May 2019: The 14th Edmond J. Safra Retreat

 

 

The 125 participants included faculty members, post-graduate and graduate students from the Schools of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Medicine, and from the Faculties of Life Sciences and Engineering, and twenty seven 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate students of the bioinformatics program. 

 

The scientific program of the retreat included keynote talks by Dr. Asaf Levy, (Faculty of Agriculture, the Hebrew University), and Prof. Yaniv Erlich, CSO MyHeritage.  Three talks were given by TAU PIs: New Edmond J. Safra member and fellow Prof. Elhanan Borenstein (CS & Medicine), Edmond J. Safra member and fellow Dr. Rani Elkon (Medicine), and New Edmond J. Safra affiliate Dr. Asaf Madi (Medicine).

 

In addition, bioinformatics graduate students Gali Yanovich-Arad, (Geiger lab, Medicine), Amit Frishberg, Edmond J. Safra PhD fellow, (Gat-Viks lab, LS), Eldad Shulman, Edmond J. Safra PhD fellow, (Elkon lab, Medicine) and Shir Bahiri, Edmond J. Safra PhD fellow (Tuller lab, Engineering).

 

The program included also two lively poster sessions with 57 posters. The winners of the best poster prizes were Tom Rabinowitz, Edmond J. Safra PhD fellow (Shomron lab, Medicine) for "Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis using deep learning", and Shiran Abadi, Edmond J. Safra PhD fellow (Mayrose lab, LS) for "ModelTeller: A machine-learning approach for phylogenetic model selection". A poster highlights session preceded each poster session, wherein every poster presenter provided a one-slide, on-minute "advertisement" of her/his poster.

 

In the PIs-students mixer, PIs and students split into groups and discussed various meta-scientific topics. This session provided an opportunity for students from all degrees to meet a PI in an informal manner and to discuss a subject of interest to them.

 

On the first day, on the way to Maagan, there was a stop at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu in Beit She'an Valley for a Bio-Tour.

 

The extra-curricular activities included an evening program with social games and some short social activities in between the scientific talks.

 

The organizing committee consisted of Dr. Adi Stern (Chair), Prof. Oded Rechavi and Prof. Yoel Shkolnisky, and students, who led the evening activities.

 

We heard many excellent responses on all aspects of the retreat. We can again be proud of our community and students!

 

For pictures click here.