66 Dr. Gonen Nitzan The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences Member of BINA Nano-Biomedicine Center Research Areas Sex Determination • 3D Genome organisation • CRISPR genome editing • Stem Cell Biology • Developing in vitro systems to model the gonads The Mammalian Sex Determination Lab Studying the role of the non-coding genome during sex determination A main research interest of our lab is to understand, at the molecular level, how sex is determined during embryonic development, i.e., how does an embryo develop into either male or female. In mammals, sex determination is genetically driven with XY individuals developing as males and XX individuals developing as females. However, if the process of sex determination is impaired, patients appear as XY females or XX males (sex reverse). These are all classified as patients with Disorders of Sex Development (DSD), with a prevalence of 1: 2500-4000 newborns. In the lab, we use the mouse as a model system and are interested at understanding the regulation of the key transcription factors controlling gonad formation and how these interact with each other. We also study the role of the non-coding genome in mediating the process of sex determination and DSD pathologies. We employ cutting-edge techniques to address these questions including CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, transgenic mice production, advanced sequencing techniques as well as microscopy and molecular biology. Developing an in vitro model to study the gonads To develop an in vitro system that allows to model the mammalian gonads, we use mouse Embryonic Stem Cells (ESC) and develop differentiation protocols towards gonadal cell type of the gonads. In addition, we use similar protocols with Human ESC and induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to model DSD patients in vitro. Furthermore, we perform tissue engineering to model the testis and the spermatogenesis process using these stem cell-derived somatic cells along with germ cells in a 3D culture system. Publications 2022 and 2023 • Rajini Sreenivasan, Nitzan Gonen, Andrew Sinclair. “SOX Genes and Their Role in Disorders of Sex Development”. Sexual Development, 2022. Prof. Goobes Gil Department of Chemistry Member of BINA Nano & Advanced Materials Center Nano-Energy Center Nano-Biomedicine Center Research Areas Biomaterials and Advanced Materials group Abstract: Research in my group has been focused on revealing and explaining the fundamental interactions that underlie inorganic material formation in nature, a process known as biomineralization. We particularly make use of our expertise in solid-state NMR spectroscopy to analyze the rudimentary processes of biogenic material formation in atomic/molecular level. Unveiling the structure/activity relations in these specialized biomolecules involved in regulation of solid biomaterial formation has been particularly elusive. Using these findings, we develop new biomaterials for hard tissue applications based on rationale guidelines. We implement NMR characterization in materials research to understand interfaces between nanomaterials at great detail and employ molecular insights to design concept materials that are more environment friendly. Publications 2022 and 2023 • Vincent Otieno Ayieko, Lilian Cohen, Sabrina Diehn, Gil Goobes, Rivka Elbaum. “Siliplant1 B-domain precipitates silica spheres, aggregates, or gel, depending on Si-precursor to peptide ratios”. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 2023. • G Goobes, PK Madhu, A Goldbourt. “Remembering Shimon Vega: Special issue on solid-state and DNP NMR”. Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, 2023. • Yajie Liu, Zhixin Tai, Ido Rozen, Zhipeng Yu, Ziyu Lu, Alec P LaGrow, Oleksandr Bondarchuk, Qingqing Chen, Gil Goobes, Yi Li, Lifeng Liu. “Ion Flux Regulation through PTFE Nanospheres Impregnated in Glass Fiber Separators for Long-Lived Lithium and Sodium Metal Batteries”. Advanced Energy Materials, 2023. • Irina Matlahov, Alex Kulpanovich, Taly Iline-Vul, Merav Nadav-Tsubery, Gil Goobes. “Selective excitation with recoupling pulse schemes uncover properties of disordered mineral phases in bone-like apatite grown with bone proteins”. Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, 2023. • A Goldbourt, G Goobes, Y Hovav, I Kaminker, V Ladizhansky, M Leskes, PK Madhu, F Mentnik-Vigier, S Pizzanelli, I Sack, D Shimon, J Sunderasan, E Vinogradov. “Shimon Vega in the eyes of his students and postdocs”. Journal of Magnetic Resonance, 2022. • Ayala Amir, Amos Frumkin, Boaz Zissu, Aren M Maeir, Gil Goobes, Amnon Albeck. “Sourcing Herod the Great’s calcitealabaster bathtubs by a multi-analytic approach”. Scientific Reports, 2022. • Daniel Klose, Sahithya Phani Babu Vemulapalli, Michal Richman, Safra Rudnick, Vered Aisha, Meital Abayev, Marina Chemerovski, Meital Shviro, David Zitoun, Katharina Majer, Nino Wili, Gil Goobes, Christian Griesinger, Gunnar Jeschke, Shai Rahimipour. “Cu 2+-Induced self-assembly and amyloid formation of a cyclic d, l-α-peptide: structure and function”. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2022. • Francesco Bruno, Lucia Gigli, Giovanni Ferraro, Andrea Cavallo, Vladimir K
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