Adams

Amir Goren 2007-2008

Institution of PhD:
Tel-Aviv University
Academic Discipline of PhD:
Bioinformatics
PhD Advisor/s:
Prof. Gil Ast
Dissertation Topic:
Inferring Regulatory Elements of Splicing Using Comparative Genomics
Year Awarded PhD:
2011
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Amir Goren is a clinical field specialist at St. Jude Medical, a global medical device manufacturer in St. Paul, Minn, dedicated to transforming the treatment of some of the world’s most expensive, epidemic diseases and a product manager at Medogar Medical Equipment, Ra’anana.

Amir received his PhD from Tel-Aviv University’s Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine.  His thesis, “Inferring Regulatory Elements of Splicing Using Comparative Genomics”, was written under the supervision of Prof. Gil Ast.

Amir’s research was remarkably successful. He made significant inroads into crucial biological questions, including the significance of alternatively spliced exons containing Alu elements and how alternative splicing of these exons is regulated. Amir’s work led to the development of a computational method based on the conservation level of wobble positions and the overabundance of sequence motifs. This has demonstrated the importance of exonic splicing regulatory sequences (ESRs) on alternative splicing regulation.

Amir’s major scientific discovery was that the same DNA fragment can either enhance or suppress alternative splicing, depending on its location in the exon. This is a revolution in the way researchers think about such elements. A paper describing this breakthrough was published in Molecular Cell.

Amir completed his MSc in Tel-Aviv University graduating with distinction and his BSc in Bar-Ilan University where he majored in Biology and minored in computer sciences.