News & Press Releases | EUROPEAN FRIENDS OF THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY

Mothers’ Prenatal Immunity Shapes Lifelong Resistance to Gum Disease

29 April, 2026

Mothers provide a hidden immune legacy that protects their children's teeth long after weaning is over. A new study reveals how maternal antibodies act as early life architects, programming the mouth to resist aggressive bacteria and prevent the bone loss associated with adult gum disease. By setting a healthy immune tone before birth, these maternal defenses ensure that the foundation for a lifetime of oral health is laid from the very beginning.

Prestigious HFSP Grant Awarded to Hebrew University Researcher

23 April, 2026

Human Frontier Science Program Foundation (HFSP) has awarded a highly competitive international research grant to Prof. Orna Amster-Choder of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in collaboration with Prof. Kerwyn Casey Huang of Stanford University and Prof. Sivaramesh Wigneshweraraj of Imperial College London.

A New View of Aging: How the Immune System Rewrites Rapid Aging

16 April, 2026

New Survey Finds Sharp Decline in Israelis’ Health Habits During the War

15 April, 2026

A new study examined the impact of the recent war with Iran on health behaviors, including nutrition, physical activity, smoking, sleep, and more. The research was conducted by a team from the “For a Change” Lab at the School of Public Policy at the Hebrew University, led by Dr. Roni Lotan and Prof. Eyal Peer, together with researcher Dana Roll.

Hebrew University Professors Hanah Margalit and Ilan Rosenshine Elected to the European Academy of Microbiology

15 April, 2026

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem congratulates Professors Hanah Margalit and Ilan Rosenshine on their election as Fellows of the European Academy of Microbiology (EAM), a prestigious recognition of scientific excellence and global impact.

The EAM recently elected 95 new Fellows, honoring outstanding contributions across the breadth of microbiology—from fundamental discoveries to innovations addressing global challenges in health, environment, and biotechnology.

In a Changing World, Animal Personality Can Mean Life or Death New Study Finds

14 April, 2026

Researchers Find a New "Molecular Handle" to Build Complex Medicines

13 April, 2026

In the high-stakes world of drug discovery, building a new medicine is a lot like microscopic architecture. To create the next breakthrough antibiotic or brain-targeting therapy, chemists must snap together fragile molecular building blocks. But for decades, one of the most useful chemical pieces has been notoriously stubborn, requiring conditions so harsh they often destroy the very medicine being built. Now, researchers have found a way to pick the lock.

COVID-19’s Lingering Shadow: New Study Uncovers Molecular Link Between SARS-CoV-2 and Lung Cancer Risk

10 April, 2026

New study suggests that COVID-19 may slightly increase the risk of lung cancer by triggering a biological chain reaction in the lungs, driven by the virus’s spike protein, that promotes inflammation, scarring, and tumor-friendly conditions, especially in higher-risk groups like smokers; while the individual risk remains small, the findings are important because they reveal a plausible mechanism and potential targets for prevention and treatment.

When the World Becomes Too Loud: The Sensory Toll of Trauma on Young Children

9 April, 2026

How Bacteria Outsmart the Immune System: Two-Pronged Strategy Revealed

30 March, 2026

A team has uncovered how a common bacterial pathogen uses a single protein to quietly undermine the human immune system, by both shutting down key warning signals and blocking the cell’s ability to restore them. Published in Advanced Science, the study reveals a surprisingly precise, two-pronged strategy that helps bacteria gain the upper hand during infection, and points toward new ways of thinking about treatment in an era of rising antibiotic resistance.