Elior Peles is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Molecular Cell Biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. He received his PhD in biochemistry at the Weizmann Institute, and completed his postdoctoral training as a scientist and research group leader at Sugen Inc. His laboratory is studying various developmental aspects of myelinated nerves, with special emphasis on how myelinating glia control the functional organization of the axons they ensheath, and what are the axonal signals that regulate myelination. His long standing interest in the molecular mechanisms underlying axon-glia interactions, led to the identification of several key proteins that mediate such communication, including Neuregulin, Contactin, Caspr protein family, Opalin, Gliomedin, and the Cadm/Necl proteins. (http://www.weizmann.ac.il/mcb/Peles/Peles_Lab/Home.html).