Aaron Ciechanover obtained his MD from the "Hadassha" and the Hebrew University School of Medicine in Jerusalem, and his PhD from the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel where he is presently serving as Professor of Biochemistry. In collaboration with others at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, Aaron Ciechanover identified the first ubiquitin system mutant cell, demonstrating the role of the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic system in protein degradation in vivo. Aaron Ciechanover's present work aims to elucidate the mode of recognition of specific target substrates and the role of the system in the degradatio of nuclear oncoproteins and in activation and elimination of transcription factors.

Maria G Masucci obtained her MD and specialization in Oncology from the University of Ferrara, Italy and her PhD in Tumor Biology from the Karolinska Institutet where she is presently holding the position of Professor of Virology. Her work has been focused on the characterization of immune responses to human herpes viruses and DNA virus-associated malignancies, which has led to the identification of the first transferable protein domain that prevents ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis. Currently, her research focuses on the characterization of proteolytic pathways in malignant cells and their regulation by viral and cellular oncogenes.

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