Winter 2011
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Prof. Gidi Gross: The Open University Changed His Life, But Not His Residence
...continued from previous page.
From the Open University to the Weizmann Institute"When I came to the Weizmann Institute, I had a lot of concerns. But, they disappeared rather rapidly, because I saw that thanks to the Open University, I was well prepared, both in the study material and the laboratory skills.When I completed my doctorate, Professor Eshhar and I continued our research at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, USA, a leader in cancer immunotherapy research. For my post-doctorate I continued onto Cambridge, England where I worked on the genetics of the immune system at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of the Medical Research Council. There I also had the privilege of working alongside three famous Nobel Prize winners: Max Perutz, Aaron Klug and Cesar Milstein." "All this time I spent in the US and England, I had no idea what I would do upon returning to Israel. I was sure though, that we would continue to live in Almagor. I never once thought of leaving Almagor to do research." The Gross family returned to Israel in 1993, and Gidi began checking out places where he could continue his research. It was actually his wife who told him about Migal – Galilee Technology Center. Gidi: "We are talking about a life sciences research institute, that was established in 1979 by a few deeply motivated and dedicated people from local kibbutzim, all university graduates, who had a vision: use the knowledge of locals to develop the Galilee, particularly the Upper Galilee. This would mean that talented people could remain living here. They established Migal – the only one of its kind – a research institute run as an independent non-profit company. I am a scientist and I do scientific work, just like at any other university. I have all the necessary equipment available to do high-quality research. No one tells me what to do and I am entirely independent. I raise the funds I need to conduct my research studies with my team – master's and doctoral students and research assistants. We have 15 research groups working on different life sciences and environmental projects." Dean of FacultyFor the past 15 years, Gidi has had his own laboratory at Migal, where he continues to research genetic approaches for recruiting the immune system to counter illness – but he considers this research no less important than his academic activities at nearby Tel Hai College.The regional college was established in 1957, and became an academic institution in the mid 1990's with the establishment of the biotechnology program by members of Migal. The Faculty of Sciences and Technology in the College now has five programs: biotechnology, environmental sciences, nutrition sciences, food sciences, and computer sciences, and there is a master's program in biotechnology, with and without thesis. There is also a large faculty of social sciences and humanities. Migal scientists and researchers are members of the faculty, and their students serve as assistants at the college. Gidi became an associate professor a year ago, and was recently appointed Dean of Faculty at Tel Hai College, after having completed five years as head of the Biotechnology program. Several months ago, Gidi met with Prof. Anat Barnea, Dean of Research at the Open University, and her predecessor Prof. Miriam Souroujon to discuss possible joint activities between the Open University and Tel Hai College. Gidi keeps up with developments at the Open University, and is interested in all that happens here – for after all it was the Open University which changed his life, but not his residence. |