and we must also address the many shortcomings in our healthcare system,” Davidovitch wrote in an op-ed for Israel Hayom. “If we do well on all levels – personal and national – we will be much more successful in curbing the pandemic and improve all areas that need improving, and be prepared for the future of the ‘new normal.’”

Ellen Marcus: Generously Following In Her Parents’ Footsteps

In 2016, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev received a legacy gift believed to be the largest bequest on behalf of an Israeli university and possibly the largest single donation ever made to benefit any institution in the State of Israel–$500 million. But where did it come from?

It turned out that unassuming Holocaust survivors, Howard and Lottie Marcus, who passed away at ages 104 and 99 respectively, left the legacy gift thanks to their daughter, Ellen Marcus. When they told their daughter, Ellen, how much their investments were worth and that they planned to leave it all to her, she had other ideas.

“I decided immediately that no one person needs that kind of money,” she said. “At the time, it was worth $200 million. I asked them to leave me enough so that I would never be homeless or hungry, and enough that my daughter would never be homeless or hungry and to give the rest to charity.”

Ellen Marcus and Warren Buffett attending the Omaha Film Festival screening of “Who Are the Marcuses?”

Now, Ellen is continuing her parents’ legacy. Since becoming involved in the mid-2000s, Ellen has made an immeasurable impact on Americans for Ben-Gurion University (A4BGU). Her work and dedication throughout the years will ensure the university can fulfill its mission to be a beacon of light in the Negev desert—and the world.

INSPIRED LEADERSHIP AT BGU

Since 2006, Ellen has served as a vice chair on BGU’s Board of Governors. She serves as a member of A4BGU’s national board and chairs A4BGU’s Austin chapter, where she lives.

In 2017, Ellen received an honorary doctorate from Ben-Gurion University during the 47th Annual Board of Governors Meeting. At the ceremony, then-BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi said of Ellen: “She is an exemplary individual, generous of spirit and an ardent Zionist, whose family has tied its name to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev for generations to come. She has demonstrated a profound commitment to the University and

her faith in its bright future and pivotal role in the development of the Negev and the State of Israel.”

Ellen, who became one of the first master’s level genetic counselors and the first to open a private practice for genetic counseling in the country, has always been passionate about higher education. This contributed to her ardent support of BGU.

“The success of this university… already among the top research universities worldwide–inspires my passion and excitement about the future of BGU and the State of Israel,” Ellen said.

A LEGACY OF GIVING IN THE MARCUS FAMILY

When Howard and Lottie Marcus each escaped Germany and came to America, Lottie worked as a secretary in a Wall Street firm, where she met Ben Graham, the renowned “father of value investing.” Graham later became Warren Buffett’s MBA professor and mentor. After Howard and Lottie married and accumulated enough savings to invest, Graham introduced them to Buffett and they became some of his first investors.

“Having survived the Holocaust, they felt very strongly that they wanted to support the State of Israel as the Jewish homeland and as a refuge for our people,” Ellen said.

It is largely because of Ellen that, when Howard and Lottie passed away, A4BGU received the $500 million donation. This historic gift is profiled in the Matthew Mishory documentary “Who Are the Marcuses?” honored as an official selection of a number of recent film festivals, including the world-famous Santa Barbara International Film Festival, in addition to screenings at the Newport Beach Film Festival,

Omaha Film Festival, and the World Water Film Festival. The film features commentary from Warren Buffett and President Isaac Herzog, among others, as they explore how this gift will ensure leading-edge development in water science and hopefully improve regional peace through technology exchange.

Warren Buffett, who still keeps in contact with Ellen, told her he “salutes what you’ve done for the university. I salute the personal values that you carry. And I salute your parents for imbuing you with those qualities.”

For Ellen, it’s a matter of supporting the Jewish state and higher education, as well as carrying out her parents’ wishes and legacy.

“I follow in my parents’ footsteps,” said Ellen. “It feels wonderful to give back. I think I have achieved my life’s goal to leave this world a better place than when I got here.”

Your Philanthropic Legacy:

How do you want to be remembered?

Endowment to fund your legacy in perpetuity

Naming opportunities for building or capital project

Fund specific research initiatives and/ or programs of your interest

Faculty chair and recruitment opportunities

Scholarships and fellowships

Already included A4BGU in your estate plans?

Let us know so we can welcome you to the Living Legacy Society.

EXAMPLE GIFT TYPES

Direct Gift of Cash or Appreciated Asset

Charitable Bequest

Real Estate

Life Insurance

Pension, Retirement Plan, or IRA*

Charitable Remainder Trust

Charitable Gift Annuity

Make Ben-Gurion University of the Negev part of your legacy by establishing a Charitable Gift Annuity.

NOTES:

• The rates are for ages at the nearest birthday.

• In the month you use cash to establish a gift annuity, a final calculation is made determining the portion that will be paid to you tax-free.

*New for 2023: donors over the age of 70 1/2 can make tax-free Qualified Charitable Distributions from their IRAs of up to $50,000 in one calendar year in exchange for one or more charitable gift annuities. Contact us for more details.

NOVEMBER 19, 2023

Ben-Gurion Day in the USA DREAM

Celebrating the life and legacy of David Ben-Gurion

David Ben-Gurion dreamt of a homeland for the Jewish people and brought it to life. Others saw a desert, but he saw the heart and soul of the Modern State of Israel. Just like the University that carries his name, the first Prime Minister envisioned an Israel that would solve some of the world’s biggest problems.

Without David Ben-Gurion’s dreams and historic accomplishments, Israel would not be the incredible, innovative, and thriving country it is today.

So, we invite you to step into his footsteps and DREAM big with us. Each year on the day of his yahrzeit (anniversary of his passing), Israel pays tribute to David Ben-Gurion, with a national holiday.

Ben-Gurion Day is coming back to the USA!

Join us on November 19th for an EXCLUSIVE virtual celebration.

www.americansforbgu.org/BenGurionDayintheUSA

1001 Avenue of the Americas, 19th Floor

New York, NY 10018

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Together with the buildings surrounding it, the Beersheva High-Tech Park Bridge, shaped like a DNA helix, embodies the present and the future of the Negev’s capital: Ben-Gurion University and the hi-tech park, both in the process of expanding, have completely transformed the city over the course of the years.