Birk, Ohad

Ohad Birk (Hebrew: אוהד בירק) a physician-scientist, is a professor of human genetics, converging basic scientific research with effective clinical translational applications. Birk's research lab deciphered the molecular basis and mechanism of more than 30 human diseases, including some of the most prevalent severe hereditary diseases in Arabs and in Jews, as well as three syndromes named after Birk. He also implemented his scientific findings in massive carrier testing programs, conducive to 30% reduction in infant mortality rate in the Bedouin community, as well as near-eradication of two of the most common severe hereditary diseases in Sephardic Jews. Birk heads the clinical Genetics Institute at Soroka Medical Center and the Morris Kahn Laboratory of Human Genetics as well as Israel's National Research Center for Orphan / Rare Diseases at Ben Gurion University, and served as director of Israel's National Institute of Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN) between 2016 and 2017. Professor Birk is a recipient of numerous awards and published in top scientific journals such as Nature, Nature Genetics, PNAS and American Journal of Human Genetics. The translational impact of his work has been well echoed also in the lay press, from the NY Times to Al Jazeera and BBC World.