Ilan Sela
Professor
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Israel
Biography
Dr. Ilan Sela is a Co-Founder of Beeologics, LLC and serves as its Chief Scientist. Dr. Sela has over 15 years of experience in Fiber Optics. He contributes more than five decades of accumulated knowledge in virology, plant and insect pathology and RNAi technologies to specifically address the long-term well being of the bees. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of Optichrom, which he Co-Founded. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of PetroMetrix, a manufacturer of analyzers for the petro-chemical industry, which was founded by him in 1992. From 1989 to 1992, he worked as a Researcher with the Los Alamos National Laboratories in Los Alamos, New Mexico, working in the Electronic Research Group on novel materials for IR detectors and Optical Switching. He is world renowned for his innovative work in virology and is credited with identifying, sequencing and naming the Israel Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) in 2002. As a Professor Emeritus of Virology and Molecular Biology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, he sits on the Faculty of Agriculture at the Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics (Virus Laboratory), and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Molecular Biology, Virology and Genetic Engineering. His current research is focused on bee viruses including Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the expression and silencing vectors for plants, and the integration of viral sequences into host genomes. Over the course of his career, he has authored more than 100 papers that have appeared in reviewed scientific journals. He has also supervised 106 graduate students theses. He is the author of over 30 publications in the field of Applied Spectroscopy. Dr. Sela earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Virology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Research Interest
A universal platform (IL-60) for expression and silencing in plants. The use of the IL60 platform for protecting plants from viruses, bacteria (including phytoplasmas) and fungi. Innate immunity in plants. RNA silencing of plant and viral gene expression. Integration of viral RNA sequences into host genomes. Bee viruses. Exchange of genetic information between Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) and the bee genome and its relation to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). RNA silencing in bees as a tool to control IAPV (and CCD), and bee parasites (Varroa, Nosema).