Michal Rivlin facts for kids

Michal Rivlin (Hebrew: מיכל ריבלין) is a brilliant scientist who studies how our eyes see the world. She works at the Weizmann Institute of Science and is a top expert in neurobiology, which is the study of the nervous system. In 2019, she won the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists for her amazing work on the retina, which is the part of your eye that senses light.

Early Life and School

Michal Rivlin was born in Jerusalem. Before going to college, she took part in the Sar-El program. She then went to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. There, she studied mathematics and computer science.

She finished her first degree in 2001. After that, she continued her studies, focusing on how the brain works. She earned her advanced degree in 2009.

Studying the Eye's Signals

After her studies in Israel, Dr. Rivlin moved to the University of California, Berkeley. She worked with another scientist, Marla Feller. During this time, she discovered something cool about how the retina works.

She found that special cells in the retina, called retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), can change how they react to light. For example, some RGCs usually tell the brain about movement in a certain direction. But after a short burst of light, they can change and respond to movement in a different direction! Other RGCs that sense light intensity can also change their preferred light level. This shows how adaptable our eyes are.

Research and Discoveries

In 2013, Dr. Rivlin joined the Weizmann Institute of Science. She started her own lab there. Her team studies how the brain understands the fast-changing signals from the retina. They want to know how our brains use this changing information to create a clear picture of what we see.

To do this, her lab uses special tools. These include advanced microscopes and ways to measure electrical signals in brain cells. They also use methods to study how genes affect these cells. This helps them understand how the retina communicates with the brain.

Retina and Brain Health

Dr. Rivlin believes that studying the retina could help doctors find brain diseases early. For example, she thinks it might help with diseases like Parkinson's disease. People with Parkinson's often have lower levels of a brain chemical called dopamine in their retinas. Dr. Rivlin studies how the retina reacts to different dopamine levels. This research could lead to new ways to spot the disease early.

She also looks at Alzheimer's disease. People with Alzheimer's lose certain brain cells, and this can also happen in the retina. Dr. Rivlin studies specific cells in the retina called starburst amacrine cells. She thinks that by measuring these cells, doctors might be able to tell if someone has low levels of another brain chemical, acetylcholine. This could help diagnose Alzheimer's disease sooner.

Awards and Recognition

In 2019, Dr. Rivlin received the Israel Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists. This award recognized her important work in life sciences.

Personal Life

Dr. Rivlin is married to Yedidya Etzion. They have four children.