Joseph Kost (born January 15, 1947) is an Israeli academic, currently holder of The Abraham and Bessie Zacks

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

in Biomedical Engineering and the past Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences at the

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...

Early career

Kost completed undergraduate training in 1973, and obtained his M.Sc. in 1975, both at the Department of

Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

, D.Sc. in 1981 at the Department of

Biomedical Engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences ...

at the

Technion – Israel Institute of Technology The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology ( he, הטכניון – מכון טכנולוגי לישראל) is a public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion ...

. He obtained his MBA in 2004 at the Ben-Gurion University School of Business Administration. He completed three years of Post-Doctoral training at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

and

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(MIT). Kost credits Bob Langer from MIT as an outstanding role model.

Contribution to Biomedical Science

Kost has made significant contributions to the field of

Biomedical Sciences Biomedical sciences are a set of sciences applying portions of natural science or formal science, or both, to develop knowledge, interventions, or technology that are of use in healthcare or public health. Such disciplines as medical microbio ...

. Coming from an

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

background, Kost has offered creative and unorthodox solutions to the field of

drug delivery Drug delivery refers to approaches, formulations, manufacturing techniques, storage systems, and technologies involved in transporting a pharmaceutical compound to its target site to achieve a desired therapeutic effect. Principles related to d ...

and non-invasive diagnostics. He has pioneered new

medical technologies Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the "application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of liv ...

for disease management and was one of the pioneers developing

artificial pancreas Automated insulin delivery systems are automated (or semi-automated) systems designed to assist people with diabetes, primarily type 1, by automatically adjusting insulin delivery to help them control their blood glucose levels. Currently available ...

, studying

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

ic system sensitive to

glucose Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, using ...

, and the

entrapment Entrapment is a practice in which a law enforcement agent or agent of the state induces a person to commit a "crime" that the person would have otherwise been unlikely or unwilling to commit.''Sloane'' (1990) 49 A Crim R 270. See also agent provo ...

bone A bone is a Stiffness, rigid Organ (biology), organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red blood cell, red and white blood cells, store minerals, provid ...

and Langerhans cells. Dr. Kost was the first to propose the ultrasonically modulated systems in which the release of

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

s, from

s or through synthetic or

biological membrane A biological membrane, biomembrane or cell membrane is a selectively permeable membrane that separates the interior of a cell from the external environment or creates intracellular compartments by serving as a boundary between one part of the ce ...

s, can be repeatedly modulated at will from a position external to the delivery system. His research impacts treatment of various diseases, including

pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, cardio-vascular diseases, and

infectious diseases An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

. Kost contributions are particularly noteworthy in the field of transdermal drug delivery. Transdermal drug delivery (through the skin) offers an attractive alternative to needles for systemic drug administration. However, the low permeability of the skin limits its applicability. Kost has come up with creative ways to open the skin for drug delivery without compromising safety. The approach is painless, non-intrusive, and a patient-friendly method for drug delivery. In 2004 the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

approved Kost's and coworker's application for

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequency, frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing range, hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hea ...

based system for fast acting topical anesthetic. At that year

Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

awarded the ultrasound system GRAND AWARD for “Best of What’s New”. Based on the comprehensive studies of the ultrasound effect on mass transport, Kost proposed the use of the enhanced skin transport in the opposite direction to delivery, for the non-invasive continuous detection of blood analytes. The major focus has been the development of a non-invasive continuous detection of glucose. The first clinical study on diabetic volunteers was published by Kost et al. in Nature Medicine 2000. Since, Kost also proposed a novel approach for a glucose flux continuous biosensor and noninvasive detection of

amniotic fluid The amniotic fluid is the protective liquid contained by the amniotic sac of a gravid amniote. This fluid serves as a cushion for the growing fetus, but also serves to facilitate the exchange of nutrients, water, and biochemical products betwee ...

for prenatal testing. Additional applications studied by Kost are the use of ultrasound for on-demand targeted delivery of drugs from

liposomes A liposome is a small artificial Vesicle (biology and chemistry), vesicle, spherical in shape, having at least one lipid bilayer. Due to their hydrophobicity and/or hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, particle size and many other properties, lipo ...

, combined ultrasonic and enzymatic

debridement Debridement is the medical removal of dead, damaged, or infected tissue to improve the healing potential of the remaining healthy tissue. Removal may be surgical, mechanical, chemical, autolytic (self-digestion), and by maggot therapy. In p ...

of necrotic

eschar An eschar (; Greek: ''ἐσχάρᾱ'', ''eskhara''; Latin: ''eschara'') is a slough or piece of dead tissue that is cast off from the surface of the skin, particularly after a burn injury, but also seen in gangrene, ulcer, fungal infections, ...

s and the use of ultrasound for more efficient

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

gene therapy Gene therapy is a medical field which focuses on the genetic modification of cells to produce a therapeutic effect or the treatment of disease by repairing or reconstructing defective genetic material. The first attempt at modifying human DN ...

. Nowadays, he study gene therapy approach for the treatment of

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete ...

. The focus in these studies is on the effect of ultrasound on transport through tissues of no viral carriers developed by Kost complexed with

miRNA MicroRNA (miRNA) are small, single-stranded, non-coding RNA molecules containing 21 to 23 nucleotides. Found in plants, animals and some viruses, miRNAs are involved in RNA silencing and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. miRN ...

. In addition to his studies on responsive controlled release systems: pH sensitive, glucose sensitive and

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

sensitive drug delivery Kost also developed a novel injectable delivery system to provide the body with a steady supply of tumor necrosis factor (

TNF Tumor necrosis factor (TNF, cachexin, or cachectin; formerly known as tumor necrosis factor alpha or TNF-α) is an adipokine and a cytokine. TNF is a member of the TNF superfamily, which consists of various transmembrane proteins with a homolog ...

) receptor. The system is based on the principle that a water insoluble

, dissolved in a biocompatible solvent, will participate upon contact with physiological fluids. In 2012 a collaborative project entitled “Bio-inspired Nano-carriers for Sub-Cellular Targeted Therapeutics” of eleven research groups from Ben-Gurion University, Weizmann Institute of Science and

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

, led by Prof. Kost was approved in the framework of the National 5-year Nano-Science and Technology Program. The goal has been to study the intracellular transport phenomena in attempt to develop approaches for intracellular targeting of drugs for the treatment of cancer, diabetes,

autophagy Autophagy (or autophagocytosis; from the Ancient Greek , , meaning "self-devouring" and , , meaning "hollow") is the natural, conserved degradation of the cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components through a lysosome-dependent re ...

and

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

br>

Academic and related positions

At the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Kost was the Head of the Center for Biomedical Engineering 1988-1993, and Head of the Program for Biotechnology Engineering from 1993 to 1995. These have been major centers for

bioengineering Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically-viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number o ...

research at the Ben-Gurion University. Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering 2010-2011 and since 2011 Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences (11 Engineering Departments 5 Units 190 Professors and more than 5000 students) Kost was one of the pioneers who starte
the Journal ''Tissue Engineering''
and has served on its Editorial Board since its inception in 1994; also served on the Board of ''

Biomaterials A biomaterial is a substance that has been engineered to interact with biological systems for a medical purpose, either a therapeutic (treat, augment, repair, or replace a tissue function of the body) or a diagnostic one. As a science, biomateria ...

'' and the ''

Journal of Controlled Release The ''Journal of Controlled Release'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed medical journal and the official journal of the Controlled Release Society. The journal covers research on the controlled release and delivery of drugs and other biologically active ...

'', and continues serving o
Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics
Reviews in Chemical Engineering, Recent Patents on Endocrine Metabolic & Immune Drug Discovery, Recent Patents on Drug Delivery & Formulation and Open Pharmacology Journal. He has published four books, 37 book chapters, 113 papers, and more than 55 patents, principally in the area of Bio-Engineering Science

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joseph_Kost/publications] In 1995 Kost founde
the Israeli Society for Controlled Delivery of Bio-Materials
(more than 300 members), which is also the Israeli chapter of the International Controlled Release Society and was elected as its first President.

Awards and honors

1996 Juludan Prize for Outstanding Scientific Research Achievements, Technion - Israel Institute of Technolog

1996 President of the Israel Society for Controlled Delivery of Bio-Materials and the Israeli Chapter of the Controlled Release Society (1996-1998

1998 Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineerin

1998 Clemson Award for Applied Research in Recognition of the Outstanding Contributions to Applied Biomaterials Research, Society for Biomaterial

2004 Popular Science announced SonoPrep as the best new product for "personal health". (SonoPrep technology has been invented and developed by Kost and coworkers

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/sonoprep-wins-fda-approval-1.134006] 2005 Jacqueline Seroussi 2005 Award for Cancer Research in recognition of the project entitled: Ultrasound for efficient non-viral sustained gene therapy of breast cance

2006 President of the Israel Institute of Chemical Engineer

2007 Elected a Foreign Member of the US

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

(NAE) for discoveries that led to ultrasonic drug release and self-regulated drug delivery system

2008 President's Prize for Outstanding Scientific Achievements, Ben-Gurion Universit

2010 Incumbent of the Abraham and Bessie Zacks Chair in Biomedical Engineerin

2012 Honorary Fellow of the Israel Institute of Chemical Engineer

2014 Induction into the Controlled Release Society College of Fellow

2015 Elected a Member of The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanitie

http://www.academy.ac.il/Index2/Entry.aspx?nodeId=809&entryId=20083] 2016 Ben-Gurion University Distinguished Professo

2016 The Israeli Chapter of the Controlled Release Society Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drug Delivery, in recognition of his pioneering work in the field of Ultrasound-Based Drug Delivery System

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kost, Joseph Technion – Israel Institute of Technology alumni 1947 births Living people Israeli Jews Israeli scientists Ben-Gurion University of the Negev faculty Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering