Ziv Shulman

2015 Regional Award Finalist — Post-Doc

Ziv Shulman

Current Position:
Senior scientist

Institution:
Weizmann Institute of Science (Previously at The Rockefeller University)

Discipline:
Immunology & Microbiology

Recognized for: Uncovering mechanisms of immune cell communications during the formation of pathogen specific antibodies

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise: Immunology, Antibodies, Intravital Microscopy, B Cells, Germinal Center

Biography:

PhD, Life Science, Feinberg Graduate School of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
MS, Life Science, Feinberg Graduate School of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
BS, Animal Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Ziv Shulman’s graduate work took place at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel where he investigated how immune cells exit blood vessels as part of an inflammatory response. He used multiple imaging techniques that led to unexpected discoveries in the field of immune cell migration. After his graduation, Dr. Shulman joined Michel Nussenzweig’s Laboratory of Molecular Immunology as a postdoctoral fellow where he studied how efficient antibodies are formed. Dr. Shulman established imaging methods and automated quantification algorithms for visualization and analysis of cellular events that control the antibody immune response.

By directly looking at immune cells in lymph nodes he revealed cellular mechanism and signaling events by which the immune system selects cells to produce efficient antibodies against future invading pathogens in response to vaccination. Dr. Shulman’s work established a new approach for analysis and quantification of the antibody immune response and provided an answer to several open questions in the field. His findings have implications in the design of vaccination strategies, especially when inducing immune protection against chronic infections or pathogens such as HIV.  Dr. Shulman is currently a principal investigator at the Weizmann Institute of Science where he continues his research.

 “My mission is to understand and visualize the cellular and molecular players that control efficient antibody formation and to translate this knowledge to fight disease.”

Key Publications:

  1. Shulman, Z., et al., Dynamic signaling by T follicular helper cells during germinal center B cell selection. Science. 2014
  2. Shulman, Z., et al., T follicular helper cell dynamics in germinal centers. Science. 2013
  3. Shulman, Z., et al., Transendothelial migration of lymphocytes mediated by intraendothelial vesicle stores rather than by extracellular chemokine depots. Nat Immunology. 2012
  4. Shulman, Z., et al., Lymphocyte crawling and transendothelial migration require chemokine triggering of high-affinity LFA-1 integrin. Immunity. 2009

Other honors:

2015 Tri-Institutional Breakout Award