Medical faculty exchange

For more information, contact George Stamatis, 216-368-3635 or gxs18@po.cwru.edu.

Posted 12-30-99

Israeli professor researching drug design in new exchange program with CWRU's School of Medicine

A new faculty exchange program is linking Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine and Hebrew University's Faculty of Medicine.

The new Sabbatical Scholars Exchange Program in Basic Sciences is funded with a $75,000 grant from the Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation.

Through the program, Joseph Deutsch, chairman and professor of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has joined the laboratory of Paul Ernsberger, associate professor of nutrition at CWRU's School of Medicine, for one year as a visiting professor.

"The program is so effective because it facilitates communication between two universities and it enables these two universities to combine their expertise," Deutsch said. "In the end, both partners of this collaboration learn a great deal."

Joseph Deutsch (right) from Hebrew University has joined the laboratory of CWRU's Paul Ernsberger for a year as a visiting professor through a new exchange program.

In Ernsberger's lab, Deutsch is analyzing fatty acids in brains of genetically obese rats and also studying nerve cells in the culture dish. He and Ernsberger are testing the effects of different drugs that may be helpful in combating diabetes and high blood pressure by affecting fatty acids and related molecules.

"Dr. Deutsch is helping to take our lab into a new direction, and we are both learning things from one another," Ernsberger said.

Deutsch was born in Romania and has lived in Israel for the past 38 years. He received his doctor of science degree from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel.

Mitch Balk, president of the Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation, said that the foundation supports the exchange program for two major reasons. "First, the value of collaboration in basic science investigation has long been recognized," he said. "Second, the foundation is pleased to play a role in the building of a relationship between Cleveland and Israeli institutions."

Nathan Berger, dean of the medical school and vice president for medical affairs, said, "The foundation's assistance is allowing two great medical schools to establish ties that should be of benefit to both of our communities."

-CWRU-