Our Team
Our Team and Advisory Board consist of Multi-Disciplinary professionals who have many years of experience with drug development and ALS Clinical Trials. These expertise enable us to move in a fast and efficient pace to achieve our goal
Core team
Alon Ben-Noon
Chief Executive Officer
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer.
Prior to the establishment of NeuroSense Therapeutics, Alon founded MediCan Consulting, a successful consultancy firm which worked and collaborated with many leading pharmaceutical R&D companies, including Mediwound, Chiasma, Teva, Sol-Gel, FutuRx, NeuroDerm and others. The firm’s diligent employees were pioneers, who paved the way to more efficient and accurate work in the industry, mainly in small biotech companies, while coordinating innovative Drug Development Programs, managing operational activities and involved in business development activities.
MBA and BSc in Industrial Engineering, both from Ben-Gurion University
Dr. Oron Yacoby-Zeevi
Chief Scientific Officer
Chief Scientific Officer responsible for pre-clinical studies, formulation development and company’s pipeline.
Prior to working at NeuroSense, Oron was CSO at NeuroDerm, responsible for the development of their unique formulation (acquired by Mitsubishi Tanabe for $1.1 billion).
In the past, she also served as Chief Science Officer at Harlan Biotech Israel Ltd., and R&D team leader at Insight Biopharmaceuticals Ltd.
Dr. Yacoby-Zeevi has 20 years of experience in leading research and development programs, and GLP compliant pre-clinical development of numerous small molecule drugs and biologics, in various indications, including CNS diseases.
She is the author of more than 15 patents.
DVM from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. PhD in Microbiology and Immunology, from Ben-Gurion University
Dr. Jeffrey Sterling
Head of CMC
CMC Leader, responsible for product and formulation development.
Dr. Sterling is an accomplished researcher with over 40 years of experience in Research and Development at Teva Pharmaceuticals. He is one of the inventors of Azilect ® (Parkinson’s).
He has received numerous prizes and achievements, including the Rothschild Prize for Innovation and Horev Prize for Excellence in Medicinal Chemistry.
Ph.D. in Chemistry, from Johns Hopkins University
Avital Pushett
Head of ALS Clinical Program
Leader of the ALS clinical program at NeuroSense Therapeutics.
She is an experienced researcher, focusing on stem cells and their development and maintenance.
Avital is a certified CRA, and holds a drug development and regulatory compliance certificate from Bio Medical Research Design Ltd. She also received an excellence award for her Master’s thesis.
Avital is extremely devoted to the cause, since losing her father to ALS.
MSc in Biomedical Sciences, from The Hebrew University
Dr. Shiran Zimri
Head of Scientific Program
Shiran leads the scientific program at NeuroSense Therapeutics.
Shiran has over 10 years of experience in neuroscience, focusing on neurodegenerative diseases, specifically Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Zimri has published many articles in major journals, and has attained more than 12 awards and scholarships for her academic achievements. She has presented her work in numerous national and international venues.
Shiran is a certified CRA.
PhD in Neurobiology, from Tel-Aviv University
Board of Directors
Alon Ben-Noon
Chief Executive Officer
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer.
Prior to the establishment of NeuroSense Therapeutics, Alon founded MediCan Consulting, a successful consultancy firm which worked and collaborated with many leading pharmaceutical R&D companies, including Mediwound, Chiasma, Teva, Sol-Gel, FutuRx, NeuroDerm and others. The firm’s diligent employees were pioneers, who paved the way to more efficient and accurate work in the industry, mainly in small biotech companies, while coordinating Innovative Drug Development Programs, managing operational activities and involved in business development activities.
MBA and BSc in Industrial Engineering, both from Ben-Gurion University
Prof. Itzhak Krinsky
Prof. (Emeritus) Itzhak Krinsky, Ph.D. worked at Teva for 12 years, and served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Business Development, a member of the Teva Executive Committee, Chairman of Teva Japan, South Korea, and Head of Business Development Asia Pacific.
Prior to joining Teva, he held various senior positions in investment banks in New York City. Before his career on Wall Street, Prof. Krinsky was a Professor of Finance & Business Economics at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada.
Prof. Krinsky currently serves as a director in several private and public companies. In 2014, he was named by SCRIP as one of the top 100 Global Leaders in the Pharmaceutical Industry.
Ph.D. in Economics, from McMaster University
Dr. Oron Yacoby-Zeevi
Chief Scientific Officer
Chief Scientific Officer responsible for pre-clinical studies, formulation development and company’s pipeline.
Prior to working at NeuroSense, Oron was CSO at NeuroDerm, responsible for the development of their unique formulation (acquired by Mitsubishi Tanabe for $1.1 billion).
In the past, she also served as Chief Science Officer at Harlan Biotech Israel Ltd., and R&D team leader at Insight Biopharmaceuticals Ltd.
She has 20 years experience in leading research and development programs, and GLP compliant pre-clinical development of numerous small molecule drugs and biologics, in various indications, including CNS diseases.
She is the author of more than 15 patents.
DVM from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. PhD in Microbiology and Immunology, from Ben-Gurion University
Gil Hakim
Gil Hakim is the Chairman and CEO of Armenta.
Gil has over 20 years of experience in executive positions in multinational med-tech, biotech and pharma industry companies. He previously served as the CEO and then president of UroGen Pharma (NASDAQ: URGN). Prior to that, Gil was the director of new products development at Medispec Ltd., leading the research and development of novel medical devices using low intensity shockwaves to treat ischemic and inflammatory diseases. These products are currently in use worldwide.
B.Sc. in Life Sciences, from Ben-Gurion University
Amir Gross
Amir is the co-founder & managing partner of CardioValve.
Amir is a medtech executive who built a company from napkin sketch to exit. He is a serial entrepreneur, an angel, and a visionary at heart.
Before co-founding and managing CardioValve, Amir founded and led Valtech Cardio in 2005 until its acquisition by Edwards Life Sciences (NYSE: EW) for $1B.
Amir has over 15 years of leadership experience in the medical device industry.
He holds more than 40 patents and patent applications.
Bachelor of Law (LLB) and an MBA, both from Manchester University
Scientific Advisory Board
Prof. Jeremy Shefner
NeuroSense Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board
A leading Scientific Advisory Board member at NeuroSense Therapeutics.
Prof. Shefner is a Senior VP at the Barrow Neurological Institute and chair of the Department of Neurology.
In 1996 he co-founded the Northeast ALS Clinical Trials Consortium (NEALS).
He has developed numerous outcome measures for clinical trials, and is a member of the Editorial Boards of the ALS Journal and Neurotherapeutics.
MD with Distinction, from Northwestern University Medical School. PhD in Sensory Physiology, from The University of Illinois
Dr. Ben-Zion Weiner
During a 37-year-long career at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Dr. Ben-Zion Weiner held various senior Research and Development positions, including Senior Vice President of Global R&D.
He has received the Rothschild Prize for industrial innovation twice – for the development of copaxone for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, and alpha D3 for kidney and bone disorders.
PhD in Organic Chemistry, from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Postdoctoral Fellowship at Schering Plough, drug company in the US
Dr. Merit Cudkowicz
Dr. Merit Cudkowicz is the Director of the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS, Chief of Neurology at Mass General, Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Cudkowicz’s research and clinical activities are dedicated to the study and treatment of people with ALS. She is one of the founders of the Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS), a group of over 134 clinical sites performing collaborative clinical trials and research in ALS. Dr. Cudkowicz is Principal Investigator of the Clinical Coordination Center for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s Neurology Network of Excellence in Clinical Trials (NeuroNEXT). Dr. Cudkowicz received the American Academy of Neurology 2009 Sheila Essay ALS award, the 2017 Forbes Norris Award from the International MND Alliance, the 2017 Pinnacle Award from the Boston Chamber of Commerce and the 2019 Ray Adams American Neurological Association Award.
BSc in chemical engineering, from MIT. MD from Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Jinsy Andrews
Dr. Andrews is an Associate Professor of Neurology, in the Division of Neuromuscular Medicine and serves as the Director of Neuromuscular Clinical Trials. She currently oversees neuromuscular clinical trials and cares for patients with neuromuscular disease, primarily with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Dr. Andrews has extensive experience in all phases of human clinical trials and drug development in both the academic and industry settings. Dr. Andrews is the elected co-chair of the Northeastern ALS (NEALS) Consortium, which is a network of over 100 ALS clinical research centers internationally. She is also elected to the National Board of Trustees of the ALS Association and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology (FAAN). Dr. Andrews has also received the Diamond Award for ALS clinical research from Wings Over Wall Street and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. She is board certified in Neurology, Neuromuscular Disease, and Electrodiagnostic Medicine.
MD from Albany Medical College. M.Sc. in Biostatistics, from Columbia University.
Prof. Orla Hardiman
Orla Hardiman is Head of the Academic Unit of Neurology at Trinity College Dublin and Consultant Neurologist at Beaumont Hospital, where she is Director of the National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis service.
Hardiman was Academic Director of Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute from 2015-18, and then took up a new role as National Clinical Lead in Neurology for the Health Service Executive in early 2019. She leads a research group of over 45 individuals in Neurodegeneration, with particular focus on ALS and frontotemporal dementia.
She is Co- Chair of the European Network for Cure of ALS (ENCALS) and is Editor in Chief of the journal Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and the Frontotemporal Degenerations. She is the recipient of a number of international awards including the AAN Sheila Essey Award in ALS Research, and the International ALS Alliance Forbes Norris Award. In 2018 she received a TCD Innovation Award for Societal Impact. She is one of a handful of practicing physicians to have been elected as members of scholarly Royal Irish Academy.
MD from University College Dublin.
Advisory Board
Dr. Shoshi Tessler
Dr. Tessler has over 16 years of experience in leading projects from discovery to Phase III in various indications.
Currently VP R&D at Biosight Pharma.
Former VP R&D at Enzymotec and Project Champion at Teva Pharmaceutical Innovative R&D.
PhD in Biology, from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Postdoctoral Fellowship, Babraham Inst, Cambridge UK
Dr. Sharon Cohen Vered
Sharon Cohen Vered is a development and operations executive with over 25 years of experience leading drug development (CMC) teams in the pharmaceutical industry, both in large multinational corporations as well as in startup environments. Prior roles include VP CMC at NeuroDerm for 10 years, CMC at Orasis Pharmaceutical, and Head of Parenteral Dosage Forms at Teva innovative R&D for 15 years, Sharon has also been consulting many pharmaceutical companies over the past 12 years.
PhD in Biochemistry from Tel Aviv University
Dr. Revital Mandil-Levin
Dr. Revital Mandil-Levin is a biotech executive with more than 15 years of experience in product and business development in the pharmaceutical industry, ranging from early stages startups to mature clinical stage pharmaceutical companies. She has previously served as Chief Business Development Officer at CollPlant Holdings Ltd, and as Vice President Corporate Development at NeuroDerm Ltd (acquired by Mitsubishi Tanabe for $1.1 billion).
PhD in Biochemistry from Bar-Ilan University. MBA from the Israeli College of Management School of Business
Dr. Yossi Gilgun-Sherki
Dr. Gilgun-Sherki has more than 20 years of experience in academic research and the pharmaceutical industry. Some of his previous positions include Head of Specialty Products at Dexcel Pharma and Global Clinical Program Leader & Senior Clinical Scientist at Teva Global Innovative R&D group.
Yossi previously served as an investigator and coordinator in clinical trials conducted at the Neurology Department, Rabin Medical Center.
He is a (co)author of over 40 publications and book chapters, and an inventor of 6 patents in the field of neurodegeneration.
PhD in Neuropharmacology from Tel Aviv University. MBA from The Open University, Israel
Dr. Nili Schutz
Dr. Schutz is the CEO of Heparx – a Biotech company.
She is a Medicinal Chemistry professional with over 10 years of leadership experience in pharmaceutical drug discovery & development (EPIX, Dynamix), and experience in collaboration with big pharma companies.
PhD from USC (LA, USA) under the supervision of Arieh Warshel (Nobel Prize in Computational Chemistry). Bio-MBA from the Israeli College of Management
In Memoriam
Shay Rishoni
Shay began serving as an Advisory Board member in 2016. He passed away on May 24th 2018.
Shay was Chairman and former CEO at Prize4Life, a non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating the discovery of treatments and a cure for ALS. He received the President’s medal for volunteers in 2016.
Shay held an MBA from the University of Hartford.
Shay was a truly inspiring and optimistic man, who didn’t let his disease stop him from doing amazing work for the ALS community.
We are honored to have known him and worked with him.
He leaves us with an immense legacy.
