Scienceמיכאל סלע

Michael Sela

Michael Sela was an Israeli immunologist who served as president of the Weizmann Institute of Science from 1975 to 1985 and co-developed the multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone.

1924 to 2022Co-developing CopaxoneResearch on synthetic antigensPresidency of the Weizmann Institute

Born: 2 March 1924, Tomaszów Mazowiecki
Died: 27 May 2022, Rehovot
Occupation: immunologist, university teacher, chemist, biologist
Party: Kadima
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Geneva

Michael Sela was born in 1924 in Tomaszów Mazowiecki

Sela was born Mieczysław Salomonowicz in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland, in 1924. In 1935 his family moved to Bucharest, Romania. In 1941 they immigrated to the Land of Israel.

He studied chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and earned a master's degree in 1946. He then studied in Geneva for about a year and worked for the clandestine immigration effort in Italy. He completed his doctorate in 1954 under Ephraim Katchalski.

From 1948 to 1950 he was a commercial attaché at Israel's legation in Czechoslovakia, and then joined the Weizmann Institute. He became a full professor in 1963 and head of the Immunology Department in 1968. In 1975 he was elected the institute's sixth president and served until 1985.

His research focused on synthetic antigens and helped reveal the genetic control of the immune response. With Ruth Arnon and Dvora Teitelbaum he co-developed Copaxone, and he also took part in the discovery of Erbitux for cancer. He supported classical music, opera and dance in Israel.

He held the symbolic 120th place on the Kadima list for the 17th Knesset. He died in Rehovot in 2022 and was buried there.