Prof. Sara Lavi

Emeritus in Dep. of Cell Research and Immunology

מח חקר התא ואימונולוגיה אמריטוס

Email: saralav@tauex.tau.ac.il

Phone: 03-6409832

Another phone: 03-6406090

Fax: 03-6422046

My CRIS profile

Office: Britannia-Porter, 306

CV

Education:
1975-1976	Post-doctoral research; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Department of Virology, CSH, USA
1973-1975	Post-doctoral research; Roche Inst. of Molecular Biology, Dept of Cell Biology- Nutley, NJ, USA
1968-1969	Research Biochemist; University of California-Berkeley, USA, Dept of Biochemistry
1969-1974	Ph.D.; Genetics, Weizmann Institute-Rehovot, Israel
1966-1967	M.Sc.; Microbiology, Bar-Ilan University
1963-1966	B.Sc.; Microbiology, Bar-Ilan University
University Appointments:
2008	Member; Stirring Committee of Academic Quality Assessment
2006-present	Member; Exceptional Cases Committee
2004-2006	Member; New Horizon Committee
2004-2007	Chair; Evaluation Committee, The Gender B.Sc. program
2004-2006	Member; Senate Delegate, Board of Governors
2000	Organizing Committee, TAU
1999-2002	Member; TAU Organizing Commitee
1994-1997	Member; Evaluation Committee, The Ecology B.Sc. program
1989-1995	Chair; Cancer Biology Research Center, TAU
Faculty Appointments:
1998-2001	Chief Scientist, LAVSYS, Bio-Therapy Start-Up Company
1996-2003	Chair; Research Committee at the Israel Cancer Association
2004-	Chair; Department of Cell Research and Immunology, Faculty of Life Sciences
2003-	Chair; Ela Kodesz Institute for Research on Cancer Development & Prevention
2000-2004	Chair; Ph.D. Committee, Faculty of Life Sciences
1994-1997	Chair; Dept of Cell Research & Immunology, Faculty of Life Sciences
1994-2006	Chair; Excelling Students Program, Faculty of Life Sciences
1990-1994	Chair; Teaching Committee
National Commitees:
	Member; Teva Prize Committee (several times)
	Member; Clore Prize (several times)
2008	Member; Israel Prize, Biochemistry
1998	Member; Israel Prize, Biochemistry
International Meeting Organization:
2007	Chair; International Organization Committee, "Tel Aviv University- Charles Heidelberger Symposium on Cancer Research", Mishkenot Shananim Jerusalem May 2007
Honors and Awards:
2004	Annual Research Prize; Israel Cancer Association
1989-1991	Distinction Award; Israel Cancer Association
1989-1994	Career Development Award; Israel Cancer Research Fund
1983-1989	Career Development Award; Leukemia Society of America

Professional memberships:
	The American Society for Microbiology; The American Association for Cancer Research; The American Association for the Advancement of Science; Israel Societies for Experimental Biology; Israel Society of Biochemistry

Research Interests

Specific research interests are:

Stress, cancer and signal transduction: Protein Phosphatases 2C (PP2C), a negative regulator of stress. The role of PP2C in the stress response, tumorigenesis and differentiation. PP2C and the p53-MDM2 feedback loop.
Genomic instability, extrachromosomal circular DNA molecules of heterogeneous (eccDNA) sizes.
1. The involvement of homologous recombination and non homologous end joining in the generation of eccDNA molecules containing repetitive sequences.
2. The role of eccDNA in cancer and ageing.

Recent Publications

Y. Berko-Flint, S. Karby, D. Hassin and S. Lavi. Carcinogen-induced DNA amplifi- cation in vitro: Overreplication of the Simian virus 40 origin region in extracts from carcinogen-treated CO60 cells. Mol. Cell. Biol. Vol.10, 1990 (pp.75-83).

M.I. Aladjem and S. Lavi. Carcinogen-induced activation of SV40 gene expression in a semi-permissive environment. Virology. Vol.189, 1992 (pp.493-499).

M. Aladjem and S. Lavi. The mechanism of carcinogen-induced DNA amplification: in-vivo and in-vitro studies. Mutation Res. Vol.276, 1992 (pp.339-344).

E. Winocour, L. Puzis, S. Etkin, T. Koch, B. Danovich, E. Mendelson, E. Shaulian, S. Karby and S. Lavi. Modulation of the cellular phenotype by integrated adeno-associated virus. Virology Vol.190, 1992 (pp.316-329).

E. Seroussi and S. Lavi. Replication Protein-A is the major single stranded DNA binding protein detected in mammalian cell extracts by gel retardation assays and UV cross-linking of long and short single-stranded DNA molecules. J. Biol. Chem. Vol.268, 1993 (pp.7147-7154).

S. Cohen, D. Hassin, S. Karby and S. Lavi. Hairpin structures are the primary amplification products: a novel mechanism for generation of inverted repeats during gene amplification. Mol. Cell. Biol. Vol.14, 1994 (pp.7782-7792).

S. Cohen and S. Lavi. Circular molecules containing inverted repeats are the primary amplification products in-vivo. Mol. Cell. Biol. Vol.16, 1996 (pp.2002-2014).

S. Cohen, A. Regev, S. Lavi. Small polydispersed circular DNA (spcDNA) in human cells: Association with genomic instability. Oncogene Vol. 14, 1997 (pp.977-985).

S. Gery, S. Lavi. PCR synthesis of cDNA from total RNA. Biotechniques, Vol. 23, 1997 (pp.202-204).

A. Regev, S. Cohen, I. Bar-Am, S. Lavi. Extrachromosomal telomeric repeat sequences on small polydisperse circular DNA (spcDNA) in mammalian cells. Oncogene, Vol.17, 1998 (pp. 3455-3461).

E. Seroussi, N. Shani, D. Ben-Meir, A. Chajut, I. Divinski, S. Faier, S. Gery, S. Karby, Z. Kariv-Inbal, O. Sella, N.I. Smorodinsky, S. Lavi S. Uniquely conserved non-translated regions are involved in generation of the two major transcripts of Protein Phosphatase 2Cbeta. J Mol Biol. Vol. 312; 2001 (pp.439-451).

B. Lifschitz-Mercer Y. Sheinin, D. Ben-Meir, L. Bramante-Schreiber, L. Leider-Trejo, S. Karby, N.I. Smorodinsky, S. Lavi. Protein phosphatase 2C alpha expression in normal human tissues: an immunohistochemical study. Histochem Cell Biol. Vol.116, 2001 (pp.31-39).

P. Ofek, D. Ben-Meir, Z. Kariv-Inbal, M. Oren, S. Lavi . Cell cycle regulation and p53 activation by protein phosphatase 2C alpha. J Biol Chem. Vol.278, 2003 (pp.14299-14305).

P. Ofek, D.Ben-Meir, S. Lavi. An inducible system to study the growth arrest properties of protein phosphatase 2C . Methods Enzymol. Vol. 366 2003 pp.338-47

A. Stern, E. Privman, M. Rasis, S. Lavi, T. Pupko. Evolution of the metazoan protein phosphatase 2C superfamily. J Mol Evol. Vol.64, 2007 (pp61-70).

T. Lammers, P. Peschke, V. Ehemann, J. Debus, B. Slobodin, S. Lavi, P. Huber. Role of PP2C-alpha in cell growth, in radio- and chemosensitivity, and in tumorigenicity. Mol Cancer. Vol.6, 2007 (pp65).

T. Lammers, and S. Lavi. Role of type 2C protein phosphatases in growth regulation and in cellular stress signaling. Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Vol.42, 2007 (pp1–25).

M. Shohat, D.Ben Meir, and S.Lavi. Protein phosphatase 2Cα plays a role, in the differentiation and survival of nerve cells (submitted).

P. Ofek, B. Slobodin, D.Ben-Meir, S. Lavi. Stress induced HDM2 auto-ubiquitination is controlled by phosphatase 2Cα and protein phosphatase 2Cβ (submitted).

Z. Cohen and S. Lavi. Replication Independent Formation of Extrachromosomal Circular DNA in Mammalian cell-free system (submitted).