2024 Colton Center War on Autoimmune Diseases

Tel Aviv University's Colton Center for Autoimmune Diseases published several calls for proposals this year, including Eureka pilot grants for 50K$ proceeding the center Eureka boutique events, Emergency 7th October research grants (up to 50K$) and the Colton Center's development grants of $200K.

The Winning Teams

This year, a total of nine teams won grants, comprised of researchers from different institutions:  

Winners of the development 200k$ grants:

1.     Prof. Ben Maoz, TAU; “Mini-Me-on-a-Chip: A Novel Platform for Assessing Autoimmune Disease”

2.     Dr. Maayan Gal, TAU; Dr. Ehud Zigmond, Sheba. Study titled “Old dog new tricks - Developing new mode-of-action calcineurin inhibitors for acute colitis therapeutics”

Dr. Maayan Gal                                                           Prof. Ben Maoz,

Winners of the 7th of October grants:

1.     Prof. Alon Kalron, TAU; Dr. Roy Aloni, Sheba; “The impact of the October 7th war on stress, coping strategies, risk of relapse and disease progression in people with multiple sclerosis”

2.     Prof. Talma Hendler, TAU; Dr. Asia Rolls, TAU; Dr. Yifat Alcalay, TLVMC; Avi Gadoth, TLVMC; Dr. David Hagin, TLVMC; Investigating the Possible Association Between Traumatic Stress and Exacerbation of Autoimmune Diseases”

Winners of the Eureka Autoimmunity & Ecology grants:

1.     Prof. Marcelo Erlich, TAU; Prof Arnon Lotem, TAU; Dr. David Hagin TLVMC;” Deficiency in adenosine deaminase 2 as a model for vascular inflammation triggered by dysregulated cellular responses to signals resembling pathogen-associated molecular patterns.”

2.     Prof. Tal Pupko, Tau; Prof. Daphna Paran, TLVMC; Dr. Anat Aharon, TLVMC; Tali

Eviatar, TLVMC; Prof. Sol Efroni, BIU;” Extracellular Vesicles - A potential biomarker for systemic lupus erythematosus disease flare, lupus nephritis activity and chronicity and prediction of response to treatment.”

3.     Dr. Yael Korem Kohanim, Yale MS; Prof. Dror Mevorach, Dr.Tali Ilovitsh, TAU; Tal Barkai, WIS; Dr. Orly Efros, WIS; ”Postpartum Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis as a paradigm for transient autoimmune disease”

Prof. Daphna Paran                                                                                      Prof. Uri Nevo

Winners of the Eureka Autoimmunity & Mind grants:

1.     Prof. Gabriel Chodick, TAU; Dr. Noa Ben Aroya Milshtein, SCMCI; Dr. Orit Peled, SCMCI; Dr. Keren Shakhar; Prof. Gil Amarilyo, SCMCI. “Autoimmune Disease Incidence in Israel Before and During the Israel – Hamas War: Exploring the Relationship with Psychiatric Morbidity and New Medication Use”

2.     Dr. Ricardo Tarrasch, TAU; Prof. Bella Ungar, Sheba; Dr. Abigail Livny-Ezer, Sheba; “Investigating the association between Brain Functional Connectivity, psychological factors and intestinal inflammation in Patients with Crohn's Disease: A Comparative Study with Healthy Controls"

Prof. Bella Ungar                                                                           Dr. Noa Ben Aroya Milshtein                      

Equipped to Provide Significant Insights

The research carried out by these skilled teams, supported by the Colton Center for Autoimmune Diseases, is poised to substantially enhance our understanding and management of autoimmune diseases. Their interdisciplinary strategies and advanced techniques hold promise for advancing diagnostics, treatment options, and patient care in the future.