Jacob Hanna

Dr. Hanna earned a B.Sc. in Medical Sciences (2001, summa cum laude), and a PhD/MD in clinical medicine (2007, summa cum laude), all from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. For more than four years, he conducted postdoctoral research with Prof. Rudolf Jaenisch at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical. In his recently established lab at the Weizmann Institute, Dr. Hanna combines diverse experimentation methods with computational biology to explore topics in embryonic stem cell biology, early embryonic development and the modeling of human diseases. Projects include deciphering the mechanisms by which IPS cells are produced, characterizing unique types of human pluripotent stem cells and various stages in early human development. In addition to helping elucidate the molecular basis of cell reprogramming, this research offers the promise of creating powerful research models for degenerative and autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes.