Director, Israeli Center for Familial Dysautonomia

Hadassah University Hospital, Mount Scopus,

P.O.Box 24035, Jerusalem

Israel 91240.

Tel: 972-2-5844510

Fax: 972-2-5823515

Cell: 972-50787-4428

E-mail: cmaayan@hadassah.org.il

Prof. Maayan is married and has two sons.

Prof. Channa Maayan is the director of the Israeli Center for Familial Dysautonomia (FD) at Hadassah University Hospital, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem and working there since 1981. The Israeli FD center serves as a tertiary center for all FD patients around Israel as well as for FD patients who live in Europe, FD tourists from USA and other countries. It also serves as a primary FD center for whoever needs it.

Prof. Maayan is a specialist in pediatric pulmonary and pediatric medicine and she is senior physician at the pediatric department consulting and treating lung diseases.

She was born in Jerusalem (at Hadassah Mount Scopus), Israel she graduated High School, at Gymnasia Rehavia, Jerusalem, and served in the Military Service as a Training Officer.

She graduated Hadassah University Hospital-Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem (1974) and got First Prize (Faculty Prize) for her MD thesis. She finished her pediatric residency and was also Chief Resident at the Department of Pediatrics, Hadassah University Hospital, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem (1981).

She did her Fellowship in Pediatric Pulmonary Unit, Hadassah University Hospital, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem (1981-1984) as well as a Fellowship at the Pediatric Pulmonary Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, U.S.A 1985-1988).

She is an Associate professor, at Hadassah University Hospital- Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem.

Prof C. Maayan is teaching in courses of clinical pediatrics and physiology of respiratory system.

She received the exemplary Award for Distinguished Physician for the year 2000 from the Israel Medical Association and the Association of Law and Medicine in Israel.

She was a Visiting Reasearh Prof. at Hammersmith Hospital Imperial College of London for the study of Calcitonin Gene Related Peptide in FD patients.

Prof Maayan has published 64 original articles mainly on pulmonary medicine and physiology as well as articles about FD. She also has published a few case reports , a booklet about treatment of familial dysautonomia ( in Hebrew- Prolog pub. 2000) and participated in a booklet about gastrostomy in FD patients (2002). 

Her research Subjects:

1.      Lung diseases physiology

2.      Control of breathing during sleep

3.      Chronic lung disease in FD

4.      Gastrointestinal disturbances in FD and their effects on the respiratory system

5.      FD genetics

6.      Various treatments in FD

7.      Neurotransmitters in FD

8.      Evaluation of the autonomic nervous system.

Public Job

Participating at the medical committee for a plan to build a camp in Israel for children with severe illnesses and special needs- Jordan River Camp Organization.

Selected publications

Maayan C, Axelrod FB, Akselrod S, Carley DW, Shannon DC. Evaluation of autonomic dysfunction by power spectral analysis. J Auton Nerv Syst 21:51-58, 1987

 Blumenfeld A, Slaugenhaupt S, Axelrod BF, Lucente D, Maayan C, Liebert CB, Ozelius L, Trofatter JA, Haines JL, Breakefield XO, Gusella JF. Localization of the gene for familial dysautonomia on chromosome 9 and definition of DNA markers for genetic diagnosis. Nature Genetics 4:160-164, 1993. (30.910, 1/114, 69)

Maayan C, Carley DW, Axelrod FB, Grimes J, Shannon DC. Respiratory system  stability and abnormal carbon dioxide homeostasis. J Appl Physiol 72:1186-1193, 1992

Maayan C, Nimrod A, Morag, Becker Y. Herpes simplex virus-1 and varicella virus infection in familial dysautonomia patients. Journal of medical virology 54:158-161, 1998

Maayan C, Becker Y, Gesundheit B, Girgis S. Calcitonin gene related peptide in familial dysautonomia. Neuropeptide 35(3 & 4), 189-195, 2001.

Slaugenhaupt SA, Blumenfeld A, Gill SP, Leyne M, Mull J, Cuajungco MP, Liebert CB, Chadwick B,  Idelson M, Brownstein MJ, Krappmann D, Scheidereit, Maayan C, Axelrod FB, Gusella JF. Tissue-specific expression of a slicing mutation in the IKBKAP gene causes familial dysautonomia. Am J Hum Genet 68:598-605, 2001.

Maayan C, Bar-On E, Foldes AJ, Gesundheit B, Dresner Pollak R. Bone mineral density and metabolism in familial dysautonomia. Osteoporosis International 2001, 13:429 – 433,2002.

Cheishvili D., Maayan Ch., Smith Y., Ast G., and Razin A. IKAP/hELP1 deficiency in         cerebrum of familial dysautonomia patients results in down regulation of genes involved in oligodendrocytes differentiation and in myelination. Human Molecular Genetics. 16;17: 2097-2104, 2007.