Prof. Machluf a Torch Bearer for 70 Year Independence Celebrations

Technion Prof. Marcelle Machluf to Light a Torch at Israel’s 70th Independence Day Ceremony

Prof. Marcelle Machluf, honored by the State of Israel on its 70th Independence Day.

Prof. Marcelle Machluf, Dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is one of 14 honorees selected by the Israel Ministry of Culture, to light a torch at Israel’s 70th Independence Day Ceremony at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

Prof. Machluf is a world-renowned researcher in the fields of drug delivery, gene therapy, cellular therapy, and tissue engineering. In her laboratory at Technion – The Lab for Cancer Drug Delivery and Cell-Based Technologies – she develops and engineers nano- and micro-systems for delivering drugs and genes; systems for the encapsulation (packaging) of cells for treating cancer and diabetes; and scaffolds for engineering heart tissue, blood vessels, and the pancreas. Prof. Machluf develops these tools for clinical applications, using advanced engineering and scientific methods.  She has achieved many breakthroughs in the quest to enable more accurate and focused cancer treatment while minimizing effects on healthy cells, using advanced biological technologies. This technology is currently in a process of technology transfer.

Prof. Machluf completed her post-doctoral studies at the Harvard Medical School, and since 2001, she has been a faculty member at Technion. She has published over sixty articles and book chapters, and has seven patents pending.

“I thank the State of Israel for this honor,” said Prof. Marcelle Machluf, upon being chosen to light the Torch. “Every year I look forward to the torch-lighting ceremony, which celebrates the country and its successes.  Therefore, there is no greater honor than to be deemed worthy of lighting a torch for the glory of the State of Israel.”

“We are proud of Prof. Machluf,” said Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie “In her achievements, Marcelle is a role model for many generations of students.”