Meir Wilchek

Meir Wilchek was born in 1935 in Warsaw

Meir Wilchek was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1935, to a rabbinical family. During World War II he escaped to Soviet-held territory and was sent to Siberia. His father, a community rabbi in Warsaw, was killed in the Flossenbürg concentration camp.

In 1949 he immigrated to Israel with his mother and sister and settled in Rehovot. After serving in the Air Force, he studied chemistry and physics at Bar-Ilan University. In 1960 he moved to the Weizmann Institute of Science, where he completed a doctorate in 1965.

His research focuses on biorecognition and biological affinity. In 1963 he demonstrated the FRET effect in the laboratory, and in 1968 he and colleagues developed affinity chromatography. He later worked on affinity labeling, affinity therapy and the avidin-biotin system.

At the Weizmann Institute he headed the Department of Biophysics and served as dean of the Faculty of Biochemistry and Biophysics. He has published over 400 scientific papers and advised biotechnology companies. He received the Wolf Prize in Medicine, the Israel Prize and the EMET Prize.