Welcome to the Edmond J. Safra Center for Brain and Learning Disabilities website. Our center is dedicated to exploring the fascinating intersection of mind, brain, and education, with a specific focus on the unique challenges and opportunities faced by Hebrew and Arabic speaking children and adults.

As the director of the center, I am thrilled to offer you a comprehensive resource that combines the latest research from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and education, with practical insights and tools that can help parents, educators, and policymakers better support the social-emotional, cognitive, and academic development of young learners.

Our team of experts has spent years researching how language, culture, and socio-economic factors impact the learning experiences of Hebrew and Arabic-speaking children, and we have identified several key areas where targeted interventions and support can make a significant difference.

On this website, you will find a wealth of information on topics such as literacy development, bilingualism, numeracy skills, and executive functions, as well as tips and strategies for parents and educators on optimizing learning environments, enhancing motivation and engagement, and fostering positive attitudes towards learning.

We believe every child deserves the best possible start in life, and we hope this website will serve as a valuable resource for anyone committed to promoting the well-being and success of children.

Our multi-cultural center is a beacon of hope for shared living that celebrates human diversity. By pooling resources and expertise, researchers from different backgrounds can work together to develop effective interventions that are tailored to the needs of all children in the region, regardless of their religion or language. Through this kind of collaborative effort, we can build bridges between communities and promote greater understanding and empathy between people who might otherwise see each other as adversaries. Ultimately, it’s through these kinds of initiatives that we can create a more peaceful and harmonious future for every child in our country.

Thank you for visiting, and we look forward to your feedback and engagement as we continue to explore this important and exciting field.

Prof. Tami Katzir

Director

Prof. Tami Katzir is a member of the Dept. of Learning Disabilities at Haifa University and the head of the Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the study of Learning Disabilities. She received her PhD in Applied Child Development at Tufts University (2003), and was a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the In the Mind Brain and Education Program(2003-2008). She also was a visiting professor of Neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (2009-2012), as well as a scholar in residence at the Stephan Wise Academy School at Bel-Air.  She was the chair of the Dept of Learning Disabilities at Haifa University in 2013-2016. 

Her research interests revolve around the cognitive, emotional  and biological basis of reading development and reading disabilities in diverse populations.  She has examined the role of fluency in reading in different orthographies as well as the relationship between linguistic and social-emotional processes in reading  fluency and comprehension. Tami Katzir’s research is supported by various foundations, including the Spencer Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, the Piper Foundation, the Israel Science Foundation and the Israeli Department of Education.   She received  teaching awards as well as the Etti and Dusty Miller award of excellence for junior faculty. She is the author of close to a 100 publications and is a member of the editorial board of several leading academic journals such as applied psycholinguistics, Mind Brain and Education, and Annals of Dyslexia. She is also a member of several literacy committees in the Israeli Ministry of Education. In recent years, together with her colleagues, she has developed two innovative multi-component intervention programs focused on the basic social, linguistic and cognitive skills that promote reading development in children.