The Shenhav Shemer Lab seeks to understand the processes that precede and promote debilitating loss of muscle mass in order to develop therapies to combat muscle atrophy. The team focuses on two areas in biology: the biochemistry of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, which eliminates dysfunctional proteins from the body, and muscle biology/physiology. Their research has yielded breakthroughs that could have implications for people with muscle loss due to diseases, such as cancer, muscular dystrophy, or aging.

Prof. Shemer is a graduate of Bar-Ilan University. From 2002 to 2006, she worked as a senior research associate at Proteologics Ltd., a former biopharmaceutical company (now closed) that mined the ubiquitin system to develop novel cancer therapeutics. She then served as a postdoctoral and research fellow at Harvard University until joining the Technion in 2013. She remains connected to Harvard as an associate in the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Prof. Shemer is a member of the Technion Faculty Ambassador Program, which prepares faculty to serve as speakers during events and meetings with supporters in the U.S. and globally. As such, Ambassador Faculty are mentored to better understand the mission of the ATS and other Technion Societies. This “Win-Win” Program is expected to benefit the Technion while also offering its Ambassadors wider exposure to their research and opportunities to polish their presentation skills.

A recipient of numerous awards, she was honored in 2020 with the Cooper Award for Excellence in Research, the Norman and Helen Asher Research Award, and the Israel Cancer Association research award for outstanding researcher.