
Lab Website
First of all - we love mushrooms!
Then we focus on ways in which mushrooms can support our health, our nutrition and the betterment of the environment and the world around us.
Our research strategy goes bottom up:
We grow a kaleidoscop of different mushrooms in controlled cultivation facilities followed by cutting-edge molecular and analytical chemistry methods in order to look into the mushroom's "black box".
We then subject the mushroom extractions to bioactivity tests using advanced models of cell lines and whole organisms.
Through this unique approach, linking bioactivity to gene expression and metabolomics, we expect to discover novel and natural treatments to well- known chronic diseases with little current remedy.
In addition our group is determined to promote mushrooms' mycelium as an excellent (and super tasty) source of protein, replacing meat consumption by half (in collaboration with "Mushfoods" company).
The more romantic part of our group is dedicated to strolling among trees studying mycorrhizal interactions in orchards and forests, specifically studying the life cycle of local black truffles (Tuber aestivum and Tuber melanosporum) with the aim of making them accessible in local markets.
Education:
2008-2013 Ph.D in Biology (Dean’s scholarship for outstanding students) - Molecular Biology and Ecology of Plants Department- Tel-Aviv University-Israel.
Doctoral Dissertation: The Role of the Polycomb Complex in H3K27 Methylation and Phase Transition in Physcomitrella patens.
2003-2005 M.Sc in Biology (With Distinction) - Cell Research and Immunology Department - Tel-Aviv University-Israel.
Master's Thesis: Characterization of the Poly(A) - Binding Protein (PABP) during the cell cycle.
2000-2002 B.Sc. in Biology (With Distinction) - Tel-Aviv University-Israel.
Advanced studies:
2014-2018 Post-Doctoral studies - Weizmann institute of science Rehovot-Israel
Cryo-Scanning-Transmission-Electron-Microscopy (Cryo-STEM) imaging of chromatin in yeast nuclei. Chemical and biological physics Department (2016-2018) .
Live imaging and tracking of Agrobacterium tumefaciens T-DNA dynamics in Nicotiana benthamiana. Plant and environmental sciences department (2014-2016) .