Michael Sela  | notable_works =  | website =  Michael Sela (; born Mieczysław Salomonowicz; 2 March 1924) is an Israeli immunologist of Polish Jewish origin. He is the W. Garfield Weston Professor of Immunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. He is a former President of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Michael Sela was born as Mieczysław Salomonowicz in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland, in 1924. In 1935 when he was 11 years old he and his family moved to Romania. In 1941 when he was 17 years old he and his family made aliya and immigrated to Mandatory Palestine. He studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (M.Sc., Chemistry, 1946; Ph.D., 1954). Today, he is Professor in the Weizmann Institute's Immunology Department. He is a former President of the Weizmann Institute of Science, from 1975-1985. Sela is known for his research in immunology, particularly for research on synthetic antigens, molecules that trigger the immune system to attack. This work of Sela has led to the discovery of the genetic control of the immune response, as well as to the design of vaccines based on synthetic molecules. He was among the first who introduced the use of linear and branched synthetic polypeptides as antigens, and this brought about a better understanding of immunological phenomena. For several decades, Sela has been interested in the possibility of fighting the autoimmune disease, experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) with synthetic analogs of the molecules in the myelin sheath of the brain which are capable of provoking the disease. He is probably best known as the co-developer (with Ruth Arnon and Dvora Teitelbaum) of the multiple sclerosis drug copaxone. Sela has received several awards. Following are the major awards received by Sela.