קסיר - פקולטה לביולוגיה Biology Faculty

Education/ Resume:

B.Sc- 1968, M.Sc – 1970, Ph.D 1982, all at the Hebtew University of Jerusalem Israel.

Academic appointments:

Oct 2013 Professor Emeritus

Nov. 2011 Full Professor, Faculty of Biology, Technion, Haifa, Israel

May 1999 – Oct. 2011 Associate Professor, Faculty of Biology, Technion, Haifa, Israel

Mar. 2002 – Sep. 2002 Visiting scientist, IFOM Institute for Molecular Oncology, Milano Italy

Aug. 1990 – April 1999
Senior lecturer, Faculty of Biology, Technion, Haifa, Israel
Sep. 1985 – Aug. 1986 Visiting scientist, Whitehead Institute, CambridgeMAUSA.

1984 – 1990 Adjunct teacher, Department of Genetics, the Hebrew University Jerusalem, Israel.

Research Summary:

In my lab we used meiosis in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a tool to understand several basic molecular biology/development mechanisms common to all eukaryotes. Our specific goals were: (i). To elucidate how cells choose between optional developmental pathways, (ii). Sexual reproduction depends on the formation of haploid gametes by meiosis. Our aim is to elucidate the control of premeiotic DNA replication., (iii). To elucidate the specific roles mammalian Cyclin-Dependent Kinases play in the cell cycle and meiosis, (iv). To determine the importance of positive and negative feedback regulation on a master regulator for the efficient entry into and completion of a developmental pathway, (v). To determine how histone deacetylation can both promote and repress transcription, and how, within a single promoter, a dynamic switch between repression and activation takes place

Key Publications:

Kassir*, Y., D. Granot and G. Simchen 1988. IME1, a positive regulator gene of meiosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Cell 52:853-862.
Rubin-Bejerano I., Mandel S., Robzyk K., and Y. Kassir*. 1996. Induction of meiosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae depends on conversion of the transcriptional repressor, Ume6, to a positive regulator, by its regulated association with the transcriptional activator, Ime1. Mol. Cell. Biol. 16:2518-2526.

Foiani M., Boger E., Capone R., Sagee S., Hashimshoni T., and Y. Kassir*. 1996. Meiosis specific protein kinase, Ime2, is required for the correct timing of DNA replication and nuclear divisions in yeast meiosis. Mol Gen. Genet. 253: 278-288.

Sagee, S., A. Sherman, G. Shenhar, K. Robzyk, N. Ben-Dov, G. Simchen, and Y. Kassir* 1998. Multiple and distinct Activation and Repression Sequences mediate the regulated transcription of IME1, a transcriptional activator of meiosis-specific genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol. Cell. Biol. 18: 1985-1995.

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