• 2007-2012 Postdoctoral fellow, laboratory of Prof. Don Cleveland, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, The University of California San Diego. La Jolla, CA, USA.
• 2001-2007 Ph.D. Summa cum laude, Biochemistry. Department of Life Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.
• 1998-2001 B.Sc. Biology (Major-Biochemistry). Department of Life Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.

• Molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration
• Misfolded proteins in neurodegenerative diseases
• Misfolded SOD1 toxicity in ALS
• Mitochondrial dysfunction in ALS

• Biochemistry and molecular biology
• Molecular genetics
• ALS models

          Representative Publications:

• Israelson A , Arbel N, Da Cruz S, Ilieva H, Yamanaka K, Shoshan-Barmatz V and Cleveland DW. Misfolded mutant SOD1 directly inhibits VDAC1 conductance in a mouse model of inherited ALS. Neuron 67, 575-587 (2010).
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• Li Q*, Vande Velde C*, Israelson A , Xie J, Bailey AO, Dong M, Chun S, Roy T, Yates JR., Capaldi RA, Cleveland DW and Miller TM. ALS-linked mutant superoxide dismutase 1(SOD1) alters mitochondrial protein composition and decreases protein import. PNAS 107, 21146-21151 (2010).
• Agam G and Israelson A . Why lithium studies for ALS treatment should not be halted prematurely. Front. Neurosci 8, 267 (2014).
• Getter T, Zaks I, Barhum Y, Ben-Zur T, B?selt S, Gregoire S, Viskind O, Shani T, Gottlieb H, Green O, Shubely M, Senderowitz H, Israelson A , Kwon I, Petri S, Offen D and Gruzman A. A novel chemical chaperone-based drug candidate is effective in mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ChemMedChem . 10, 850-861 (2015).

• Israelson A#, Ditsworth D, Sun S, Song SW, Liang J, Hruska-Plochan M, McAlonis-Downes M, Abu-Hamad S, Zoltsman G, Shani T, Maldonado M, Bui A, Navarro M, Zhou H, Marsala M, Kaspar BK, Da Cruz S and Cleveland DW#. Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) as a Chaperone Inhibiting Accumulation of Misfolded SOD1. Neuron 86, 218-232 (2015). #corresponding author
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• Leyton-Jaimes M*, Benaim C*, Abu-Hamad S*, Guetta A, Kahn J, Bucala R, and Israelson A. Endogenous Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Reduces the Accumulation and Toxicity of Misfolded SOD1 in a Mouse Model of ALS. PNAS 113, 10198-10203 (2016).
• Banerjee V*, Shani T, Katzman B, Vyazmensky M, Papo N, Israelson A and Engel S. SOD1–derived peptide inhibits amyloid-like aggregation of misfolded SOD1. ACS Chem. Neurosci. 7, 1595-1606 (2016).
• Shani T, Levy M, and Israelson A. Assay to measure nucleocytoplasmic transport in real time using motor neuron-like NSC-34 cells. J. Vis. Exp. 123, e55676 (2017).
• Abu-Hamad S, Kahn J, Leyton-Jaimes M, Rosenblatt J and Israelson A. Misfolded SOD1 accumulation and mitochondrial association contribute to the selective vulnerability of motor neurons in familial ALS: correlation to human disease. ACS Chem. Neurosci. 8, 2225-2234 (2017).
• Leyton-Jaimes M, Kahn J and Israelson A. Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor: A Multifaceted Cytokine Implicated in Multiple Neurological Diseases. Exp. Neurol. 301, 83-91 (2018).
• Shvil N, Banerjee V,  Zoltsman G, Shani T, Kahn J, Abu-Hamad S, Papo N, Engel S, Bernhagen J and Israelson A. MIF inhibits the formation and toxicity of misfolded SOD1 amyloid aggregates: Implications for familial ALS. Cell Death & Disease 9, 107 (2018).

Representative Grants:

1. 2011-2014- Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) development grant
2. 2013-2014 - The Israeli ALS association (IsrALS)
3. 2013-2017- Marie curie career integration grants funded by the European Commission (people programme, FP7)
4. 2014– 2015 - The German-Israeli Foundation (GIF)
5. 2014– 2016 - Bi-National Science Foundation (BSF)
6. 2014– 2019 - Israel Science Foundation (ISF), individual research grant
7. 2014– 2019 - Israel Science Foundation (ISF), lab equipment for new faculty member
8. 2014 – 2015 - National Institute for Psychobiology in Israel (NIPI)
9. 2015– 2018 – EuroNanoMed, Consortium research grant
10. 2018- 2021- Bi National Science Foundation (BSF)
11. 2019- 2022- The German-Israeli Foundation (GIF)