Lab Research Areas

The lab develops magnetic functional materials to interact with electrogenic cells for neuromodulation and control over peripheral organ function. These tools allow remote control on calcium-dependent processes via activation of ion channels such as heat sensitive ion channels. It provides spatial and temporal resolution in a minimally invasive procedure demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo. They developed a novel approach to control the release of adrenal stress hormones to treat hormonal imbalance in mental health disorders such as post trauma stress disorder.

The lab’s ultimate goals are developing new tools that advance the biomedical research to repair organ dysfunction and studying the organ-brain communication in health and disease.

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Scholar Profile

Dekel Rosenfeld earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. During a postdoc at MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, she developed magnetic nanomaterials for neuroscience applications, to repair organ dysfunction and study the organ-brain connection in health and in neurological disorders.

Dr. Rosenfeld’s lab in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Tel Aviv University develops magnetic functional materials to interact with electrogenic cells for neuromodulation, control over peripheral organ function, drug delivery and regenerative medicine. These tools allow remote control on calcium-dependent processes via activation of ion channels such as heat sensitive ion channels. It provides spatial and temporal resolution in a minimally invasive procedures demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo. They developed a novel approach to control the release of adrenal stress hormones to treat hormonal imbalance in mental health disorders such as post trauma stress disorder. Moreover, they translated their approach for regenerative medicine applications for example to promote axonal growth.

The lab’s ultimate goals are developing new tools for therapeutic interventions and fundamental studies that advance the biomedical research to repair organ dysfunction, and studying the organ-brain communication in health and disease.

A teacher who twice won the Excellence in Teaching Award, Dr. Rosenfeld participated in several programs at MIT where she mentored students with the goal of increasing the number of underrepresented minorities and underserved students in academic research. She hopes to actively improve diversity and equity in science in Israel as well, by identifying talented students from these backgrounds and creating an environment that allows them to succeed.