Dean's Commitee

Prof. Karen B. Avraham, PhD, Dean

Prof. Karen B. Avraham, PhD, is a scientist and academic leader. She is the Dean of the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences and holds the Drs. Sarah and Felix Dumont Chair for Research of Hearing Disorders at the Gray School of Medical Sciences at Tel Aviv University. As Dean, Prof. Avraham has had an integral role in setting strategy for the preclinical, clinical and research directions of the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, an academic medical faculty that includes the Gray School of Medicine, the Gray School of Medical Sciences, the Steyer School of Health Professions, the School of Public Health, the Goldshlager School of Dental Medicine, and the Center for Continuing Medical Education.

Her research focuses on gene discovery, epigenomics and therapy for hearing loss, epilepsy, developmental delay, and respiratory disorders. She is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on the genetics of hearing loss and has successfully developed gene therapies in models of human deafness. Her team is actively collaborating with the Israel Ministry of Health to establish a nationwide newborn screening program using next-generation sequencing, as part of a broader effort to advance diagnostics and therapy through a precision medicine approach to human disease.

A founding member of the International Society for Inner Ear Therapeutics, Professor Avraham also serves as an advisor to the Lancet Commission on Global Hearing Loss. She has held an NIH R01 grant continuously since 2011 and currently has the Israel Science Foundation Breakthrough Research Program and MAVRI grants, in addition to numerous other competitive national and international grants. She has mentored over 150 students, postdoctoral fellows, and medical doctors, and has published more than 200 manuscripts and reviews in leading scientific journals.

Most recently, Prof. Avraham received the FISEB STAR Award for Scientific Excellence and Leadership and the international CORLAS Shambaugh Prize for Excellence in Otology Research.

Prof. Rina Rosin-Arbesfeld, PhD, Vice Dean for Preclinical Affairs.

Prof. Rina Rosin-Arbesfeld is a Full Professor at the Department of Cancer Biology & Immunology at the Gray School of Medical Sciences..

She received her PhD in Biochemistry and Microbiology from TAU and trained as a post-doctoral fellow at the MRC-LMB in Cambridge, UK. Her research focuses on molecular mechanisms underlining Wnt signaling in normal development and in malignant transformation, as well as seeking and developing novel therapeutic approaches to orphan genetic disorders.

Prof. Anat Gafter-Gvili, MD, Vice Dean for Clinical Teaching Excellence & Mentoring

Prof. Anat Gafter-Gvili, MD, is Vice Dean for Clinical Teaching Excellence & Mentoring at the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences and Head of the Gray School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University.

She is a leading specialist in internal medicine and hematology. Since 2015, she has served as Director of Internal Medicine Department A at Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson Hospital) and as a senior physician at the Institute of Hematology.

Prof. Gafter-Gvili is actively engaged in research and has published more than 175 original articles in leading scientific journals. She has also been closely involved in medical education at Tel Aviv University and has served as Head of the Department of Internal Medicine at the Gray School of Medicine since 2022.

Prof. Amit Segev, MD, FESC, FACC

Prof. Amit Segev, MD, FESC, FACC, is a full Professor of Cardiology. He received his medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) and completed his training in internal medicine and cardiology in Kfar-Saba, Israel, followed by a fellowship in Interventional Cardiology and cardiovascular research at St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada. He is an internationally recognized interventional cardiologist and currently serves as Director of the Heart & Vascular Center at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. Previously, he served for a decade as Director of the Division of Cardiology at Sheba Medical Center and as President of the Israel Heart Society. Prof. Segev has held longstanding academic leadership roles at Tel Aviv University, including Chair of the Clinical Promotion Committee, and has been deeply involved in medical education, mentorship, clinical research, and cardiovascular innovation. His academic and clinical work focuses on interventional cardiology, coronary artery disease, structural heart disease, and transcatheter valve interventions. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 original peer-reviewed scientific publications, including publications in leading medical and cardiovascular journals. A dedicated educator, he has received multiple teaching awards from Tel Aviv University and has trained and mentored generations of medical students, residents, fellows, and young investigators.

Prof. Ronen Zaidel-Bar, PhD, Vice Dean for Preclinical Research Innovation & Development

Prof. Ronen Zaidel-Bar is a Full Professor at the Department of Cell, Developmental & Regenerative Biology at the Gray School of Medical Sciences.

He completed his Ph.D. in Molecular Cell Biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science and postdoctoral training at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Before joining TAU he was a Principal Investigator at the Mechanobiology Institute and Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore. His research focuses on cytoskeletal organization, cell and tissue mechanobiology and their understanding to prevent birth defects and to treat numerous diseases, such as asthma, hypertension, and cancer metastasis.

Prof. Dov Hershkovitz

Prof. Dov Hershkovitz is an Associate Professor at the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University and Director of the Institute of Pathology at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the Technion Faculty of Medicine and completed his residency in Pathology at Rambam Health Care Campus. His research focuses on translational cancer diagnostics, including digital and computational pathology, artificial intelligence, molecular diagnostics, liquid biopsy, and cancer biomarker discovery, aiming to improve diagnosis, treatment selection, and patient outcomes.

Prof. Yoav Yinon, MD

Prof. Yoav Yinon is a Full Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and serves as the Chair of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel-Aviv University.

Prof. Yinon is the Head of the Fetal Medicine Unit in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Sheba Medical Center.

He obtained his medical degree from the School of Medicine at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Sheba Medical Center. He did his fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Toronto at Mount Sinai Hospital and has sub-specialized in Fetal Therapy.

Prof. Yinon served as Chair of the Israeli Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine between 2018–2021. His research focuses on monochorionic twins, congenital CMV infection, fetal growth restriction and fetal therapy.

Prof. Ido Tavor, PhD

Prof. Ido Tavor, PhD, is a faculty member at the Gray School of Medical Sciences and the Sagol School of Neuroscience. He completed his PhD at Tel Aviv University, followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Oxford, where he specialized in advanced imaging techniques.

His interdisciplinary lab combines computational, statistical, and cognitive neuroscience methods to study the human brain and behavior. His research focuses on the factors underlying behavioral and functional differences between individuals, using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

In particular, Prof. Tavor uses advanced imaging techniques to investigate how differences in brain connectivity and microstructure affect brain function and human behavior in both healthy and clinical populations. His work aims to better understand the relationship between brain structure, brain function, and individual differences in behavior.