Alex Sigal

AlexSigal was born in the former Soviet Union and grew up in Israel, the US, and Canada. Moving around in childhood can give a flexibility to live in different places and Sigal believes that the researcher should go where he or she can do the best science. In the case of HIV and TB, Sigal believes that place is South Africa, which on one hand has first rate research infrastructure and on the other is the epicenter of these diseases. Sigal therefore was excited to join K-RITH in collaboration with the Max Planck Society at Durban.Sigal became interested in infectious disease during his M.Sc. studies with Varda Rotter on p53 at the Weizmann Institute in Israel. At the time the Onyx-015 virus was being tested to selectively replicate and kill cancer cells based on their p53 status, this sparked Sigal’s interest in understanding what determines the outcome of interactions between the pathogen and the host cell. After finishing his M.Sc., Sigal travelled eastern Africa by bicycle, at times following truck routes. Along these he was able to see the changes brought about by the HIV epidemic. This trip left a strong impression. When he came back to do his Ph.D. at the Weizmann, Sigal looked for a unique perspective to view disease dynamics. He joined the laboratory of Uri Alon, a young scientist who was interested to find rules in biological interactions, as part of the fledgling field of Systems Biology.