“It is in the Negev that Jewish scientific talent
and research ability shall be tested.”

Ron Lahav, Ph.D.

Managing Director
btecnibn@bgu.ac.il

Dr. Ron Lahav became Managing Director of the NIBN in July 2023 after serving as the Executive Director of R&D for 6 years. Dr. Lahav received his Ph.D. in biology from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and this was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University in the Department of Molecular Biology. He has been in the pharmaceutical industry for nearly 15 years, holding various leadership and executive management positions. After serving as a Senior Scientist at the Canadian company, AnorMed, until its acquisition by Genzyme, Dr. Lahav returned to Israel and joined Quark Pharmaceuticals as Project Director; he was quickly promoted to overseeing all projects in various fields such as CNS and oncology. Dr. Lahav was also the CEO of an incubator stage company called Quiet Therapeutics where he led the company from seed funding to a series C round. Following his position at Quiet, Ron held CEO positions at two early stage companies, SpliSense and ART Therapeutics.

Keren Miller, Ph.D.

Executive Director - Intellectual Property
patentnibn@bgu.ac.il

Dr. Keren Miller is a registered Patent Attorney with expertise in a variety of aspects related to Intellectual Property, including patentability evaluations, due diligence investigations, IP strategy, and portfolio management. Keren holds Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees in Cancer Therapy from Tel-Aviv University, and a B.Sc. degree in Life Science from Ben-Gurion University. Keren has over 10 years of Intellectual Property experience in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology industry. She recently joined NIBN as the IP Executive Director.

Maya Pitshadze, MBA

Executive Director - Finance
pmaya@bgu.ac.il

Maya Pitshadze holds an Executive MBA from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a BA in economics and computer science from Bar Ilan University. Ms. Pitshadze has over 18 years of experience in senior positions in the field of finance, including a position at an international pharmaceutical company. She has been at the NIBN since its founding and established the company’s financial and administrative systems.