Prof. Yifat Miller
Department of Chemistry
Personal Independence: My parents encouraged me from quite a young age to be independent. I grew up in Moshav Eshtaol, so independence and freedom was something we were born into. A combination of my parents' support and their willingness to let me make my own personal choices and decisions at different stages contributed greatly to my personal happiness in general and in my scientific career specifically.
Independence in a scientific career: I was privileged to be a doctoral student of Prof. Benny Gerber, who gave me the freedom to initiate and carry out research independently, write articles and create collaborations with international researchers. This was the first time in my scientific career that I acquired tools for scientific independence.
These tools helped me be independent during my postdoc at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US. The transition to the postdoc was abrupt, because I was working on a completely different topic from my doctoral thesis. There is no doubt that the independence I acquired during my doctorate helped me to publish articles in the leading journals of my new field of research.
The quest for a new scientific horizon: My dream came true when after my postdoc abroad I came back to Israel and set up a research group at the University. The freedom to choose research topics was significant for me. This was the stage where I first created a fertile ground for new and groundbreaking research. During those years, we investigated the relationship between Type 2 diabetes and Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Using computational tools, we followed at molecular level the relationship between the proteins responsible for these diseases, in order to understand the mechanisms linking the diseases.
Research independence for students: I also give the students in my research group the independence to ask questions, initiate research relating to their research topics, to experiment and gain experience. My goal as an adviser is to educate a young generation of scientists to think "outside the box" rather than work like robots.
The month of Iyar generally and Independence Day in particular, hold a special significance for me. I was born three days after Israel's Independence Day in the month of Iyar and I was promoted to Professor in this month. In Jewish history, the month of Iyar is the month of building and heroism on the part of the Israeli people. It is, therefore, important to tell the younger generation in science that the striving for independence, initiative, creativity and carrying out groundbreaking research contribute to the Jewish history of the Israeli people.
Read about other BGU faculty, alumni and honorees describing significant moments in their lives, linking them to the nation's history >>>>
