More than time separates Denver from Jerusalem. Unless your Israeli subject speaks excellent English or the American journalist’s Hebrew is impeccable (lo!), language can be problematic, especially idiomatic expressions.
When the voice on the other end of the phone belongs to a stellar neuroscientist and the topic is medical research and development (R&D) in Israel, all bets are off — at least on this side.
After a few dropped calls, I connect with Dr. Shai Efrati, head of R&D at the Institute of Hyperbaric Medicine and Nephrology Division at Assaf-Harofeh Medical Center on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.
His latest innovation is HBOT, a hyperbaric oxygen treatment developed in conjunction with Prof. Eshel Ben-Jacob of Tel Aviv University. The chamber improves the function of stroke victims up to three years (and occasionally even 20 years) after the initial trauma.
HBOT is one of those medical miracles that the global community is proudly shouting from its highest rooftops.
“But that’s not all we’re working on,” says Efrati, who’s also on the faculty at TAU’s Sackler School of Medicine. His team is investigating the use of oral insulin for Type 1 diabetics, Alzheimer’s and a new concept for cancer treatment.
The 43-year-old doctor’s accomplishments entitle to him to unbridled braggadocio. Instead he encourages immediate ease. “You can call me Shai,” he reassures. “Everyone does.”
Medical advances in Israel rank among the most promising in the world — and they flow like a cornucopia.
We offer a few examples for your perusal.
• The NaNose artificial olfactory system detects cancer in its earliest stages, well before tumors are visible on x-rays, by analyzing a person’s breath.
• The ImMucin cancer vaccine trains the body’s immune cells to attack a specific molecule found only in cancer cells.
• OrCam, a pocket-sixed computer linked to a camera that clips on to eyeglasses, “reads” what the user sees in his or her line of vision and translates it in an audible voice. Currently, the device reads only English.
• The Bio-Retina, currently under development by Nano Retina, is a tiny device inserted into the eye and attached to the retina in a 30-minute procedure. The embedded sensor offers grey-scale vision to the blind almost instantaneously.
• Dr. Kira Radinsky has developed software than can help predict pandemics like the Cuban cholera pandemic of 2012.
• The Robot Snake, developed in association with the Technion, is a flexible, multi-jointed robot designed to explore collapsed buildings and locate victims, thereby assisting in rescue efforts.
Last but hardly least, there’s Dr. Efrati’s HBOT. Results have been so astonishing that research has been expanded to include victims of traumatic brain injuries, early stage Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.
No doubt next week’s headlines will announce new medical breakthroughs in the Jewish state. But what’s the underlying metholodgy that leads Israeli researchers to defiantly advance from Point A to Point B and beyond?
“I’m always laughing with colleagues who are working with big pharmaceutical companies in Europe or the States,” Efrati says. “Their dream is having a job at a huge company because it gives them security from a financial point of view.
“But in Israel, the dream is creating something new. The atmosphere is different here, and that difference inspires innovation.”
Efrati, who served in the IDF from 1989-1992, credits the military for fostering an early willingness to take risks in every area of life — including the laboratory.
“When you are 18, you go into the military,” he says in broken English. Still, we understand each other. The desire to get to the bottom of things, whether journalistic or scientific, shares a universal code.
“You are responsible for your life and the life of your friends,” Efrati continues. “You have a sense of responsibility. And you also become used to situations that are . . . insecure.
“Creating something new is a high-risk activity,” he says.
“Every time you are risking yourself in a way. But if you take high risks at every stage of your life, then researching something new and trying to bring it to reality doesn’t look so terrifying.”
Efrati admits that he’s had his share of failures. “No one succeeds all the time. But it doesn’t scare me. I am ready to take the risk.”
Is there something inherent in the Jewish mind that accounts for creative genius?
Efrati laughs softly, because he’s already formulated a response.
“The percentage of Nobel Prize winners who are Jewish is higher than in the population at large — and in Israel you have many Jewish people! Probably a lot of things come together.”
At least 193 Jews (including individuals with Jewish backgrounds) have received the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2013.
This number translates to 23% of all individual recipients worldwide. Considering Jews currently make up 0.2% of the global population, it’s a breathtaking achievement.
“Jews in general have creative minds,” he says. “It’s not that our education is better. I don’t think that’s true. But the creativity is higher, as is the willingness to take risks.”
Efrati mentions an Israeli saying that he recites in Hebrew. “Are you familiar with this?”
Lo.
He explains.
“When someone asks you what will happen if, you say, ‘It will be OK.’ Why will it be OK?You say, ‘Count on me. Count on me.’
Efrati says that this mutual trust, an integral part of Israeli society, is due to the army experience.
“Good things happen in the military,” he says. “You grow up very fast. You are getting out of the house, which is always good. You are responsible for things that are uncertain — which means you are willing to solve problems.”
When medical researchers first examine a problem, Efrati says they usually lack a specific direction or methodology that will lead to a solution.
“Often you start with nothing. You initiate the process of solving a problem without even knowing how to reach the end. You do the work solely because there is a problem.
“We enjoy traveling our way to the solution,” he says. “The traveling is worth it.”
Israel’s coordinated R&D system is unparalleled. Hospitals, institutions, researchers and students collaborate seamlessly. Egos are left at the door. Top-to-bottom bureaucracy bows to full equality.
This democratic spirit yields extraordinary benefits to mankind.
“In Israel you don’t have somebody who is the manager telling everybody else what to do,” Efrati elucidates.
“For example, at the hyperbaric center we hold a weekly meeting to discuss our progress.
“We sit in a circle. Nobody sits at the head of the table. Everyone is the same.
“Even the woman who cleans the floors and washes the dishes can speak with me. And I’m the head of the department. If she says, ‘Shai, I don’t think you’re doing things right,’ I listen to her.
“Nurses can tell me, ‘You have an amazing concept but you are absolutely wrong.’ And I can say the same thing to the hospital director.”
This intentionally structured (or unstructured) environment streamlines the tangled journey toward tangible results.
“If you can discuss things at this level, it works,” Efrati says. “You never know where the next great idea is waiting. It can come from anywhere, and anyone.”
At my request, he emails his CV — all 36 pages.
Dr. Efrati earned his medical degree at Ben-Gurion University.
An expert in hyperbaric medicine, he’s also a nephrology specialist who has delivered papers at cardiology conferences and congresses.
His honors include the Presidential Trainee Award of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2003; Rotary Award for Excellent Worker of the Year, 2003-2004; TAU’s Vladimir Shreiber Grant, 2004.
The Chief Scientist Office of the Israel Ministry of Health singled him out in 2008.
A married father of four, Efrati arrives at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. and returns home around 9:30 p.m. There isn’t a trace of regret, stress or fatigue in his tone.
Actually, it registers pure delight.
“I’m not doing this for the money, although I get paid,” he stresses with an unseen smile. “And I never look at what I do as work.
“I enjoy myself every day. I am the luckiest guy in the world.”
Copyright © 2014 by the Intermountain Jewish News
