Excellence at Shamir Medical Center

The Second Annual Research Day in Memory of Ziggi Gonczarowski held at Shamir Medical Center saw the presentation of outstanding research work conducted over the past year by physicians at Shamir Medical Center’s Gastroenterology Institute. These works were supported by the Gonczarowski Family research grants, which ensure the Institute’s continued research activity in the years to come.

This year’s awards were given to Prof. Efrat Broide, for her research on risk factors for fatty liver disease among underweight children; and to Dr. Anton Bermont, who studied the tonsil microbiome of Crohn’s disease patients and the relation between tonsil microbiome and Crohn’s disease activity and severity. The research proposal to win first prize was by Prof. Ilan Youngster, studying the influence of dietary fibre on gut microbiome and protein acetylation. The awards were presented by Director General of Shamir Medical Center Dr. Osnat Levtzion-Korach, Director of the Gastroenterology & Liver Institute Prof. Haim Shirin, and Ziggi’s family members: his wife Nira and daughters Dana Harel and Sharon Haroz.

The connection between the Gonczarowski family and Shamir Medical Center’s Gastroenterology Institute is one of long standing. Thanks to the family’s generous donations, the Institute is considered a leader in its field, with expert professional staff and state-of-the-art medical equipment. The late Ziggi’s family continues in his path, donating funds and grants to the Gastroenterology Institute that advance cutting edge research in the field and promote excellence among all its staff.

Dr. Osnat Levzion-Korach, Director General of Shamir Medical Center, welcomed the participants: “Our staff at Shamir Medical Center’s Gastroenterology Institute is outstanding in every respect, led with expertise and compassion by Prof. Haim Shirin. The Institute’s warm connection with the Gonczarowski family these many years has provided our physicians with the ability to expand their horizons and delve deep into important research work, alongside their ongoing clinical activities. I wish to thank Nira, Sharon, and Dana for their support and commitment to the Institute and its research work, never more evident than on this Research Day and despite the difficult times we are all experiencing.”

Prof. Efrat Broide, Nira Gonczarowski, Tali Rosenthal, Sigal Adar, Dr. Osnat Levzion-Korach, Sharon Haroz, and Dana Harel

Prof. Haim Shirin, Director of the Gastroenterology & Liver Institute, noted the significance of organizing a Research Day dedicated entirely to clinical and basic research, as they are substantial and inseparable elements in the creation of a top-level medical institute.

Prof. Shirin congratulated the participants and thanked the Gonczarowski family for their longstanding partnership, emphasizing the importance in continuing to offer gastroenterological services of optimal quality to our patients, despite the difficult times Israel is experiencing. He concluded by expressing his hopes that come the next Research Day, Israel will be blessed by peace and hope, and everyone at the Institute and at Shamir Medical Center will be able to focus once again on promoting health, excellence, and ground-breaking research.

Sharon Haroz, Prof. Ilan Youngster, Dana Harel, Prof. Efrat Broide, Nira Gonczarowski, Dr. Anton Bermont, and Prof. Haim Shirin

Photos: Nir Kantor