Hematologist Bracha Ramot (1927–2006): Between the bedside and the bench

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem opened the first medical school in Israel in May 1949. One of the select 45 students of its first class was Bracha (Chweidan) Ramot. After completing her medical studies with distinction, she went on to specialize in internal medicine and hematology and soon became a central figure in the development of hematology in Israel. In 1958, Ramot established the Hematological Institute at Tel-Hashomer hospital and served as its director until 1991. She devoted much of her time and effort to researching environmental and genetic factors that influence hematological conditions: deficiencies in coagulation factors, glucose metabolism disorders, and especially leukemias and lymphomas, including the type known as Hodgkin’s disease. In 2001, Ramot, “The Doyenne of Israeli Hematology” as she was called in publications of the Albert Einstein Institute, was awarded the Israel Prize in Medical Sciences, the country’s most prestigious prize. Her biography personifies the ability to overcome obstacles and challenges in one’s personal life while concurrently becoming an exceedingly successful physician and researcher of extraordinary achievement.