Team

Founder and Executive Chairman

Dr. Ben Corn , MD, FASC

Dr. Benjamin Corn earned his BA and MD degrees from Boston University and completed his post-graduate training at the University of Pennsylvania. As a tenured Professor of Oncology at the Hebrew University Faculty of Medicine and Thomas Jefferson Medical College (a title he has held for over 30 years), Ben is known as one of the leading lecturers in the scientific community.

Ben’s commitment to fostering hope, meaning and dignity at all states of health and illness goes beyond mere words. Professor Corn is the co-Founder-Funder and Chairman of the NGO, Life’s Door. Through Life’s Door and in collaboration with international academic partners, Ben is leading research efforts to unravel the mysteries and mechanisms of hope on the behavioral and neuro-scientific levels, including the training of medical professionals and patients in the Hope-Enhancement model. Through Life's Door, Ben has been at the forefront of bringing professional spiritual care to Israel and has been a leading proponent in promoting the public discourse on humanity and compassion in health care, and on promoting meaning making in times of illness and attend of life. Life’s Door has been a platform to engage healthcare professionals, patients and their family members from Bedouin, Palestinian and multi-cultural Israeli sectors in a frank and honest conversation about life, meaning and hope.

The author of over 300 publications in the medical and lay literature, he has earned an international reputation for translating potentially dry data into engaging presentations that incorporate the humanistic and narrative side of medical practice. Ben has been a contributing writer to the Israel's leading Hebrew newspaper, Haaretz as well as the Jerusalem Post. His blog “52”, in which he explored issues of mortality and meaning in 2011-2012, was the Jerusalem Post leading blog for over 45 weeks. Ben Corn and the work of Life's Door have been featured in the US and Israel lay press and media, including Haaretz, Forbes, The Times of Israel, Tablet, The Forward, The Jerusalem Post, Yediot Ahronot, Maaraiv, and on Israel TV and radio.

Ben is the founding editor of the Narrative Oncology section of the Journal Practical Radiation Oncology. This section convenes physicians in deep reflection on the human experience of caring and offers a sharing space to explore inherent conflicts and openings for expansion of thought. He is the Chairman of the International Committee for NRG- a research arm of the US National Cancer Institute and serves as Primary Investigator on varied NCI projects.

Ben served as the Vice-Chairman of Radiation Oncology at Jefferson University Medical Center in Philadelphia. Upon his Aliyah in 1998, Ben spent 5 years in the bio-tech world as Chief Executive Officer of SignalSite Inc., and subsequently negotiated the merger of SignalSite to form Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc., where he co-led the initial public offering which culminated in a dual listing on NASDAQ and the London AIM Exchange. Prof. Corn served as Chairman of Radiation Oncology at Tel Aviv Medical Center-Ichilov Hospital for 15 years where he held his academic appointment at Tel Aviv Medical School. Ben was the founding Deputy Director and the Chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Helmsley Cancer Center at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem during which he stewarded the visioning, planning and opening of a state-of-the-art cancer center. He is currently a Senior Research Investigator at Shaare Zedek Medical Center. Ben is also a board member and consultant to several biotechnology companies.

In May 2022, Ben received the prestigious American Society of Clinical Oncologists Humanitarian Award. Ben is the recipient of numerous teaching awards and in 2011 received the President’s Award for Volunteerism from Shimon Peres and the Sylvan Adams Prize for Outstanding Contribution by an Immigrant to Israeli Society in the Field of Science and Medicine in the Knesset. In 2020, he was recognized by Knesset Member Pnina Tamana Shata, Minister of Immigration and Absorption and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin with the award for Outstanding Contribution by an Oleh to Israeli Society. His vision and leadership has been recognized by awards and recognition in Israel and the US.

Ben lives in Caesarea and Jerusalem where, aside from his active role in the organization and his community, he makes time in his busy life for his other strong interests which include sports, writing, singing, and swimming, often with his wife and their 4 daughters, sons in law and their growing families.

Founder and President

Dvora Corn, OTR, MSc

Dvora Corn
pdcorn@lifesdoor.org

Dvora Corn graduated with honors.from Boston University with a degree in Occupational Therapy, and a Masters from the University of North Texas in Clinical Sociology, and has a postgraduate degree in Marital and Family Counseling from The Family Institute of Neve Yerushalayim. Dvora completed a certificate program in Spiritual Care at the Mezorim program of Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem

Dvora is the co-founding-funder of Life’s Door-Gisha-L’Chaim an international non-profit organization that addresses meaning, spirituality and quality of life for patients, professionals, and families, facing a life threatening illness, aging and end of life. She is on the leadership team of the Hope Hub, an international collaborative group dedicated to engaging and inspiring people to live with hopefulness and meaning in the face of illness.
Dvora was the founding Chair of the Israel Spiritual Care Network, an organization of 22 agencies which deal with the development of spiritual care in Israel and a pioneering leader in developing and professionalizing the field of spiritual care in Israel. Prior to moving to Israel in 1997, Dvora established Garden State Therapy Associates, one of the largest private rehabilitation practices in the Philadelphia-South Jersey area, and was a Vice President for Heartland Rehab, a publicly held company specializing in geriatrics and long term care. For over 30 years, Dvora has lectured and lead workshops throughout Israel and in the US. Her clinical work as a family therapist focuses loss and illness and end of life. Dvora was voted as one of the “68 extraordinary women in Israel “ by the Times of Israel in 2016.

Dvora and her husband Dr. Benjamin Corn, are active in philanthropy and community and live in Jerusalem and Caesarea, Israel. She enjoys gardening, reading, cooking and long beach walks. Dvora is most proud of their 4 daughters, their sons in law,and their 7 grandchildren.

Board of Directors (Israel)

Avraham Frig

Board of Directors (Israel)

Nir Lempert, MBA

Board of Directors (Israel)

Ronita Tabib

Board of Directors (Israel)

Gidi Presser

Board of Directors (Israel)

Yuval Bernstein, MBA

Board of Directors (Israel)

Ruth Oren

Board of Directors (Israel)

Avraham Aberman Esq.

Board of Directors (Israel)

Michael Dayan, MBA

Board of Directors (Israel)

Dr. Nili Kahane DVM

Board of Directors (USA)

Alan David Haber, MD, FCCP

Board of Directors (USA)

Prof Jonathan D. Sarna, PhD

Board of Directors (USA)

Kathy Landschultz, OTR, MBA

Board of Directors (USA)

Lynda Estes

Board of Directors (USA)

Dr. Joel Wolowelsky PhD

Chairman

Benjamin W. Corn, MD

Harold Koenig, MD

Kaye Herth, RN, PhD

Adam Dicker, MD, PhD

Malka Margalit, Ph.D.

Isaiah Wexler, MD, PhD

Dan Ariely, PhD

Jeff A. Sloan, PhD

Thomas Smith, MD

Douglas Smith, MD

Tye Farrow

Professor Charles Sprung MD

Idan Tapiro

Charles Blanke, MD

Sarah Kartalia

David B. Feldman, PhD

Anna Ferguson, RN BSN