Prof. Ruth Arnon

Biography

Prof. Ruth Arnon, President of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Formerly Vice-President of the Weizmann Institute of Science Prof. Arnon is a noted immunologist. Prior to her appointment as Vice-President, she served as Head of the Department of Chemical Immunology, and as Dean of the Faculty of Biology.

Prof. Arnon has made significant contributions to the fields of vaccine development, cancer research and to the study of parasitic diseases. She is the co-developer of Copaxone® a drug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, which is marketed worldwide. Prof. Arnon is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences, and was the Chairperson of its Sciences division from 1995-2001. On the world scene, she is an elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), and the American Philosophical Society (APS).

She has served as President of the European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS), and as Secretary-General of the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS), as well as the President of the Association of Academies of Sciences in Asia (AASA).

Her awards include the Robert Koch Prize in Medical Sciences, Spain’s Diaz Memorial Prize, France's Legion of Honor, the Hadassah World Organization's Women of Distinction Award, the Wolf Prize for Medicine, the Rothschild Prize for Biology, The AESKU Prize for Life Contribution to Autoimmunity and the Israel Prize, The Dr. Tovi Comet-Walerstein C.A.I.R. Institute Science Award. She received Honorary Doctorates from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Tel-Aviv University and The Open University, as well as from the Leuphana University in Germany.