Ohad Birk, a physician-scientist, is a professor of human genetics, converging basic scientific research with effective clinical translational applications. Birk's research lab deciphered the molecular basis and mechanism of more than 30 human diseases, including some of the most prevalent severe hereditary diseases in Arabs and in Jews, as well as three syndromes named after Birk. He also implemented his scientific findings in massive carrier testing programs, conducive to 30% reduction in infant mortality rate in the Bedouin community, as well as near-eradication of two of the most common severe hereditary diseases in Sephardic Jews. Birk heads the clinical Genetics Institute at Soroka Medical Center and the Morris Kahn Laboratory of Human Genetics as well as Israel's National Research Center for Orphan / Rare Diseases at Ben Gurion University, and served as director of Israel's National Institute of Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN) between 2016 and 2017. Professor Birk is a recipient of numerous awards and published in top scientific journals such as Nature, Nature Genetics, PNAS and American Journal of Human Genetics. The translational impact of his work has been well echoed also in the lay press, from the NY Times to Al Jazeera and BBC World. Biography Personal Born and raised in Rehovot, Israel. Son of Prof. Meir Birk and Prof. Yehudith Birk. Brother of Prof. Yitzhak (Tsahi) Birk. Married to Prof. Ruth Birk. Father of Yonatan and Michael. Birk is amateur pianist and composer. Professional training and early studies Following MD studies at Tel Aviv University, military service as a medical officer (Major) in the IDF and residency in Pediatrics at Sheba Medical Center, Birk did his PhD at the Weizmann Institute with Irun Cohen, delineating hsp60 as a crucial autoantigen in type 1 diabetes and allograft rejection, effective in their prevention. He then went on to do his training in clinical human genetics and post-doctorate with Heiner Westphal at the NIH, unraveling LHX9 as a gene critical for mammalian gonad formation. Research Birk's team deciphered the molecular basis and mechanism of more than 30 human diseases, including some of the most prevalent severe hereditary diseases in Arabs and in Jews worldwide. Among the many diseases discovered are Progressive Cerebello Cerebral Atrophy (PCCA) and PCCA2, two of the most common severe genetic diseases in Sephardic Jews, the first gene for near-sightedness, as well as three genetic syndromes named after professor Birk. Human Genetics studies in the Birk