Shai Shacknai was born in Jerusalem and served, prior to his tragically early death from cancer at the age of 38, as the spiritual leader and Rabbi of the Wayne Jewish community, New Jersey.
His life was marked by a burning devotion and commitment to Judaism, to his community and to the brotherhood of man. He was an outspoken defender of civil and human rights and won national admiration and respect for his stand on these issues.
A personality who enriched all those with whom he came into contact, talented and artistic, Shai Shacknai combined excellence of intellect with rare depth of character, and inspired the previously uncommitted to join him in proclaming Judaism’s eternal loyalty to the welfare of humanity.
The Rabbi Shai Shaknai Award of 2024 was awarded to Prof. Aviv Regev, the head and executive vice president of Genentech research and early development. The prize was given to Prof. Regev for her exceptional contributions to computational and systems biology. Her lab has pioneered many leading experimental and computational methods for the reconstruction of circuits, especially in single-cell genomics. These methods provide powerful tools for better understanding the function of mammalian cells in health and disease, which may be helpful in drug development.
Prof. Regev gave an outstanding seminar where she shared her groundbreaking research giving us a glimpse of some of the ingenious computational techniques developed by her lab.
The Rabbi Shai Shaknai Award of 2022 was awarded to Prof. Elaine Fuchs from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The prize was given to Prof. Fuchs for her profound work in the field of stem cell research, tissue regeneration, and the furthered understanding of how processes of stem cell proliferation are affected by cross talk with the immune system.
Prof. Fuchs gave an outstanding key lecture about her work at the IMRIC 2022 conference.
To event picture gallery –> https://lautenbergcenter.org/gallery/shaknai-imric-2022
The Rabbi Shai Shaknai Award of 2018 was recieved by Prof. Diane Mathis from the Division of Immunology at Harvard Medical School. The prize is given to Prof. Mathis for her outstanding work in the field of immunology and for her findings in understanding the underlying mechanisms governing central tolerance, immune cell developmen and autoimmunity.
Prof. Mathis gave two outstanding key lectures about her work in studying transcriptional regulation by AIRE and regulatory T cells, following round-table discussion with the students of the center.
The Rabbi Shai Shacknai Prize Lectureship took place on the 27 of March, 2017. The prize was awarded to Prof. Feng Zhang from Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Boston, MA USA for his outstanding contributions to the field of Immunology. Dr. Feng zhang lecture was titled “Development and application of CRISPR-Cas Systems for Genome editing” and was delivered to a standing room audience consisting of the staff of the Faculty of Medicine, students and visitors from other institutions and hospitals in Israel. The lectureship was preceded by a ceremony dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Shai Shacknai and Senator Frank Lautenberg.
The Lautenberg center for immunology and cancer research
Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC), Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
POB 12272, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Tel: 972-2-6757725
Fax: 972-2-6430834
