The Open University of Israel

Dr. Susie Fisher

Department of Natural Sciences

Updated: August   2019

 

Personal

Tel: 972-9-778-1766
Fax: 972-9-778-0661

E-mail: susiefi@openu.ac.il

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Education

1975 B.Sc., Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
1978 M.Sc., Biochemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
1997 Ph.D., History and Philosophy of Science, Department of Philosophy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Dissertation: William Odling and the Establishment of the Chemical-Atomic Paradigm;
Supervisor: Mara Beller
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Professional Experience

1993 - 1997 Instructor, Department of Philosophy, The Program for History and Philosophy of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (see Academic Teaching).
2000 - Academic teaching faculty-member, M.A. Program in Biological Thought, The Open University of Israel.
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Research Fields

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Prizes

1995 The Bar-Hillel Prize, The Program in History and Philosophy of Science, Department of Philosophy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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Teaching Responsibility, Open University Courses

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Other Teaching Activities at the Open University

2000-    In charge of building, updating and uploading materials for the "Biological Thought" program homepage, course homepages and Wiki activities.
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Other Teaching Experience

2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017  Lecture series: Environmental Ethics;  at Mendel University, Brno, Czech Republic. 
1993-1997 Department of Philosophy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Courses: History of Modern Science; History of Chemistry; Selected Readings in History of Chemistry; Experimental Sciences during the Enlightenment; Selected Readings in Experimentation and The Construction of Knowledge
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Publications

Articles in Refereed Journals

Berman E. R., Horowitz J., Segal N., Fisher S. and Feeney-Burns L. (1980). Enzymatic esterification of Vitamin A in the pigment epithelium of bovine retina. Biochim Biophys Acta, 630, 36-46.
Fisher, S. (1996). William Odling: 'Interpreter and Liaison-Officer' advocate of a new system of chemistry. Ambix, 43, 146-162.
Fisher, S. (2010). Not beyond reasonable doubt: Howard Temin's provirus hypothesis revisited. Journal of the History of Biology,43, 661-696. 
Fisher, S. (2010). Are RNA viruses vestiges of an RNA World? Journal for the General Philosophy of Science, 41, 121-141

Fisher, S. (2015). Not just "a clever way to detect whether DNA really made RNA": The invention of DNA-RNA hybridization and its outcome. Studies in the History and Philosophy of Bio & Biomed Sci. pp. 40-52. DOI 10.1016/J.shpsc.2015.07.002

Chapter in book

Fisher, S. (2010). Are RNA viruses vestiges of an RNA World? In U. Deichmann and A. S. Travis (Eds.), Darwinism, Philosophy, and Experimental Biology (pp. 67-87). Dordrecht: Springer.
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Review

 2017, May -remote evaluation, June 6-11, Brussels, on-site

Expert evaluation for Horizon 2020 call: H2020-INFARAIA-2016-2017  
 2016, May -remote evaluation, June 6-8, Brussels, on-site Expert evaluation for Horizon 2020 call: H2020-INFARAIA-2016-2017 
2011  Grant proposal review for the National Science Foundation, USA.
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Conference Organization

Rewriting the Book of Life: Scientific, Regulatory and Social Aspects of Gene Editing. 

In Association with Dr. Otniel E. Dror, Chair of the Bioethics Advisory Committee of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. At the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, May 15, 2019.

Conference Presentations
William Odling and water analysis in nineteenth-century England. Contribution towards the history of chemistry, Sidney M. Edelstein Remembered at Chicago and Jerusalem Symposia, 1995.
Water, bread and chemical theory, Science, Technology and Industry – The Twentieth International Congress of History of Science, Liege, 20-26 July 1997.
Where rivers fail to fulfill their "natural functions," could humans succeed? - Interactions between the environment and humanity in nineteenth-century London. International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology, Vienna, July 2003.
Just discovered, swiftly applied: Bacteriophage therapy during the early years of the twentieth century in the United States, Meeting of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, Guelph, Canada, 13-17 July 2005.
Not Beyond Reasonable Doubt – A Re-examination of Howard Temin's Provirus Hypothesis, Meeting of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, Exeter, UK, 25-29 July 2007
Are RNA Viruses Vestiges of an RNA World? Historical Perspectives and Current Views. (invited lecture). International Workshop Darwinism and Functional Biology, Other Sciences and the Humanities March 30 - April 1, 2009.
DNA makes RNA (makes protein) - DNA/RNA hybridization and the making of molecular genetics. Meeting of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, Salt Lake city, University of Utah, July 10-15, 2011
Synthetic biology and the almighty fixers. Meeting of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology. Montpellier, France,  2013.
“Life Created” – For the Love of Science? Meeting of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology. SauPaulo, Brazil,2019
RNA-DNA Hybridization: A Story of Invention and Vanished Recognition,Meeting of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology. Oslo, Norway, 2019