Israel’s 2012 Women in Science Hall of Fame inductee

ESTH Office is pleased to announce Israel’s 2012 Women in Science Hall of Fame inductee, Amal Ayoub.   As part of her award, Dr. Ayoub received a certificate from Ambassador Shapiro at an event in Nazareth on December 22^nd.  She will also be featured in a soon to be published calendar with other scientists from the Middle East and North Africa regions.

Dr. Amal Ayoub is the founder of Metallo-Therapy, a company which tries to focus radiation on tumor cells through the use of gold nanoparticles.  Growing up in Nazareth, her love of science began at a young age and blossomed with the help of an inspiring physics teacher while in high school.  She then pursued a B.S. in Physics at the prestigious Technion Institute before receiving her Master’s and Doctorate in Biomedical Engineering from Ben Gurion University.

Following her dissertation in “Development of new radioactive seeds for Brachytherapy combined with Auger Electron Emission” and a brief stint doing medical research at Tel Hashomer Hospital, the soft spoken scientist became a businesswoman with the founding of Metallo-Therapy.  Her company currently holds three patents in the field of radiotherapy and had a successful first round of Venture Capital investment.

Though eager to deflect attention, Dr. Ayoub does see herself as a science role model for the Arab community, especially young women.  If she could give one piece of advice to girls thinking of pursuing science careers it is to “not think you are less talented than your male counterparts, often women can come up with more creative solutions because they think differently than men.”  Dr. Ayoub often hosts classes of young scientists to tour her lab and talk about her research which she says excites students in her community once they see the real world applications.  She is also a devoted mother of two young sons, and though there are social pressures for women to focus on their family, she does not believe being a successful scientist and mother are independent goals.  “Each day, there are eight hours for your family, eight hours for your work, and eight hours to sleep,” Dr. Ayoub says.  As a role model for young women, it could not be said better.