Book cover of From the Wilderness and Lebanon

Asael Lubotzky ( he, עשהאל לובוצקי; born 21 January 1983) is an Israeli physician, author, and

molecular biologist Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interact ...

. Formerly he served as an

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

officer and is a combat veteran of the

Second Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

Military service

Asael Lubotzky grew up in

Efrat Efrat ( he, אֶפְרָת), or previously officially Efrata ( he, אֶפְרָתָה), is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, established in 1983 in the Judean Mountains. Efrat is located south of Jerusalem, between Bethlehem and Hebron, ...

, studied at the

Hesder Hesder ( he, הסדר "arrangement"; also Yeshivat Hesder ) is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework. The program all ...

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

Ma'ale Adumim Ma'ale Adumim ( he, מַעֲלֵה אֲדֻמִּים; ar, معالي أدوميم) is an urban Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the West Bank, seven kilometers () east of Jerusalem. Ma'ale Adumim achieved city status in 1991. ...

, was accepted to Shayetet 13, but chose to enlist in Golani's 51st

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

. He underwent a training course as a combat soldier and was chosen as the outstanding company cadet. After completing

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

Asael served as an officer commanding a

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

of the Golani Brigade. He led his platoon in the fighting in Gaza and, during the

, fought in many battles in which many of his comrades were killed and wounded, until his own severe injury in the Battle of Bint Jbeil left him with a disability.

Medical and research career

After rehabilitation from the injury, he began studying medicine at the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

Hadassah Medical School, qualified as a doctor, and specialized in pediatrics at the

Shaare Zedek Hospital The Shaare Zedek Medical Center ( he, מרכז רפואי שערי צדק, ''Merkaz Refu'i Sha'arei Tzedek'') (lit. "Gates of Justice") is a large teaching hospital in Jerusalem established in 1902, It affiliated with Hebrew University of Jerusa ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He joined the lab of professor Haim Cedar and became a PhD student of Professor Yuval Dor and Ruth Shemer at the Hebrew University's Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, who works on methylation patterns of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA). Lubotzky was recognized for his studies on circulating cfDNA as cancer diagnostic markers, received the

Israel Cancer Research Fund The Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) is a fund for cancer research. The ICRF was founded in 1975 by a group of American and Canadian physicians, scientists, and laypeople who sought to prevent the permanent loss of Israel's cancer researchers to ...

(ICRF) cancer grant and in 2019 was awarded The James Sivartsen Prize in Cancer Research by The Hebrew University for his innovative work in the field of cancer research. In 2020 his research team received a prestigious grant of $500,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation towards their research on early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease based on blood tests. In 2021 he received the Joint Award of the National Institute of Psychobiology in Israel (NIPI) and the Israeli Society of Biological Psychiatry. In 2021 he was awarded a PhD for a thesis entitled: "Liquid Biopsies Reveal Collateral Tissue Damage in Cancer and Brain Damage in Neural Pathologies". The work demonstrated that metastatic tumors caused collateral tissue damage that released cfDNA from affected organs and that cell-free DNA methylation patterns can reveal the presence of

metastases Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then ...

and offer clues to their tissue location. In 2022 he won The

Rothschild Fellowship The Rothschild Fellowship program is a prestigious grant awarded annually by Yad Hanadiv (The Rothschild Foundation). The Rothschild Scholarship for Outstanding Young Researchers is a awarded since 1979 with the aim of helping outstanding youn ...

for young scholars of outstanding academic merit. In a research published in 2022, Lubotzky and colleagues discovered that

brain cells Brain cells make up the functional tissue of the brain. The rest of the brain tissue is structural or connective called the stroma which includes blood vessels. The two main types of cells in the brain are neurons, also known as nerve cells, an ...

die in a psychotic attack. They demonstrated a higher level of brain-derived cell-free DNA in patients who experienced psychotic symptoms compared to healthy controls. The finding would serve as a proof of concept for brain-derived cell-free DNA as biomarkers of psychosis.

Writing

Lubotzky's first book, '' From the Wilderness and Lebanon'', describing his experiences in war and his rehabilitation, was published in 2008 by

Yedioth Ahronoth ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...

, became a best-seller, won critical acclaim and was translated into English. A second book, '' Not My Last Journey'', documenting the life story of his grandfather, the partisan and

Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...

officer Iser Lubotzky, was published in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

in 2017 by Yedioth Books and

Menachem Begin Heritage Center The Menachem Begin Heritage Center is the official state memorial commemorating Menachem Begin, Israel’s sixth Prime Minister. The Center is located on the Hinnom Ridge, overlooking Mount Zion and walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Museum ...

. Lubotzky won the Leitersdorf Prize for the Arts for 2017. Lubotzky lectures on various topics in Israel and abroad.

Personal life

Asael Lubotzky is the son of Prof. Alex Lubotzky and grandson of Prof. Murray Roston. He lives in

, is married to Avital (Schimmel), a medical psychologist and they have five children.

Books

* '' (Min HaMidbar VeHaLevanon)'',

, 2008 * '' From the Wilderness and Lebanon'', The Toby Press,

Koren Publishers Jerusalem Koren Publishers Jerusalem is an Israeli publisher of Jewish religious texts. It was established in 1961 by Eliyahu Koren, with the aim of publishing the first Hebrew Bible designed, edited, printed, and bound by Jews in nearly 500 years. It produ ...

, 2016. English translation of the previous book by professor Murray Roston * '' ( Not My Last Journey)'',

, 2017

External links

Dr. Asael Lubotzky

Dr. Asael Lubotzy, MD, PhD, Hebrew University
Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, 2021
Dr. Asael Lubotzky, MD
Hebrew University of Jerusalem,

Dr. Asael Lubotzky

Rohr Jewish Learning Institute The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) is a division of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. It offers adult Jewish courses on Jewish history, law, ethics, philosophy and ...

Devastating war injury turns Israeli soldier into best-selling author and doctor
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Larry Luxner. November 18, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lubotzky, Asael 1983 births 2006 Lebanon War Jewish physicians Living people Jewish writers Israeli writers The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School alumni Israeli people with disabilities Israeli pediatricians Hebrew-language writers Israeli soldiers Autobiographers