Assaf Friedler

Assaf Friedler
אסף פרידלר
Born (1971-08-29) August 29, 1971
Haifa, Israel
EducationHebrew University of Jerusalem (BSc, PhD)
Known forResearch on protein–protein interactions
Scientific career
FieldsChemical biology
Peptide chemistry
Protein chemistry
Biophysical chemistry
Medicinal chemistry
WorkplacesHebrew University of Jerusalem
Singapore–Hebrew University Alliance for Research and Enterprise (SHARE)
Chaim Gilon
Other academic advisors
Sir Alan Fersht
Websitefriedlerlab.huji.ac.il

Assaf Friedler (Hebrew: אסף פרידלר; born 29 August 1971) is an Israeli organic chemist, biochemist and academic administrator. He is a professor at the Institute of Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the director and chief executive officer of the Singapore–Hebrew University Alliance for Research and Enterprise (SHARE), the university's research and enterprise centre in Singapore.

Early life and education

Friedler was born and raised in Haifa, Israel. He studied chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in 1994.[1]

He subsequently began doctoral studies in organic chemistry at the Hebrew University under the supervision of Chaim Gilon. He completed his PhD in chemistry, with distinction, in 2000. In the same year, Friedler moved to the United Kingdom, where he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Medical Research Council Centre for Protein Engineering in Cambridge and worked in the laboratory of Sir Alan Fersht.[1]

Career

In 2004, Friedler joined the Institute of Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as a senior lecturer. He became an associate professor with tenure in 2009 and was appointed full professor in 2015.[2] From 2005 to 2009, he headed the university's undergraduate chemistry–biology programme. He was head of the School of Chemistry.[3]

Friedler served as vice rector of the Hebrew University from 2016 to 2020.[4][5] During the same period, he chaired the university's central student admissions committee.[2] He was dean of its Faculty of Science from 2020 to 2024.[6] He chaired the Hebrew University for the Youth from 2019 to 2024.[7]

In October 2024, Friedler became director and chief executive officer of SHARE, the Singapore–Hebrew University Alliance for Research and Enterprise.[8]

Research

Friedler's research is in chemical biology, peptide chemistry, protein chemistry, biophysical chemistry, and medicinal chemistry. It focuses on the use of peptides and peptide-based methods to study and inhibit protein–protein interactions[9], with a particular focus on interactions involving intrinsically disordered protein regions.[10] His work has used synthetic, structural and biophysical approaches to investigate the molecular basis of these interactions and peptide-based methods to modulate them.[11]

His research has examined interactions involving the tumour-suppressor protein p53[12], including its interactions with MDM2.[13] His work has also addressed proteins associated with apoptosis and cancer-related signalling pathways.[14][15][16][17][18] He has also studied interactions among HIV-1 proteins,[19][20] including integrase, Rev,[21] Vif[22], and Tat[23], and peptide-based approaches to influencing viral protein interactions.[24] A particular focus of Friedler's research has been the use of intrinsically disordered proteins as therapeutic targets and as sources for peptide inhibitors of protein–protein interactions.[25][18][26]

Other work by Friedler and his collaborators has addressed protein oligomerisation[27] and protein aggregation[28][29], including amyloid formation[30][31] and the aggregation of proteins associated with cancer[32] and neurodegenerative disease. His more recent research has also included methods for synthesizing multiphosphorylated peptides[33][34] and protein-interaction-based biosensors.[35]

Honours and awards

References

  1. 1 2 Keinan, Ehud (February 2018). "Welcome New Editorial Board Members!". Israel Journal of Chemistry. 58 (1–2): 3–6. doi:10.1002/ijch.201800015. ISSN 0021-2148.
  2. 1 2 "Assaf Friedler". The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
  3. ↑ Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund Prize for Discovery in Medical Research (PDF) (Report). Authority for Research and Development, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. June 2015.
  4. ↑ Annual Report in Chemistry for 2018 (PDF) (Report). Institute of Chemistry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
  5. ↑ "אודות לשכת הרקטור".
  6. ↑ "Deans throughout the years". Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
  7. ↑ "Prof. Assaf Friedler". Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
  8. ↑ "Prof. Assaf Friedler". Singapore–Hebrew University Alliance for Research and Enterprise. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  9. ↑ Katz, Chen; Levy-Beladev, Liron; Rotem-Bamberger, Shahar; Rito, Tiago; Rüdiger, Stefan G. D.; Friedler, Assaf (2011). "Studying protein–protein interactions using peptide arrays". Chemical Society Reviews. 40 (5): 2131–2145. doi:10.1039/C0CS00029A. PMID 21243154.
  10. ↑ Amartely, Hadar; David, Ahuvit; Lebendiker, Mario; Benyamini, Hadar; Izraeli, Shai; Friedler, Assaf (2014). "The STIL protein contains intrinsically disordered regions that mediate its protein–protein interactions". Chemical Communications. 50 (40): 5245–5247. doi:10.1039/C3CC45096A. PMID 24022511.
  11. ↑ "Biology@CREATE Seminar". SHARE. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  12. ↑ Friedler, Assaf; Hansson, Lars O.; Veprintsev, Dmitry B. (2002). "A peptide that binds and stabilizes p53 core domain: chaperone strategy for rescue of oncogenic mutants". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 99 (2): 937–942. doi:10.1073/pnas.241629998. PMC 117409. PMID 11782540.
  13. ↑ Schon, Oliver; Friedler, Assaf; Bycroft, Mark; Freund, Stefan M. V.; Fersht, Alan R. (2002). "Molecular mechanism of the interaction between MDM2 and p53". Journal of Molecular Biology. 323 (3): 491–501. doi:10.1016/S0022-2836(02)00852-5. PMID 12381304.
  14. ↑ Katz C, Benyamini H, Rotem S, Lebendiker M, Danieli T, Dines M, Bronner V, Bravman T, Rüdiger S, Friedler A (2008). "Molecular basis of the interaction between the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins and the proapoptotic protein ASPP2". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 105 (34): 12277–12282. doi:10.1073/pnas.0711269105. PMC 2527902. PMID 18719108.
  15. ↑ Iosub Amir A, van Rosmalen M, Mayer G, Lebendiker M, Danieli T, Friedler A (2015). "Highly homologous proteins exert opposite biological activities by using different interaction interfaces". Scientific Reports. 5 11629. doi:10.1038/srep11629. PMC 4486954. PMID 26130271.
  16. ↑ Amartely H, David A, Shamir M, Lebendiker M, Izraeli S, Friedler A (2016). "Differential effects of zinc binding on structured and disordered regions in the multidomain STIL protein". Chemical Science. 7 (7): 4140–4147. doi:10.1039/C6SC00115G. PMC 6014068. PMID 30155058.
  17. ↑ Iosub-Amir A, Bai F, Sohn YS, Song L, Tamir S, Marjault HB, Mayer G, Karmi O, Jennings PA, Mittler R, Onuchic JN, Friedler A, Nechushtai R (2019). "The anti-apoptotic proteins NAF-1 and iASPP interact to drive apoptosis in cancer cells". Chemical Science. 10 (3): 665–673. doi:10.1039/C8SC03390K. PMC 6349067. PMID 30774867.
  18. 1 2 Sohn YS, Iosub-Amir A, Cardenas AE, Karmi O, Yahana MD, Gruman T, Rowland L, Marjault HB, Webb LJ, Mittler R, Elber R, Friedler A, Nechushtai R (2022). "A peptide-derived strategy for specifically targeting the mitochondria and ER of cancer cells: a new approach in fighting cancer". Chemical Science. 13 (23): 6929–6941. doi:10.1039/D2SC01934E. PMC 9200128. PMID 35774163.
  19. ↑ "Israeli scientists see breakthrough in AIDS cure". The Times of Israel. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  20. ↑ Beiter, Katie (2 November 2016). "Israeli research successful in identifying possible HIV, AIDS cure". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  21. ↑ Faust, Ofrah; Bigman, Lavi; Friedler, Assaf (2014). "A role of disordered domains in regulating protein oligomerization and stability". Chemical Communications. 50 (74): 10797–10800. doi:10.1039/C4CC03863K. PMID 25054624.
  22. ↑ Reingewertz, Tali H.; Britan-Rosich, Elena; Rotem-Bamberger, Shahar (2013). "Mapping the Vif–A3G interaction using peptide arrays: A basis for anti-HIV lead peptides". Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry. 21 (12): 3523–3532. doi:10.1016/j.bmc.2013.03.001. PMC 7039049. PMID 23545135.
  23. ↑ Friedler, Assaf; Friedler, Dorit; Luedtke, Nathan W. (2000). "Development of a functional backbone cyclic mimetic of the HIV-1 Tat arginine-rich motif". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 275 (31): 23783–23789. doi:10.1074/jbc.M002200200. PMID 10764789.
  24. ↑ Chandra, Koushik; Maes, Michal; Friedler, Assaf (2015). "Interactions of HIV-1 proteins as targets for developing anti-HIV-1 peptides". Future Medicinal Chemistry. 7 (8): 1055–1077. doi:10.4155/fmc.15.46. PMID 26062401.
  25. ↑ Mayer G, Shpilt Z, Kowalski H, Tshuva EY, Friedler A (2022). "Targeting protein interaction hotspots using structured and disordered chimeric peptide inhibitors". ACS Chemical Biology. 17 (7): 1811–1823. doi:10.1021/acschembio.2c00177. PMID 35758642.
  26. ↑ Mayer G, Shpilt Z, Bressler S, Marcu O, Schueler-Furman O, Tshuva EY, Friedler A (2020). "Targeting an interaction between two disordered domains by using a designed peptide". Chemistry – A European Journal. 26 (45): 10240–10249. doi:10.1002/chem.202000465. PMID 32181542.
  27. ↑ Gabizon, Ronen; Friedler, Assaf (2014). "Allosteric modulation of protein oligomerization: An emerging approach to drug design". Frontiers in Chemistry. 2 (3): 9. doi:10.3389/fchem.2014.00009. PMC 3965418. PMID 24667276.
  28. ↑ "FST Seminar—Professor Shlomo Yitzchaik and Professor Assaf Friedler were invited as speakers in NUS". SHARE. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  29. ↑ Garfagnini, Tommaso; Ferrari, Luca; Koopman, Margreet B. (2024). "A peptide strategy for inhibiting different protein aggregation pathways". Chemistry – A European Journal. 30 (52) e202400080. doi:10.1002/chem.202400080. PMID 38972842.
  30. ↑ "Breakthrough technique maps toxic protein growth in Alzheimer's Disease". ETHealthworld. Asian News International. 15 December 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  31. ↑ Aragonès Pedrola, J.; Dekker, F. A.; Garfagnini, T.; Mayer, G.; Koopman, M. B.; Bergmeijer, M.; Heesink, G.; Rots, I.; Claessens, M. M. A. E.; Förster, F.; Hoozemans, J. J. M.; Jensen, H.; Friedler, A.; Rüdiger, S. G. D. (2025). "FibrilPaint to determine the length of Tau amyloids in fluids". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 122 (44) e2502847122. doi:10.1073/pnas.2502847122. PMC 12595476. PMID 41144666.
  32. ↑ Garfagnini, Tommaso; Hayouka, Zvi; Friedler, Assaf (2025). "Random peptide mixtures of tryptophan and lysine suppress the aggregation of a cancer-related mutant of the Axin protein". RSC Chemical Biology. 6 (8): 1270–1277. doi:10.1039/D5CB00141B. PMC 12264706. PMID 40677302.
  33. ↑ Samarasimhareddy, Mamidi; Mayer, Guy; Hurevich, Mattan; Friedler, Assaf (2020). "Multiphosphorylated peptides: importance, synthetic strategies, and applications for studying biological mechanisms". Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry. 18 (18): 3405–3422. doi:10.1039/D0OB00499E. PMID 32322853.
  34. ↑ Grunhaus D, Molina ER, Cohen R, Stein T, Friedler A, Hurevich M (2022). "Accelerated multiphosphorylated peptide synthesis". Organic Process Research & Development. 26 (8): 2492–2497. doi:10.1021/acs.oprd.2c00164. PMC 9397535. PMID 36032360.
  35. ↑ Joshi, Pralhad Namdev; Mervinetsky, Evgeniy; Solomon, Ohad (2022). "Electrochemical biosensors based on peptide-kinase interactions at the kinase docking site". Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 207 114177. doi:10.1016/j.bios.2022.114177. PMID 35305389.
  36. 1 2 Institute of Chemistry Evaluation Report for MALAG (PDF) (Report). Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
  37. ↑ ERC Starting Grant Competition 2007 – Results (PDF) (Report). European Research Council. 8 May 2008.
  38. ↑ "Young chemists win share of ERC windfall". Chemistry World.
  39. ↑ Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund Prize for Discovery in Medical Research 2015 (PDF) (Report). Authority for Research and Development, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.