The science of happiness

By Tamar Morad

Valeria and Mike Rosenbloom’s relationship was forged in health and well-being—a bellwether of a joint philanthropic vision that has helped others live healthy lives in body and mind.

Both born and raised in Montreal, Valeria and Mike met each other in Valeria’s physical therapy suite. Mike was suffering from spinal stenosis and Valeria’s reputation for solving even the most complicated orthopedic challenges preceded her. She ushered him back to health, giving him enough strength and stability that the pain greatly diminished and he could return to normal activity.

“Mike liked to joke that it was cheaper to marry me than to keep paying physical therapy fees,” says Valeria, who today splits her time between Montreal and Boca Raton. “But in all seriousness, we had connected around our outlooks on life. I have always been of the belief that health begins in the brain—that what you put out there in the universe for others comes back to you in sheer goodness, because you have positively affected the lives of others and that automatically makes you happier.”

They spent almost three decades together, until Mike’s passing in 2016 at age 87. In many ways, the two were different—Valeria saw the world with rose-colored lenses and Mike wasn’t always as optimistic. But their worldviews dovetailed—and manifested in a philanthropic way of life.

“From the beginning our relationship Mike taught me the importance of giving back,” says Valeria. “As a physiotherapist, I was used to ‘giving’ on an individual basis—to make the lives of each of my patients better. But Mike brought another component to my life—providing opportunities for many people who would benefit from a single act of giving. That’s what philanthropy does—you fund a chair or a research program, and the benefits are potentially vast and will eventually touch a large number of people.”

The philanthropic tradition that Mike began in his lifetime was championed by Valeria during their years together, and ever since she has built on their mutual love affair with giving. That included a special connection to the Weizmann Institute of Science that began on an unplanned visit to campus. Throughout the years, the Mike and Valeria Rosenbloom Foundation has given to a range of programs and initiatives at Weizmann, including Valeria’s latest visionary gift that established the Mike and Valeria Rosenbloom Center for Research on Positive Neuroscience.

The Center funds research on human resilience to the stresses of life and individual differences in coping with trauma and injury. This ability to cope is at the heart of the burgeoning field of positive neuroscience, which, as the flip side of the coin to understanding depression and other mental health conditions, aims to reveal the neurobiological mechanisms that help us remain mentally resilient to stressors of all kinds.

When discussing the potential for the Center with Weizmann President Prof. Alon Chen, whose expertise in neuroscience focuses on how the brain copes with anxiety and stress, Valeria recalls, “We were finishing each other’s sentences—and so I knew this was the area that was ideal for me to support, and the best way to memorialize Mike. I feel like I was gifted this Center by Weizmann, not the other way around.”

“Valeria doesn’t just ‘get’ this field of research—she embodies its importance, with her own professional and personal approach to life and well-being,” says Prof. Chen. “And she had the vision and foresight to leverage her own outlook and make this incredibly generous contribution to a field that will help build human resilience. This will be important for everybody everywhere. And just think about how crucial this is for Israel—after October 7, the negative effects of wartime trauma on the Israeli population are deeply concerning on an individual and societal level. Positive neuroscience research is needed more than ever.”

Minded toward giving

Mike Rosenbloom was the son of eastern European immigrants who found refuge in Canada before World War II. His father was a tailor, his mother a homemaker. A chartered accountant by training, and armed with an entrepreneurial spirit and a unique business acumen, Mike embarked on what became a highly successful five-decade career in several industries, including publishing and magazine distribution. But it all started out modestly. As an accountant for a small Quebec newspaper called The Midnight, he recommended to its owner that they expand to the American market; the owner deferred to Mike and suggested he purchase the publication and run it himself. Mike took him up on it, and formed Globe Communications Corp., in what would eventually be recognized as a leveraged buyout. Globe became an international publishing company that generated a series of newspapers, magazines, and other publications. Mike grew his business empire throughout the course of decades and ventured into new industries before selling the companies in 1999.

Mike piloted planes and boats. He fished in the back country. He was cautious yet adventurous in his career and his charity. “There was nothing Mike didn’t like to do or try— he was never afraid to embark on new opportunities, even in areas that were outside his comfort zone,” says Valeria. “Mike understood that when a door opens, you step through it, and new doors will open that you never expected. In a way, this philosophy is like the study of science. And so I think he was drawn to supporting medicine and science not only because of their obvious benefit for human health but because of the thrill and promise of the unknown.”

Valeria, whose parents also came from Europe and settled in Montreal after the war, served as head of physiotherapy in orthopedics at the Montreal General Hospital, and went on to open a private practice; today, she is officially retired, though she still helps a small handful of patients.

Her approach has always been holistic, incorporating the concept that the mind-body connection and optimistic thinking are essential in overcoming pain and injury. “The concept that a pill by itself is a solution isn’t usually the case in orthopedic injuries; the pain will likely manifest itself again or in other ways. Adhering to the idea that solutions are only external isn’t enough—solutions come from within your own strength and resilience. My objective is to give a patient a quality of life that is pain-free, and long-term. That requires a positive and holistic outlook on health. We shouldn’t underestimate the ‘placebo effect of positivity.’ It’s real.”

As a couple, they embarked on their philanthropy through the Mike Rosenbloom Foundation (now the Mike and Valeria Rosenbloom Foundation), focusing on health, medicine, and well-being. They gave to children and young adults with developmental, communication, and learning disorders, as well as to the Royal Victoria Hospital affiliated with McGill University, Montreal General, and Magen David Adom emergency services in Israel, as well as to beneficiaries in education, the arts, and culture including the Montreal Opera and the University of Montreal.

Their six children and many grandchildren played a large role in their lives together and in Valeria’s today. Her mother, with whom she was very close, passed away two years ago at age 92.

When doors are ajar, great science happens The Rosenblooms were first introduced to the Weizmann Institute in the 1990s by a beloved Israeli tour guide and friend who insisted on a visit to the campus. The couple was immediately enthralled by the fact that “the scientists’ doors were literally and metaphorically ajar—to each other, to students and postdocs—which we found so refreshing because that approach really does seem like the right way to approach science, given all its complexity. New ideas must always be welcome for progress to be made. And it comes to Weizmann scientists naturally,” says Valeria.

She adds, we witnessed “camaraderie, a lack of hierarchy, an informal and interactive culture, and belief in the idea that questions can be asked, and you don’t need to give a perfect answer—the most important thing is embracing the answering process. The humility of trying and failing, trying and getting a bit closer to the solution—this is Weizmann, and we fell in love with it.”

The couple’s first gift to Weizmann was for the prostate cancer research of Prof. Avigdor Scherz and the late Prof. Yoram Solomon, as part of a group fundraising effort by Weizmann Canada to support the scientists’ outside-the-box research on a potential therapy. Fusing principles from photosynthesis originating from Prof. Scherz’ plant sciences research with Prof. Solomon’s cancer discoveries, their technology— originally known as Tookad, now Padeliporfin VTP (Vascular Targeted Photodynamic) Therapy, produced by ImPact Biotech—has since received regulatory approval for early prostate cancer treatment and is in various phases of testing for a series of other cancer types.

Valeria was selected by Weizmann Canada as one of 10 honorees at one of the committee’s first annual “Wonderful Women” galas, and she and Mike hosted a major event at their home for the Institute’s much-loved Global Gathering when it was held in Montreal in 2012. She is a member of the board of Weizmann Canada, and she and Mike were inducted into the prestigious President’s Circle of the Institute in 2014.

At their joint initiative and then under Valeria’s guidance following Mike’s passing, the Foundation went on to support a series of programs and areas of research at Weizmann over the last decade, including the Israel National Postdoctoral Award Program for Advancing Women in Science, which funds women PhD graduates on their postdoc fellowships abroad; a scholarship for students pursuing neuroscience; and the Coronavirus Response Fund.

A major gift went to the research of Prof. Zvi Livneh on the self-repair mechanisms of DNA. Human DNA is damaged about 50,000 times per day—with particular damage from sunlight or tobacco smoke but also from ordinary processes between and within cells. Prof. Livneh has made key insights on how the failure of repair mechanisms can lead to cancer, immunodeficiency, premature aging, and neurodegeneration.

Brainy questions now being answered

When the Institute launched a new flagship project in neuroscience, the Azrieli Institute for Brain and Neural Sciences, Valeria saw it as an opportunity to play a role in a field she cares so deeply about. Her donation created the Mike and Valeria Rosenbloom Center for Research on Positive Neuroscience within the Azrieli Institute.

“We are asking research questions like what is the impact of exercise on how well our brains store information and memories? How does social interaction affect the health of the brain? What are the neurological hallmarks of resilience to trauma and injury? This Center is starting to explore those types of questions, and many others,” says center head Prof. Yaniv Ziv, of the Department of Brain Sciences. “We have many new tools and technologies at our fingertips now that we didn’t have a decade or two ago which are enabling us ask these questions—and get answers.”

The critical mass of Weizmann scientists in this area translates into huge potential for research undertakings to be supported by the Rosenbloom Center. For instance, the research of Prof. Rony Paz focuses on interplay between learning and emotion—an avenue of study that has major implications for the field of positive neuroscience. Prof. Paz, who is the Head of the Azrieli Institute, Dean of the Faculty of Biology, and a member of the Department of Brain Sciences, combines physiological methods, imaging, and computational approaches to elucidate the neuronal circuitry involved in positive emotions like motivation, and negative ones like fear.

In his own lab, Prof. Chen has made critical insights about the brain’s response to stress, including finding connections between specific genes, epigenetic mechanisms, and neuronal circuits with anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders, and metabolic syndrome; this work is translating into therapeutic interventions that promote well-being. (See sidebar with examples of other projects under the purview of the Center.)

Says Valeria, “Our brains are the source of so many positive things, like curiosity, compassion, love, and courage, and there are undoubtedly biological roots for all those ‘glass-half-full’ humans—and I’m one of them. I’ve been blessed with the ‘happy gene’—I’m a perpetually positive person. I’ve always wondered about the biological impact on our brains of things like sleep, sunlight, social interaction and friendships, diet and nutrition, and the environment around us.”

Moreover, she adds, in his later years, Mike suffered from vascular dementia, a condition marked by a reduced blood flow to the brain, which damages and eventually kills brain cells. While his cognition wasn’t negatively affected, “the issue of blood flow to the brain interested me, and I knew that my next major donation would be geared toward well-being and the brain. My hope is that this Center will be able to cast a wide net to look at a range of aspects of what makes the brain healthier and what makes our bodies healthier by extension.”

“If I could just give one message to the world,” she says, “it would be ‘open your eyes to Weizmann.’ Listen and watch what this amazing group of scientists can do for you, and for the world.”

OUR RESILIENT BRAINS

As research in mental health and neurodegeneration has developed and borne fruit in recent decades, the exploration of the biological factors of a resilient and healthy brain has emerged in parallel. A champion of the field, Prof. Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania, established the Positive Neuroscience Project 15 years ago with the intention of investigating “the neural mechanisms of human flourishing.” It gave a name and a boost to a field already well underway: scientists worldwide were starting to make key inroads in understanding what protects the brain against depression, anxiety, mental illness, dementia, and more.

At the Weizmann Institute, the Mike and Valeria Rosenbloom Center for Research on Positive Neuroscience is one of 12 centers within the Azrieli Institute for Brain and Neural Sciences. Here’s what Weizmann scientists in the field are exploring; many of these studies have been funded by the Rosenbloom Center.

What is the impact of exercise on neural stability? It is well known physical activity is good for cognition and memory, but how exercise affects brain activity and the encoding of information remains unclear. Prof. Yaniv Ziv in the Department of Brain Sciences recently published a study showing how physical exercise increases information content in the neurons of the brain’s hippocampus region and augments their “plasticity”—ability to change— during learning.

How does experience shape neural connections? How do life stressors and genetics dictate the pruning process of neuronal axons, the elongated portion of the neuron located in the center of the cell? Prof. Avraham Yaron of the Departments of Biomolecular Sciences and Molecular Neuroscience is developing novel MRI-based methods to image this pruning process how it is shaped by external experiences.

How do aging cells affect the nervous system? Cellular senescence is the process by which cells change their behavior in response to stress and enter a prolonged stage of suspended activity, often involving inflammation, and eventually die out. While it is known that senescent cells play a role in aging and age-related diseases in tissues throughout the body, little is known about their impact on the central nervous system—particularly the brain. A study by Prof. Valery Krizhanovsky from the Department of Molecular Cell Biology is characterizing senescent cell populations in the brain and establishing their role in normal and premature aging.

How does the brain make positive and negative associations? The neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin act as dimmers or amplifiers in the brain, regulating activity of a whole host of brain cells at once. Dr. Takashi Kawashima of the Department of Brain Sciences is looking at how they trigger the brain to conceive of a stimulus as negative or positive—and whether it’s worth taking the risk for or avoiding it. This research could help lead to a better understanding of the brain functions that protect us from anxiety and depression.

Where do the mind and body meet? How the brain perceives and integrates diverse bodily signals, such as heart rates, temperature, satiety, inflammation, fatigue, arousal, and thirst, is called “interoception”—the subject of the research of Dr. Yoav Livneh of the Department of Brain Sciences. His work could provide important insights about how environmental factors can positively or negatively affect interoception.

YANIV ZIV IS SUPPORTED BY: Irwin Green Alzheimer’s Research Fund, Mike and Valeria Rosenbloom Center for Research on Positive Neuroscience, Andrea L. and Lawrence A. Wolfe Family Center for Research on Neuroimmunology and Neuromodulation

AVRAHAM YARON IS SUPPORTED BY: Brazilian Neuroscience Research Fund. Irene and Jared M. Drescher Center for Research on Mental and Emotional Health. Mike and Valeria Rosenbloom Center for Research on Positive Neuroscience, Jack and Simon Djanogly Professorial Chair of Biochemistry

VALERY KRIZHANOVSKY IS SUPPORTED BY: EKARD Institute for Cancer Diagnosis Research, Shimon and Golde Picker - Weizmann Annual Grant, Quinquin Foundation, Sagol Center for Research on the Aging Brain, Nella and Leon Benoziyo Center for Neurological Diseases, Georg F. Duckwitz Professorial Chair of Cancer Research

TAKASHI KAWASHIMA IS SUPPORTED BY: Azrieli Foundation, Irene and Jared M. Drescher Center for Research on Mental and Emotional Health, Dan Lebas and Ruth Sonnewend Laboratory, Swiss Society Center for Research on Perception and Action, Birnbach Family Career Development Chair

YOAV LIVNEH IS SUPPORTED BY: Peter and Patricia Gruber Awards, Latin American Hub for New Scientists in the Azrieli Institute for Brain and Neural Sciences, Rolando Uziel

ALON CHEN IS SUPPORTED BY: Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, Licht Family, Ruhman Family Laboratory for Research in the Neurobiology of Stress, Vera and John Schwartz Professorial Chair in Neurobiology

RONY PAZ IS SUPPORTED BY: Irene and Jared M. Drescher Fund for Clinical Research on Mood Disorders, Irene and Jared M. Drescher Center for Research on Mental and Emotional Health, Azrieli Institute for Brain and Neural Sciences, Manya Igel Chair of Neurobiology, The Sam and Frances Belzberg Research Fellow Chair in Memory and Learning supports a Staff Scientist in Prof. Paz’s lab