- Researcher, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv University
Rheumatology
Dr. Smadar Gertel is Head of the Arthritis Research Laboratory in the Department of Rheumatology at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), affiliated with the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University. She is also a member of the Alrov Center for Digital Medicine at Tel Aviv University.
Dr. Gertel’s research focuses on two main areas: personalized medicine for patients with rheumatic diseases, and novel approaches to resolving synovial inflammation. In personalized medicine, her laboratory applies ex-vivo testing methods to identify predictive biomarkers that differentiate patients likely to benefit from specific anti-rheumatic therapies — including conventional DMARDs, biological therapies, and targeted synthetic small molecules. Her second research focus investigates novel approaches to restore normal inflammatory processes in the synovium as an alternative to glucocorticoid injections.
Dr. Gertel has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications spanning T cell function in psoriatic arthritis, biomarkers of disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus, and the pathophysiology of synovial inflammation.