Lab Manager

Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Technion,
Haifa 3200003, Israel
Phone: +972 77-887-1280

irenabr@bm.technion.ac.il

 

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Thousands of years ago, a person walking near the mountains of Jerusalem saw a group of laborers lifting heavy rocks up the mountain’s slope.
The person approached one of the laborers and asked: “What are you doing?” Answered the man: “I am lifting heavy rocks up the mountain”.
The person then approached another laborer and asked: “What are you doing?” Answered the man: “I am building the Temple of Jerusalem”.

Laboratory work can often seem tedious and boring. But knowing the objective and purpose behind it is what provides the energy and enthusiasm to see it through. The research of biological systems – the building blocks of our existence – is full of wonder. And the unique combination of physical models with biological research is what makes our lab special.

I find the research to be like forensic detective work which requires both imagination and faith – that despite the obstacles, we shall eventually peel yet another layer of that onion which is the mystery of life.

Beyond work and research, as a lab manager, it is of personal importance to me that the lab becomes a second home for students. A safe place for research questions, debates, and sharing. A nurturing environment in which students can sprout, grow, and become the future generation of researchers and scientists.

This combination of research and mentoring is my passion.

Education

2015 – Ph.D. in Biology, Supervisors: Prof. Yaron Shav-Tal & Prof. Yuval Garini, Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
2007 – 2008 Post-Doc. under the supervision of Prof. Amiram Grinvald, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel.

2006 – Ph.D. in Physics, under the supervision of Prof. Benjamin Ehrenberg, Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
2003 – M.Sc. in Physics, under the supervision of Prof. Benjamin Ehrenberg, Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
2000 – B.Sc., Department of Optics and Spectroscopy, Faculty of Physics, Kazan University, Russia.

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Prizes & Awards

2021 Employee excellence award, Bar Ilan University.

2017 Best poster presentation in 25th Wilhelm Bernhard Workshop on the Cell Nucleus, Nighniy Novgorod, Russia.

2012 International Travel award, Biophysical Society Meeting.

2011  Best poster presentation in “Annual Meeting of the Israel Biophysical Society” conference, Tel Aviv, Israel

2004 Scholarship for excellent Ph.D. students named by the President of Bar Ilan University.

2003 Award for high achievements in educational studies and research work, Dean of Exact Sciences Faculty, Bar Ilan University.

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Publications

Updated: Google Scholar

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• N. Naetar, K. Georgiou, C. Knapp, I. Bronshtein, E. Zier, P. Fichtinger, T. Dechat, Y. Garini and R. Foisner, LAP2alpha maintains a mobile and low assembly state of A-type lamins in the nuclear interior, Elife 10, e63476 (2021).

• D. Zada, I. Bronshtein, T. Lerer-Goldshtein, Y. Garini and L. Appelbaum, Sleep increases chromosome dynamics to enable reduction of accumulating DNA damage in single neurons, Nature Communications, 10, 895 (2019).

• A. Vivante, E. Brozgol, I. Bronshtein and Y. Garini, Genome Organization in the Nucleus: From Dynamic Measurements to Functional Model, Methods, 123, 128-137 (2017).

• I. Bronshtein, I. Kanter, E. Kepten, M. Lindner, S. Berezin, Y. Shav-Tal and Y. Garini, Exploring chromatin organization mechanisms through its dynamic properties, Nucleus 7, 1-7 (2016). [Download PDF]

• I. Bronshtein, E. Kepten, I. Kanter, S. Berezin, M. Lindner, A. B. Redwood, S. Mai, S. Gonzalo, R. Foisner, Y. Shav-Tal and Y. Garini, Loss of lamin A function increases chromatin dynamics in the nuclear interior. Nature Communications, 6, 8044 (2015).

• I. Bronstein Berger, Y. Israel, E. Kepten, S. Mai, Y. Shav-Tal, E. Barkai and Y. Garini, Transient anomalous diffusion of telomeres in the nucleus of mammalian cells. Physical Review Letters 103, 018102 (2009).​