An Israeli Champion!

Hadas Omer, a Ph.D. student at the Technion’s Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, won first place and the Audience Choice Award in the national Falling Walls Lab competition – a short-lecture contest open to students, early-career researchers, entrepreneurs from all disciplines at all academic levels, and recent graduates. Her victory in the national round sends her to the global finals of Falling Walls Lab, which will take place in November in Berlin.

In her doctoral research, Hadas is developing an innovative DNA-based nanometric system for the targeted and safe delivery of drugs to treat cardiovascular diseases – the leading cause of death worldwide. The system, developed under the supervision of Prof. Yuval Garini, Head of the Laboratory for Biophysics and Nano-Dynamics, in collaboration with Prof. Netanel Korin, aims to reduce dangerous side effects and holds broad potential for additional applications in medicine and beyond.

Falling Walls Lab is a short-lecture (pitch) competition and global forum that brings together a diverse, interdisciplinary group of young researchers and provides a platform for groundbreaking ideas. The winner of each national or local competition is guaranteed a place in the global finals, to be held in Berlin in November 2025, where winners from around 100 countries will compete. They also receive an invitation to the prestigious Falling Walls Science Summit, which offers unique opportunities and workshops with leading figures from the worlds of science, business, and policymaking.

This year’s Israeli competition was organized by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Israel Young Academy, DAAD, the German Embassy in Israel, and the Rubinstein Center at Reichman University.