Carla always knew her future would be in medicine. She grew up in a family of medical professionals, but found herself drawn to medical research, rather than practice. She set her mind on the Hebrew University’s biomedical sciences program. “I wanted the best education I could get,” she says. Her high school had been primarily in English, so she first completed the Rothberg International School’s preparatory program to bring her Hebrew up to speed.
During her undergraduate studies, Carla joined Prof. Rotem Karni’s lab. She shadowed a doctoral student, experiencing the trials and tribulations of biomedical research: lab life, successes, failures, publishing, and everything in between. With every day that passed, Carla knew she’d chosen the right path.
During the final year of her studies, Carla heard about the new Abisch-Frenkel Excellence in Biomedical Research program and decided to apply. Today she is in the program’s second cohort. Abisch-Frenkel graduate students begin a master’s degree and during their second year, transition to the direct PhD track. In addition to their studies and research, they participate in a unique year-long course that teaches them skills that will serve them as researchers: written and oral communication, problem solving, creativity, critical thinking, and more.
Carla is conducting her research under the supervision of Prof. Karni and in collaboration with Prof. Zvika Granot. Employing a method that won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018, she searches for peptides (the building blocks of proteins) that target cancerous leukemic cells – but not regular cells. This is the first step towards developing more precise cancer therapies. “There is currently no cure for leukemia – one major form of treatment is chemotherapy, which has awful side effects, killing good cells along with cancerous ones,” Carla explains. Once identified, this peptide could be used to “decorate” nanoparticles that encapsulate RNA therapies developed by Prof. Karni, serving, essentially, as a precise drug delivery system. This would eliminate tumors more easily, while greatly reducing negative side effects.
“Hebrew University is a great place to conduct medical research. I feel that we’re all on one large team, motivated by the drive to advance medicine and medical knowledge.”