Prof. Dorit Nitzan

My life before BGU:​

I lived in Beer-Sheva until the age of three and have been wandering in Israel and abroad ever since: We moved to the army base at Tzrifin, to Pardes Katz, Neve Sha'anan in Haifa, until my parents finally settled down in Rishon LeZion. I kept wandering: Kibbutz Yakum and the US. Since joining the World Health Organization (WHO) 17 years ago, I have been in many different countries, including Serbia (and Kosovo and Montenegro), Ukraine, and in the past six years, Denmark. During this time, I've always combined fieldwork with research and teaching. I am a pediatrician, a graduate of Tel Aviv University. After my internship, I continued my training in the US: I specialized in pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition at Columbia University's (NY Presbyterian) children's hospital, where I also completed a master's in public health (MPH).

In my most recent role at the WHO, I oversaw the European Region's Health Emergencies and Program Area Emergency Operations, overseeing 53 countries, including Israel. I recently returned from Ukraine, where I oversaw the health and medicine aspects of humanitarian assistance.

I am currently a faculty member o​f BGU's School of Public Health and chair of the Food Systems, One Health and Resilience (BGU-FOR) Initiative.

Why BGU?

Ben-Gurion University is renowned far and wide: The emphasis is on students, and research and education are the core. Its impressive achievements come hand in hand with community engagement, caring, and dedication aimed at ensuring that no one is left behind. The people of the Negev, and the Negev itself, alongside the School of Public Health, make BGU my home.​

My rese​arch:

I am interested in supra-disciplinary research on emergency preparedness and response: making life-saving medical services accessible to everyone, including unique and vulnerable populations; assessment of preparedness and response; management and command tools; local, national, regional and global response to emergencies; training of humanitarian assistance staff, and more. Also, in research, innovation and development aimed at protecting and promoting the balance entailed in the “One Health" approach (human, animal, and plant health, as well as environmental health), and nutritional and food security systems aimed at creating resilience.