by Ron Milo, Felix Benninger and Johann Sellner on behalf of the EAN Infectious Disease Scientific Panel
The passing of Prof. Israel Steiner this May at age 74 marks a profound loss to global neurology. A leading authority on nervous system infections, he was an influential clinician-scientist, a master educator, and a beloved figure known worldwide for his familiar introduction of himself: “Professor Steiner from the Holy Country”.
Born in Jerusalem and raised in Tel Aviv, Prof. Steiner graduated from the Hebrew University–Hadassah Medical School in 1976. Following military service in the IDF and a neurology residency at Hadassah, he completed fellowships at King’s College Hospital, London, and the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia. His seminal research on herpes simplex virus latency at Wistar established his lifelong expertise in neurovirology.
Steiner held key leadership roles at Hadassah and Hebrew University, where he became Professor of Neurology in 2000 and Head of Neurosciences at Hadassah Mount Scopus in 2006. In 2009, he was named Chairman of Neurology at Rabin Medical Center and Professor at Tel Aviv University, transforming the department into a world-class training centre.
Internationally, he played a pivotal role in European neurology. Co-chairing the EAN Scientific Panel on Infectious Diseases alongside Prof. Erich Schmutzhard, he spearheaded influential European guidelines on brain infections and PCR diagnostics that remain global standards. He was a founding board member of the International Society for NeuroVirology, organised annual neuroinfection courses for the American Academy of Neurology and authored over 200 publications—including a landmark 2007 Lancet Neurology review. His intellectual independence was best illustrated when he challenged conventional wisdom in multiple sclerosis research. In his influential paper Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis: A Misleading Model of Multiple Sclerosis, he argued that relying heavily on the EAE mouse model had trapped MS research in a “dogmatic cul-de-sac”. He urged the scientific community to study MS as it manifests in humans rather than as it looks in rodents—insisting that patient-centred clinical observation must remain the true driver of medical science. His work earned honours including the Teva Award, the Richard T. Johnson Lecture, and the Bornstein Lecture.
Above all, Prof. Steiner is remembered at the bedside. His Monday grand rounds at Rabin Medical Center were rigorous and formative, teaching residents how a master clinician thinks. While demanding punctuality, discipline, and respect, he was fiercely protective of his team and deeply accessible to patients and colleagues alike. He embodied the belief that medicine requires rigorous knowledge, but ultimately rests on genuine human presence.
He is survived by his wife, Bettina, and their children, Ayelet, Ori, and Gaia.
Prof. Ron Milo (Ashkelon, Israel), Prof. Felix Benninger (Petah Tikva, Israel) and Prof. Johann Sellner (Vienna, Austria) for the EAN Infectious Disease Scientific Panel
