Biography

I was always interested in microbiology and therefore focused my scientific endeavors on bacterial virulence. I began my academic career at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where I received my B.S. in Biology, M.S. in Microbiology and Ph.D. in Microbiology. During my Ph.D. I investigated the highly virulent Brucella melitensis that causes Malta fever, a disease still found in Israel.

I continued to widen my experience working with virulent bacteria as a post doctorate fellow at the National Institute of Medical Research in London where I investigated molecular mechanisms involved in virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. I gained further experience at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIH) in the field of Oral Microbiology prior to my return to Israel in 1999 as a staff member at the Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine.

During my year at NIH, I became interested in Fusobacterium nucleatum, an oral anaerobic bacteria involved in the development of periodontal disease. My group has been creating unique genetic tools for working with fusobacteria and is one of few capable of their genetic manipulation. These tools prove very useful in our investigation of the recently discovered involvement of fusobacteria in cancer.

I am married to Daniela and we are parents to Maia, Adi and Emanuel.