Zvia Agur

Summer, 2008


Prof. Agur is an international biomathematician, who has made major contributions to the theory of disease dynamics, chemotherapy and vaccination policies optimization. Prof. Agur is founder of the Institute for Medical BioMathematics (IMBM), has been the president of the Israeli Society of Theoretical and Mathematical Biology and a member of the Board of Directors of the European Society of Mathematical and Theoretical Biology. Her innovative research work has won national awards, has been published in a long line of leading scientific journals and is recognized by the academic community worldwide. Prof. Agur holds a Ph.D. from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Universite Libre in Brussels.

Education and Positions:

1971- B.Sc, Genetics and Microbiology, from the Hebrew University; 1973 - M.Sc., Genetics from the Hebrew University; 1974 – M,Sc studies in Philosophy of Science from the Hebrew University; 1982 - Ph.D., Biomathematics, Universite Libre, Belgium; 1987—1994 - Senior Scientist, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel; 1994—1999 - Associate Professor, Cell Research and Immunology, Tel-Aviv University, Israel; 1999 - President, Institute for Medical Biomathematics (IMBM); 2000 - Chairperson & CSO, Optimata Ltd.

Visiting Scientist

1985 – University of New York at Stoney Brook, USA
1989 - Rockefeller University, New York, USA
1989 - Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris
1991 - Imperial College of Science, UK
1992 - 1994 - Oxford University, UK

Activity on Professional Societies:

1986— Member of the Society of Mathematical Biology (SMB); 1991- Member of the European Society of Mathematics in Biology and Medicine (ESMTB); 1996—1998 - Acting President of the Israeli Society of Theoretical and Mathematical Biology (ISMTB); 1997— 2003 - Board of Directors of the European Society of Mathematical and Theoretical Biology (ESMTB); 1998—2001 - President of the Israeli Society of Theoretical and Mathematical Biology. (ISMTB)

Academic and Professional Awards:

1974 - Aharon Katzir Prize for Scientific Writing, Israel Academy of Science, Israel; 1987 - The Elaine Blond Career Development Chair, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel; 1989 - The Juludan Prize for Outstanding Scientific Achievements, Technion — Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa; 1987 - Jakubskind-Cymerman Research Prize, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel; 2004 - Best Paper Award, 6th International Conference on Cellular Automata for Research and Industry, ACRI.

Recent Publications:

  • Gorelik B., Ziv I., Shohat R., Wick M., Webb C., Hankins D., Sidransky D., Agur Z. Efficacy of once weekly docetaxel combined with bevacizumab for patients with intense angiogenesis: validation of a new theranostic method in mesenchymal chondrosarcoma xenografs. Cancer Research (in press).
  • Kirnasovsky O.U., Kogan Y, Agur Z. Resilience in developing tissues: development of the Agur – Daniel – Ginossar model. Disc. Cont. Dyn. Systems (in press).
  • Kirnasovsky O.U., Kogan Y, Agur Z. Analysis of a mathematical model for the molecular mechanism of mammary stem cell fate decision. Mathematical Modelling of Natural Phenomena (in press).
  • Yuri Kogan, Benjamin Ribba, Nitsan Dahan, Karen Marron, Vladimir Vainstein, Zvia Agur. Intensified doxorubicin-based regimen efficacy in residual non-hodgkin's lymphoma disease: towards a computationally supported treatment improvement Math. Model. Nat. Phenom. Mathematical Modelling of Natural Phenomena 2(3): 47-68 (2007)
  • Natalie Kronik, Yuri Kogan, Vladimir Vainstein, Zvia Agur. Improving alloreactive ctl immunotherapy for malignant gliomas using a simulation model of their interactive dynamics. Cancer Immunol Immunother. Mar;57(3):425-439 (2008). Epub 2007 Sep 7.
  • Cappuccio A, Elishmereni M, and Agur Z. Optimization of Interleukin-21 Immunotherapeutic Strategies. J Theor Biol. 2007 Sep 21;248(2):259-66. Epub 2007 May 18.
  • Vainstein V., Ginosar Y., Shoham M., Ranmar D., Ianovski A., Agur Z. Improving cancer therapy by doxoburicin and granulocyte colony-stimulating factors: insights from a mathematical model of human granulopoiesis. Math. Model. Nat. Phenom., Vol. 1 Num. 2, 2006, pp. 70-80.
  • Kheiffetz Y, Elishmereni M, Horowitz S and Agur Z. Fluid retention side-effects of the chemotherapy-supportive treatment interleukin11: Mathematical modelling as affected by data availability. GTHM Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine, 7 (2,3) 2006 pp. 71-84.
  • Cappucio A, Elishmereni M, Agur Z. Cancer immunotherapy by interleukin-21: potential treatment strategies evaluated in a mathematical model. Cancer Res. , 66 (14), 2006 ( 7293 - 300).
  • Agur Z., Biomathematics in the development of personalized medicine in oncology. Future Oncol., 2 (1) 2006 (pp. 39-42).
  • Agur Z., Hassin R., Levy S. Optimizing chemotherapy scheduling using local search heuristics, Operations Research.; 54 (5), 2006 (pp.829-846).
  • Y. Kheifetz, Y. Kogan & Z. Agur. Long-range predictability in models of cell populations subjected to phase-specific drugs: Growth-rate approximation using properties of positive compact operators. Mathematical Models & Methods in the Applied Sciences. 16 (7), 2006, (pp. 1-18).
  • E.V.Presnov & Z Agur. The role of time-delays, slow processes and chaos in modulating the cell cycle clock . Mathematical Biosc & Engin, 2(3), 2005 (pp.625-542).
  • Vainstein V., Ginosar Y., Shoham M., Ranmar D., Ianovski A., Agur Z. The complex effect of granulocyte on human granulopoiesis analyzed by a new physiologically-based mathematical model. Jour Theor Biol. 234(3), 2005 (pp.311-27).
  • Ribba B., Marron K., Alarcon T., Maini P, Agur Z. A mathematical model of doxorubicin treatment efficacy for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: Investigation of the current protocol through theoretical modelling results Bull. Math. Biol., 67, 2005 (pp. 79-99).
  • Arakelyan L, Merbl Y., Agur Z. Vessel maturation effects on tumour growth: validation of a computer model in implanted human ovarian carcinoma spheroids Eur. Jour. Cancer, 41, 2005 (pp.159-167).
  • Kheifetz Y., Kogan Y., Agur Z. Matrix and compact operator description of resonance and antiresonance in cell populations subjected to phase specific drugs. Jour. Medical Informatics & Technologies Vol. 8, MM-11 – MM-29, 2004.
  • Agur Z., Arakelyan L., Daugulis P., Ginosar Y. Hopf point analysis for angiogenesis models. Disc. Cont. Dyn. Systems – Series B, 4 (1), 2004 (pp. 29-38).
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