Yaakov Nahmias

Yaakov "Koby" Nahmias is an Israeli biomedical engineer and entrepreneur. Nahmias is a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an affiliated member of the NIH-funded BioMEMS Resource Center at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Yaakov Nahmias
BornApr, 1974
Tel Aviv, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
Alma materTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota
AwardsNIH Research Scientist Development Award (K01), 2008; Golda Meir Fellowship, 2009; Marie Curie Reintegration Grant, 2010; European Research Council Starting Grant, 2011; Rappaport Prize for Biomedical Sciences, 2014; European Research Council Consolidator Grant, 2016;
Scientific career
FieldsLiver Biology, Systems Biology, Biomedical Engineering
InstitutionsHebrew University of Jerusalem, Harvard Medical School
Doctoral advisorDavid Odde

Nahmias is the founding director of the Alexander Grass Center for Bioengineering. He is a co-founder of Israel’s BioDesign Medical Innovation program, recently listed as a major reason for Boston Scientific's continued investment in Israel.[1]

In 2014, he won the Rappaport Prize for Biomedical Sciences for his “groundbreaking work on liver tissue engineering” and the “development of nanotechnology therapies for the treatment of diabetes”.[2][3]

Nahmias edited a book titled Microdevices in Biology and Medicine, and is currently serving as a technology consultant for L’Oreal,[4] and a member of the European Research Council panel for applied life sciences and biotechnology.[5]

Career

Yaakov Nahmias received his B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering and Biology from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, graduating Magna Cum Laude.[6] He completed his PhD at the University of Minnesota with David Odde,[7] and his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School with Martin Yarmush. In 2006, he became an independent investigator at Harvard Medical School, winning a NIH Research Scientist Development Award (K01).[8] Nahmias moved to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2009, where he won two major European Research Council (ERC) Starting and Consolidator Grants,[9][10] and founded the Alexander Grass Center for Bioengineering. In 2010, Nahmias became a Golda Meir fellow and a member of the ERC Starting Grant panel on applied life sciences and biotechnology (LS9).[11] In 2012, Nahmias together with Chaim Lotan, established BioDesign Israel, a multi-disciplinary program in medical innovation taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and its affiliated Hadassah Medical Center.[12] Spin offs from the BioDesign program raised over $1.2 million in investments, won national awards and were featured in MassChallenge.

Research

Nahmias is a liver biologist and a biomedical engineer who took part in the development of Lodamin, the first oral, broad-spectrum angiogenesis inhibitor [13] and the first decellularization of an intact liver for transplantation.[14] His own work showed that the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) assembles on VLDL and that its production is blocked by the grapefruit flavonoid naringenin.[15] Nahmias' work is leading to a growing understanding of the role of diet and nutrition on liver metabolism,[16] including the first demonstration that gut bacteria affect liver development after birth,[17] and explaining the toxic effects of acetaminophen using liver-on-chip technology.[18]

Personal life

Nahmias is married to Michal Haimov, an attorney specializing in real estate and securities. The couple met at the University of Minnesota, are currently living in Eden Prairie and have three children.

References
  1. Boston Scientific "Interesting in increasing activity in Israel", Israel: Globes, Israel Business Arena, August 2015, retrieved 15 Oct 2015
  2. Biotech breakthroughs net two scientists Rappaport prize, Israel: Times of Israel, February 2014, retrieved 15 Oct 2015
  3. 2014 Rappaport Prize for Excellence in Biomedical Research Awarded to Hebrew University's Dr. Yaakov Nahmias, Israel: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, February 2014, retrieved 15 Oct 2015
  4. LinkedIN Profile, April 2015, retrieved 15 Oct 2015
  5. ERC Panel Members 2011 (PDF), Belgium: European Research Council, July 2011, retrieved 2 June 2013
  6. Yaakov Nahmias CV, Israel: Hebrew University, August 2012, retrieved 28 May 2013
  7. Odde Lab Website, United States: University of Minnesota, April 2013, retrieved 2 June 2013
  8. NIH Project 1K01DK080241, United States: National Institute of Health, June 2013, retrieved 2 June 2013
  9. ERC Project TMIHCV, Belgium: CORDIS Europa, April 2010, retrieved 2 June 2013
  10. ERC Project OCLD, Belgium: CORDIS Europa, October 2016, retrieved 13 October 2016
  11. ERC Panel Members 2011 (PDF), Belgium: European Research Council, July 2011, retrieved 2 June 2013
  12. Jerusalem BioDesign: Medical Innovation, Israel: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Nov 2012, retrieved 2 June 2013
  13. New Oral Angiogenesis Inhibitor Offers Potential Nontoxic Therapy For A Wide Range Of Cancers, United States: Science Daily, June 2008, retrieved 2 June 2013
  14. Uygun, Basak E.; Soto-Gutierrez, Alejandro; Yagi, Hiroshi; Izamis, Maria-Louisa; Guzzardi, Maria A.; Shulman, Carley; Milwid, Jack; Kobayashi, Naoya; Tilles, Arno; Berthiaume, Francois; Hertl, Martin; Nahmias, Yaakov; Yarmush, Martin L.; Uygun, Korkut (Sep 2010), "Organ reengineering through development of a transplantable recellularized liver graft using decellularized liver matrix", Nature Medicine, United States: Faculty of 10,000 Medicine, 16 (7): 814–820, doi:10.1038/nm.2170, PMC 2930603, PMID 20543851, retrieved 2 June 2013
  15. Hampton, Tracy (April 2008), "Grapefruit Compound Battles Hepatitis C", JAMA, United States: Journal of the American Medical Association, 299 (13): 1532, doi:10.1001/jama.299.13.1532, PMID 18387924
  16. Avior, Yishai; Bomze, David; Ramon, Ory; Nahmias, Yaakov (April 2013), "Flavonoids as dietary regulators of nuclear receptor activity", Food & Function, Britain: Royal Society of Chemistry, 4 (6): 831–44, doi:10.1039/C3FO60063G, PMC 3781338, PMID 23598551
  17. Israeli Scientist Has Baby, Realizes How to Grow Viable Liver Cells in the Lab, Israel: Haaretz, July 2015, retrieved 15 Oct 2015
  18. Researchers: Acetaminophen toxic at lower levels than thought, Jerusalem: UPI, August 2015, retrieved 15 Oct 2015
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