Dr. Rotem Karni

My interest in science began when I was a small child in Kibbutz Ramat Hashofet in the north of Israel. I used to catch reptiles and insects just so I could learn about them. My curiosity turned into ambitions of becoming a zoologist. I had dreams of studying animals in the South American rain forests. In order to pursue these dreams I began studying biology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. That’s where I fell in love with genetics and biochemistry. I specifically wanted to understand why and how cancer develops and progresses, affecting the lives of so many people around the world.

Today, in my lab at IMRIC we are interested in how the process of alternative RNA splicing (a fundamental step of gene expression) is de-regulated in cancer and other diseases, and how the proteins that control this process (called splicing factors) contribute to cancer development, tumor progression and the metastatic process.

Some of our findings on new cancer therapies and diagnostic tools are currently being developed by the Hebrew University technology transfer company Yissum.