Dec 27, 2005 -- Yeshiva College senior Alex Kushnir made headlines in a Rockland County newspaper in 2004 after the scientific research he conducted was presented at international conferences in Israel and Scotland. At the time he was a junior doing research in the molecular cardiology lab of Dr. Andrew R. Marks, professor and chair of the department of physiology and cellular biophysics at Columbia University of Physicians and Surgeons.

Passionate about medicine and research, Mr. Kushnir is a man on a mission. For the past three years he has worked closely with Dr. Marks, who founded the International Academic Friends of Israel (IAFI) to counter a rash of British boycotts of Israeli academics. The boycotts ostensibly sought to redress the Israeli government’s mistreatment of Palestinians.

At Dr. Marks’ request, Mr. Kushnir is helping to organize a medical conference, “Novel Therapeutic Targets for Heart Disease,” in Herzliya, Israel, January 23-26. The conference is cosponsored by IAFI and the American Jewish Congress. Among the featured speakers are renowned Harvard Law School professor and author Alan Dershowitz YH ’55 and Avishay Braverman, president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

“Attendance at these conferences is a great way to learn about scientific opportunities in Israel,” said Mr. Kushnir, who is preparing the abstract book and will present a poster on his research conference.

The conference attracts scientists from the international community and will afford them the opportunity to interact with colleagues and experience Israel first-hand.