Conducts research on cancer and viral diseases at the Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics and at the National Institute of Biotechnology in the Negev. He holds a bachelor's degree with honors in basic medical sciences, an additional bachelor's degree with honors in computers with a track in mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a master's and doctoral degree in life sciences from the Weizmann Institute of Science. He completed his postdoctoral studies at Duke University and the American Institutes of Health.
Prof. Porgador's research focuses on tumor immunology and immunotherapy. He has published over 150 articles in leading scientific journals, which have been cited more than 10,000 times.
As the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences from 2020 to 2023, Prof. Porgador emphasized the advancement of research, leading to a significant increase in the number of competitive and prestigious research grants awarded to Faculty members, as well as in the number of research papers accepted in journals, which increased the Faculty's budget.
During his tenure, new academic programs were approved and launched: the occupational therapy program, a 4-year medical track, and a master's degree track in health systems management at the Eilat campus. He also initiated and approved A 4-year medical track combined with direct doctoral studies. In addition, he led the launch of the Field Family Medical Simulation Center in the Rachel and Max Javit Medical Simulation Building; established the Heart Initiative, which provides epidemiological and biostatistical assistance to clinical and health professionals; completed the standardization of the School of Biomedical Research and the of the School of Public Health; signed an official clinical and teaching affiliation agreement with Barzilai Hospital, and with MDA. Furthermore, he prepared the Faculty for a significant increase in the number of students accepted to medical study tracks and inaugurated the Ilanot Negev program, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, designed to promote a reserve of leading doctors who will remain in the Negev.
Prof. Progador previously served as Vice Dean of Health Sciences and later as Vice President and Dean for Research and Development. At the national level, he served as President of the Israeli Society of Immunology, President of the Israel Association for Research on Cancer, and President of the Federation of Israeli Societies for Experimental Biology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he headed BGU's task force to combat the virus. He was a member of a team of researchers from the university and abroad who developed a method that enables a 10-fold increase in the capacity of COVID-19 tests, which was implemented in Israel during the pandemic.
