Meir Yoeli (August 20, 1912 – December 5, 1975) was a biologist, researcher and educator. He is best known for his expertise in the field of infectious and parasitic diseases, which led to advancements in malaria research in the 1960s and 70s. His name inspired the term, "yoelii," the taxonomy of organisms with English names. Yoeli was also a professor at New York University, where he wrote scientific papers on the study of human malaria.

Biography

Yoeli was born on August 20, 1912, in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

, Lithuania. He studied biology and medicine at the University of Kaunas and immigrated to Palestine in 1934. In 1937, Yoeli began studying medical and tropical medicine at the

University of Padova The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

in Italy. He received his M.D. in 1939 from the University of Basel. He was a medical officer in the British Royal Army Medical Corps during World War II stationed in North Africa. In 1948, Yoeli was the head of the department of preventive medicine for the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

during Israel's war for independence. He became a member of the faculty at New York University in 1956. Yoeli taught as a professor in the department of preventive medicine at the university's

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

. From 1974-1975, Yoeli was the president of the New York Society of Tropical Medicine. He was also the author of numerous children's books in Hebrew under the pen name Meir Michaeli. He died in December 1975 at his home in New York.

Research

Yoeli is best known for his study and research of malaria at New York University. He developed the technique for testing rodent malaria parasites that was used on experimental research for chemotherapy and immunology. Before Yoeli's breakthrough, malaria research of parasites could only be done on human volunteers or monkeys. In 1974, Yoeli and his colleague, Bruce Hargreaves, discovered a mutant organism that causes cerebral malaria.

Selected publications

Yoeli published more than 130 scientific papers during his career. His research in the field of malaria was recognized internationally by the New York Academy of Science, the ''Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene'' and others. * Yoeli, M. "Cerebral Malaria--The Quest for Suitable Experimental Models in Parasitic Diseases of Man." ''Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg''. 1976. * Yoeli, M. "Landmarks in Malaria Research." ''Verlag für Recht und Gesellschaft.''. 1974'' * Yoeli, M. "Sir Ronald Ross and the Evolution of Malaria Research." ''New York Academy of Science.'' 1973. * Yoeli, M. "The Development of Malaria Research Before and Since Ronald Ross." ''Munch Med Wochenschr.'' 1973. * Yoeli, M., Upmanisa, R., Most H. "Drug-resistance transfer among rodent plasmodia" ''Parasitology.'' 1969. * Yoeli, M. "Patterns of Immunity and Resistance in Rodent Malaria Infections" ''Bull Soc Pathol Exot Filiales''. 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoeli, Meir American biologists Malariologists 1912 births 1975 deaths 20th-century biologists Lithuanian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine expatriates in Italy Israeli emigrants to the United States