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Author: Hilary

Building Bridges Through Cuisine

Written by Hilary on . Posted in Newsroom.

TAU graduate fosters unity in Tel Aviv through culinary creativity

Aliya Fastman, the founder and owner of Citrus&Salt cooking studio in Tel Aviv, is a California native who has made a significant impact on the city’s culinary landscape. A graduate of Tel Aviv University’s International MA in Conflict Resolution and Mediation, Fastman now calls Tel Aviv home, where she combines her love for cooking with her dedication to building connections between people through the shared experience of food.

In our interview, Aliya Fastman shares her journey and insights on how cuisine can serve as a powerful medium for promoting understanding and unity.

From Conflict Resolution to Culinary Diplomacy

I first came to Israel for a year abroad. After finishing school, I came back for the army, left again, then came back for my master’s degree. I’ve been here ever since.

I finished my master’s degree in Conflict Resolution and Mediation at TAU in 2016, and I thought I wanted to go into traditional diplomacy, but instead, I found myself, like many, needing to have a job. So I went into public relations in the high-tech sector, where I worked for several years. I really liked it, and it was a good learning experience. 

But on nights and weekends, I started building a business called Citrus and Salt, which was originally intended to teach Israeli cooking and other local cuisines to tourists. It started out of my home, and then I got a bigger home, so I had more students. Now we’re actually on to our second brick-and-mortar studio. 

At our current studio, we offer both cooking classes and different cultural events.

With fewer tourists now, we have started offering cuisines that locals are interested in. I am passionate about traveling to places like Thailand, India, and Italy to learn from chefs there, getting to know their culture through their kitchen and bringing those cuisines and flavors back to Israel. 

In addition, we have an initiative that I hope to grow, which is cultural nights for cross-cultural awareness through food. Our first Indian night was sold out with a waiting list – it was with a family of Olim from Mumbai who shared their story. I’d love to replicate this with Ethiopian culture, Arab-Israeli culture, and more. 

Connecting People Through Food

In a way, although I didn’t realize it in the beginning, what we do is very much diplomacy through food. Essentially, as we learned in our degree, whenever you gather people together in a shared activity, it helps them get to know each other and helps create good relations. There’s almost no activity that’s better for that than cooking. 

Our business has brought together people from many countries, including Germany, Uruguay, Hong Kong, the United States, and South Africa. They cook together and share their stories.

Regarding Israel, which is my passion, our studio provides a safe and calm space for people who are visiting Israel and who have heard a lot about it, to ask me questions about the culture, the conflicts, the food, and everything in between. 

I don’t think any questions, if they’re coming from a good place, are unpleasant. People want to be informed and understand more. This has allowed me to be a bit of an advocate for Israel through the kitchen. 

Showcasing Israeli and Diaspora Cuisines

Our classic Israeli menu has falafel, hummus, perfectly puffy handmade pita, shakshuka, and smoked eggplant with tahini, and Israeli salad. It’s vegetarian-friendly and accommodating to a range of dietary needs. 

We also offer Moroccan, Iraqi, and Yemenite dishes to introduce our visitors to diaspora cuisines.

Personally, I love North African Moroccan cuisine, like tagine and couscous. The way the spices simmer together is unlike anything I experienced in the United States.

During my year at TAU, I traveled to Morocco with friends from the program for a couple of weeks and we were able to dive more into the culture there.

Citizen’s Kitchen: Bringing Comfort to Soldiers and Families

From October 9, we opened a war kitchen out of our cooking studio, and have made over 65,000 meals since then, feeding soldiers, families of hostages, displaced people, and families of reservists. It’s very much a community initiative where people from around the world and local Israelis came together to cook. 

We rely on donations from international volunteers and donors to fund Citizen’s Kitchen, and we also have a GoFundMe.

The initiative emerged during rocket fire, at a time of great trauma, so we started also offering some therapy and different Shabbat community events to help create a foundation for people, while also doing a public service.

As locals go back to work, we’re inviting groups from Europe and the United States to volunteer. We’re pushing forward with both the volunteer and the regular studio activities in tandem.

We’ve gotten a lot of praise for our food, with soldiers saying it’s the best food they’ve had. We believe that if we’re doing this, the food should be tasty and of good quality.

Our ethos is comfort through food.

In the beginning, we made a lot of schnitzel. Our chefs really put together a fabulous recipe with the chicken marinated in coconut milk and spices overnight.

Now we’ve been making a lot of sandwiches because we’ve been sending them to the North and in armored vehicles to soldiers in Gaza. We try to do really nice ones, such as freshly baked ciabatta rolls with teriyaki chicken and a crisp cabbage salad.

For families, we make dishes like stuffed onions and grape leaves, roast chicken, egg noodles with grilled vegetables and sesame seeds, fresh watermelon, baked food, and Israeli salad. Sometimes, we also send smoked eggplant with tahini, different cabbage salads, or meatballs in fresh tomato sauce.

More important than even the food is the fact that we’re here as an international community of Jews and allies, supporting the soldiers on the frontline and the survivors, saying that it’s not over. 

Although a lot of kitchens have had to close, and we’re not at the same capacity we were, cooking just twice a week now, each meal counts and each partnership counts. We’re still cooking because they’re still fighting.

We’re also sending letters to soldiers from our international volunteers just to emphasize that we support them: “We have your back. You’re not alone in this.”

Looking Back on Studying at TAU

My degree taught me to communicate with different cultures, which is vital for my work even though it’s not formal diplomacy. 

I loved the advanced mediation course—diving into it and doing the simulations really helped me. 

It’s proved invaluable with some problematic situations and in dealing with students and volunteers of different cultural backgrounds. 

Every culture has its particularities, and I need to be able to bring all students together around the table. For example, Americans love little spoons to taste what they’re making, while Israelis use their hands.

Being aware of cultural differences is almost more important than how the food tastes because that leaves people feeling understood and having a nice experience. 

I also found it absolutely wonderful to be able to study from people who were instrumental in making history. Professor Daniel Reisner, for example, was involved in creating some of the laws and deals and offered us a refreshing perspective on them.

I’m a true believer in the fact that everything you do is a building block, whether it’s my waitressing after the army, or my job in PR.

This applies to my formal education as well—I didn’t know it would lead me here, but it’s definitely something that I needed, and I’m glad I did it.

I still have great friends from the course who stayed in Israel and we always speak about how it has helped us.

Connecting Education, Israel, and Global Advocacy

From my personal experience, I loved the education and the experience at TAU. It has been valuable for me and other alumni that I’ve spoken to.

I think that it’s very special to come and study in Israel and to be able to maintain connections here. 

First and foremost, Jews need to be in a safe place. I think coming to strengthen the state here is very important. I also find great inspiration in Eylon Levy’s citizen spokesperson initiative to find people who are able to speak to Western audiences. Even if it doesn’t help the person you’re talking to, it might help the people on the sidelines. 

The more well-educated, articulate, and well-informed internationals are in getting our message out there, to their communities, the better.

It does make a difference, and I believe there is hope for people who don’t necessarily have antisemitic beliefs, but simply follow the crowd. 

Photos courtesy of Aliya Fastman and Citrus&Salt

 

The Reason Behind the Dancing Sunflowers

Written by Hilary on . Posted in Newsroom.

As they grow, sunflowers “dance” to avoid blocking each other’s sunlight

Flowers have long fascinated scientists and nature enthusiasts alike, not just for their beauty, but also for their subtle, almost imperceptible movements. Over a century ago, Charles Darwin was the first to observe that plants, including flowers, exhibit a kind of cyclical movement as they grow. This movement, seen in both stems and roots, puzzled researchers: Was it just a byproduct of growth, or did it serve a crucial purpose?

A new study by Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with the University of Colorado, Boulder, discovered that plants that grow in dense environments, where each plant casts a shadow on its neighbor, find a collective solution with the help of random movements that help them find optimal growth directions. In this way, the study sheds light on the scientific enigma that has occupied researchers since Darwin, namely the functional role of these inherent movements called circumnutations.

The research was conducted under the leadership of Prof. Yasmine Meroz from the School of Plant Sciences and Food Security at the Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Prof. Orit Peleg from the University of Colorado Boulder in the USA. The research team included Dr. Chantal Nguyen (Boulder), Roni Kempinski and Imri Dromi (TAU). The research was published in the prestigious journal Physical Review X.

Do flowers have a sense of direction?

Prof. Meroz explains: “Previous studies have shown that if sunflowers are densely planted in a field where they shade each other they grow in a zigzag pattern – one forward and one back – so as not to be in each other’s shadow. This way they grow side by side to maximize illumination from the sun, therefore photosynthesis, on a collective level. Plants know how to distinguish between the shadow of a building and the green shadow of a leaf. If they sense the shadow of a building – they usually don’t change their growth direction, because they ‘know’ that will have no effect. But if they sense the shadow of a plant, they will grow in a direction away from the shadow”.

According to the researchers, Darwin was the first to recognize that all plants grow while exhibiting a kind of cyclical movement known as “circumnutation”, which is observed in both stems and roots. However, until today—except for a few cases, such as climbing plants that grow in large circular movements to find something to grab onto—it was unclear whether this was an artifact or a critical feature of growth. Why would a plant invest energy to grow in random directions?

In the current study, the researchers examined how sunflowers “know” to grow optimally—maximizing sunlight capture for the collective—and analyzed the growth dynamics of sunflowers in the laboratory, where they exhibit a zigzag pattern. Prof. Meroz and her team grew sunflowers in a high-density environment and photographed them during growth, taking pictures every few minutes. The photographs were then combined to create a time-lapse movie. By tracking the movement of each sunflower, the researchers observed that the flowers were “dancing” a lot.

Shake your Tail Petal

Prof. Meroz stated, “As part of our research, we conducted a physical analysis that captured the behavior of each sunflower within the collective, revealing that the sunflowers ‘dance’ to find the optimal angle, ensuring that each flower does not block the sunlight of its neighbor. We quantified this movement statistically and demonstrated through computer simulations that these random movements are used collectively to minimize shadowing. It was also surprising to find that the distribution of the sunflowers’ ‘steps’ was very wide, ranging over three orders of magnitude, from nearly zero displacements to movements of up to two centimeters every few minutes in various directions”.

In conclusion, Prof. Meroz adds: “The sunflower plant takes advantage of its ability to use both small, slow steps and large, fast ones to find the optimal arrangement for the collective. If the range of steps were smaller or larger, the arrangement would result in more mutual shading and less photosynthesis. It’s somewhat like a crowded dance party, where individuals move around to create more space: if they move too much, they’ll interfere with the other dancers, but if they move too little, the crowding problem won’t be solved, leaving one corner of the square overcrowded and the other empty. Sunflowers exhibit a similar communication dynamic—a combination of responding to the shade of neighboring plants and making random movements regardless of external stimuli”.

Want to Fall in Love? Step Outside in The Sun

Written by Hilary on . Posted in Newsroom.

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight enhances romantic passion in humans

Any Tel Avivian will tell you that the perfect place for a first date is at the beach. Now, we have the science to support that claim. Researchers at Tel Aviv University have found that exposure to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight enhances romantic passion in humans. In the study, men and women were exposed to UVB (ultraviolet radiation type B) under controlled conditions, and the findings were unequivocal: increased levels of romantic passion in both genders.

Sun + Skin = Love

The study revealed that exposure to sunlight affects the regulation of the endocrine system responsible for the release of sexual hormones in humans. The discovery may lead to practical applications down the line, such as UVB treatments for sexual hormone disorders.

In animal models, the effect was dramatic: the females’ hormone levels rose significantly, enlarging their ovaries and prolonging their mating season; the attraction between males and females increased; and both were more willing to engage in sexual intercourse.

The researchers repeated the experiment on the animal model, this time removing from the skin a protein called p53, which identifies DNA damage and activates pigmentation during exposure to sunlight as protection against its adverse effects. The removal of the protein eliminated the effect of UVB exposure on the animals’ sexual behavior, convincing the researchers that exposure to radiation through the skin was the cause of the observed hormonal, physiological and behavioral changes, and that the protective system is also responsible for the regulation of sexuality.

Furless Humans and Sun Exposure

In the 32 human subjects of the study, all treated with UVB phototherapy at the Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov) and Assuta Medical Centers, both genders exhibited a rise in romantic passion, and males also noted an increase in levels of aggression.

Similar results were found when the subjects were asked to avoid sunlight for two days, and then tan themselves for approximately 25 minutes. Blood tests revealed that exposure to sunlight resulted in a higher release of hormones like testosterone compared to one day before exposure. A rise in testosterone in males during the summer was also found in analyses of data from the Israeli health maintenance organizations Clalit and Maccabi Health Services.

Prof. Carmit Levy (on the left) & PhD student Roma Parikh.

The new discovery from TAU may lead to future practical applications, such as UVB treatments for sexual hormone disorders. The breakthrough opens up for further discoveries in basic science, “As humans, we have no fur, and our skin is thus directly exposed to sunlight. We are only beginning to understand what this exposure does to us, and the key roles it might play in various physiological and behavioral processes. It’s only the tip of the iceberg,” says Prof. Carmit Levy from the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine.

The study was led by PhD student Roma Parikh and Ashchar Sorek from the laboratory of Prof. Levy. UVB phototherapy was administered to the subjects at the Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov) and Assuta Medical Centers. The groundbreaking discovery was published as a cover story in the prestigious scientific journal Cell Reports. 

Animals Experience War Stress Too

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TSU study examines the impact of the Israel-Hamas war on wildlife

A new study conducted at Tel Aviv University’s School of Zoology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Steinhardt Museum of Natural History reveals that the Israel-Hamas war has had a severe impact on animals. The study, which focused on geckos, found that the sound of explosions from fired rockets induces stress and anxiety in these creatures, leading to a sharp increase in their metabolic rates — an energy cost that, if chronic, may be life-threatening. The researchers hypothesize that these stress responses characterize many other animals, especially those who live in the conflict zones in northern and southern Israel.

The study was led by a team of researchers from TAU’s School of Zoology and Steinhardt Museum of Natural History — Shahar Dubiner, Prof. Shai Meiri, and Prof. Eran Levin — in collaboration with Dr. Reut Vardi of the University of Oxford. The study was published in the journal Ecology.

Energy Changes in Wildlife

Prof. Shai Meiri explains: “The most tragic aspect of war is the loss of human life, among both soldiers and civilians. However, animals are also severely affected, both directly and indirectly, in ways that may threaten their survival. A few weeks before October 7, we began working on a long-term study to measure the rate of energy consumption of small ground geckos of the species Stenodactylus sthenodactylus. We obviously did not foresee the outbreak of the war, but unintentionally, we recorded the energy consumption of five geckos during the rocket barrages launched into Tel Aviv in the first month of the war”.

The study’s findings showed that at the sound of the bombings, the geckos’ metabolic rate jumped to double what it was when they were at rest. Their breathing became faster, and they clearly exhibited signs of stress. The experiment lasted up to four hours after the barrages, yet even within this timeframe the geckos did not calm down and return to their resting levels. Moreover, even after a month of continuous fighting, the geckos did not acclimate to the sound of the explosions — their stress response remained unchanged.

Left to right: Prof. Shai Meiri and Prof. Eran Levin.

Prof. Levin: “A state of stress is detrimental to both humans and animals. To compensate for the increase in oxygen consumption and depletion of energy reserves, animals need to eat more. Even if they manage to find food, in the process they expose themselves to predators and lose opportunities to reproduce. In a situation of ongoing conflict, such as the current reality in Gaza, the Gaza Envelope, and along the Israeli-Lebanese border, the metabolic cost can be significant and have a real impact on the energy reserves and activity periods of reptiles and other animals. This can exacerbate their conservation status, especially for species that are already endangered”.

The researchers note that the findings of this study are consistent with another experiment conducted during Operation Guardian of the Walls, in which they also observed a stress response in a small snake of the species Xerotyphlops syriacus.

Shahar Dubiner concludes: “Our research was conducted in a laboratory at Tel Aviv University and pertained to the reverberations of explosions from interceptions in the Tel Aviv area. However, given the unequivocal results showing symptoms of stress, we can infer that animals that are in the immediate conflict zones in the south and north of the country, where the intensity and frequency of fire are much higher, suffer from significantly more severe stress and anxiety symptoms that may endanger their lives”.

Turning Organic Waste to Tomorrow’s Fuel

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TAU’s new method turns raw wet waste into biofuels, potentially meeting a third of Israel’s marine fuel needs.

An innovative development by a team of Tel Aviv University researchers allows for converting the wet raw waste that we throw in the trash into liquid and solid biofuels, without the need to dry the waste. The researchers assess that at the national level, fuels produced from organic waste can, among other things, meet about a third of Israel’s marine fuel consumption.

The study was led by Prof. Alexander Golberg of Tel Aviv University’s Porter School of Environment and Earth Sciences and was published in the journal Energy Conversion and Management: X. The research was conducted by Ph.D. candidate Maya Mosseri in collaboration with engineer Michael Epstein, Prof. Michael Gozin of the School of Chemistry, and Prof. Avraham Kribus of the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering.

How Israel Handles Its Waste Crisis

Israel’s waste problem is escalating. In 2019, the country generated approximately 5.8 million tons of municipal waste, averaging about 1.76 kg per person per day — about 30 percent more than the European average. This figure increases every year by about 2.6 percent. Currently, about 80 percent of household waste in Israel ends up in landfills. Organic waste presents a significant challenge, harming the environment through greenhouse gas emissions, leachate formation, and the pollution of air, water, and soil, often accompanied by unpleasant odors.

The Research Team.

“Organic waste emits methane, which is a greenhouse gas, and also contaminates groundwater”, explains Prof. Golberg. “The treatment of waste is a critical issue. Landfill sites in Israel are reaching capacity, and despite the desire to reduce landfill to a minimum, we are forced to open new sites, because there is no other solution. The major advantage of our proposal is that we will reduce the need for so many landfill sites. Municipalities invest considerable funds on waste transportation and treatment, and this solution has the potential to significantly cut those expenses”.

To assess the potential of municipal waste in Israel, the researchers analyzed the results of a groundbreaking 2018 survey conducted by E. Elimelech et al. from the University of Haifa. The survey examined the composition of the garbage produced by 190 households in the city of Haifa over the course of a week. The findings revealed that measurable organic waste constitutes about 36.4 percent of food waste and about 16.4 percent of total household waste. The category of measured organic waste was further analyzed, showing that it comprised 67 percent fruits and vegetables, 14 percent breads, pastas and cereals, 8 percent eggs and dairy products, 5 percent by-products such as peels and skins, 3 percent meat, fish and poultry, 2 percent sweets and cookies, and 1percent soft drinks. In general this organic waste contains around 80% water.

Turning Trash into Treasure

“The results of this survey formed the basis for the waste model in our study,” says Prof. Golberg. “We built a continuous reactor — which will eventually be adaptable for solar energy usage — to heat the waste to 280 degrees Celsius, and we were able to significantly reduce the amount of water and oxygen in the biofuel. We found cost-effective catalysts that make it possible to control the ratio between the liquid and solid fuel products. Solid fuel can be used as biochar, effectively sequestering carbon dioxide for extended periods. The biochar can be burned in power plants like regular coal and liquid biofuels, and after upgrading, it can power planes, trucks, and ships”.

Using the representative model of the measured organic waste, the TAU researchers successfully produced liquid biofuel with a yield of up to 29.3 percent by weight and solid fuel with a yield of up to 40.7 percent based on dry raw material. This process is versatile and suitable for treating any wet organic waste or residue, for example, organic waste from food factories, institutional kitchens, and hospitals.

The researchers conclude: “The production of biofuels from organic waste components can significantly reduce the volume of municipal waste sent to landfills, thereby decreasing environmental pollution of soil, water, and air. Moreover, reducing landfilling will lower greenhouse gas emissions and decrease reliance on oil and coal. Converting waste into energy also offers a local solution for Israel’s energy independence and security”.

The researchers thank the chief scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Energy and the company Noga for their support of the research.

Can Smartwatches Prevent Pandemic Outbreaks?

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Researchers Discover How Smartwatches Can Stop Disease Spread by Early Detection

Researchers from the Department of Industrial Engineering at TAU’s Faculty of Engineering led a two-year study in which participants wore smartwatches that measured biomarkers and answered questions about their health every day. The results indicate that the wearable technology identified a change in key physiological parameters one to three whole days before the user felt the first symptom of the disease: a gap of 23 hours for COVID-19, 62 hours for group A streptococcus (GAS), and 73 hours for influenza.

The researchers: “Early diagnosis enabled by wearable technologies can be critical for inducing behavioral changes, such as reduced social contacts at an early stage, when the disease is most infectious. Potentially, this can prevent the spread of disease and even preempt global pandemics in the future”.

The study was led by Prof. Dan Yamin, an expert in epidemiology and infectious disease modeling and Head of the Lab for Digital Epidemiology and Health Analytics, and Prof. Erez Shmueli, Head of the Big Data Lab, both from TAU’s Department of Industrial Engineering. Other participants included: research students Shachar Snir and Matan Yechezkel from the Department of Industrial Engineering, Dr. Tal Patalon from the Kahn Sagol Maccabi Research and Innovation Center at Maccabi Healthcare Services and Yupeng Chen and Prof. Margaret Brandeau from the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University. The paper was published in Lancet Regional Health Europe.  

Prof. Yamin: “Infectious diseases and pandemics pose a great threat to humanity, and we must harness our scientific and technological abilities to prevent them. Previous studies have shown that during the recent pandemic about 40% of all transmissions occurred about a day before the first symptoms appeared. In other words, the person transmitting the disease was unaware they were infected. In this study we checked whether wearable technologies could provide earlier diagnosis, to reduce contagion and prevent the spread of infectious diseases”.

Tracking Key Health Changes

During the two-year study, 4,795 Israelis over 18 years of age wore a smartwatch that continuously monitored key physiological parameters, focusing on pulse rate at a 15-second resolution and HRV (Heart Rate Variability). Prof. Yamin explains: “Pulse rate and HRV provide crucial information about the two most important systems in our body – the heart and the brain. Our brain constantly consumes energy, burning oxygen provided by the cardiovascular system, and consequently, any change in our activity or condition is immediately reflected in a change in HRV. When a person becomes ill, most of the focus goes to a single system – the immune system battling the disease, keeping the heart rate relatively steady, and reducing its variability, the HRV. In this way, changes in HRV indicate physical stress”.

In addition to wearing the smartwatches, participants answered a series of general questions about their condition every day: How do you feel physically? How do you feel mentally? Have you engaged in physical activity? Do you have any specific symptoms? Etc. In addition, they were provided with home test kits for three different diseases – COVID-19, influenza, and group A streptococcus – which they used at their discretion. Over two years, the researchers collected 800,000 questionnaires and this data was compared with parallel data from the smartwatch. Altogether, the data included 490 episodes of influenza, 2206 episodes of COVID-19, and 320 episodes of GAS.

Based on their abundant data, the researchers built special models that identified three critical points in time following exposure to an infectious disease. For instance, COVID-19: A. The first physiological anomaly in heart rate measures – 96 hours after exposure, an interval, which the researchers call the ‘digital incubation period’; B. The first symptom noticed by the person –130 hours after exposure, an interval commonly known as the ‘incubation period’; and C. Testing that ultimately diagnosed the disease – usually about 168 hours after exposure, called the ‘diagnostic decision period’. The period from exposure to digital diagnosis, namely the digital incubation period, was even shorter for influenza (24 hours) and GAS (60 hours).

Getting Ahead of the Curve?

Prof. Shmueli: “Early diagnosis is extremely important for preventing the spread of the disease. Moreover, we found that even when our subjects reported first symptoms, they tended to postpone testing for a while – 53 hours for COVID-19, 39 hours for influenza, and 38 hours for GAS. Consequently, for quite a long interval, from exposure to testing, they did not change their social behavior, spreading the disease to others. We found that on average, people performed the test and changed their behavior when the disease was already past its peak, and they were much less likely to infect others. The delay between digital diagnosis and testing – 64 hours in the case of COVID-19, 68 hours for influenza, and 58 hours for GAS – is thus extremely crucial”.

Prof. Yamin: “Our findings indicate that at the population level digital diagnosis can significantly reduce the spread of infectious diseases, by causing people to change their social behavior at a much earlier stage of the disease. This can even prevent the next pandemic – by bringing the basic reproduction number (R0value) to below 1.0, which means that every sick individual transmits the disease to less than one other person, and the disease soon dies out”.

The researchers add that early diagnosis is also critical for effective treatment. Specifically, for COVID-19, existing treatments are very effective only when given early on, preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and even death.

A Milestone in Stopping Pandemics

Prof. Yamin: “In an ERC-funded paper published in October 2019, shortly before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, I argued that infectious diseases pose the greatest threat of a global catastrophe. The threat is especially great in the modern world, with people traveling all over the globe and potentially spreading new diseases. However, modern technology can help us combat this danger and devise more effective public health strategies. Our new method, using wearable sensors for early detection of contagious disease can potentially reduce the threat of epidemics to a minimum. Smartwatches are a relatively new technology, with enormous potential, and novel, even more sensitive and accurate wearable sensors are constantly being developed. Ultimately, this can be a high-impact tool for preempting future pandemics”.

TAU Researchers Win the Prestigious Rousseeuw Prize for Statistics

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Congratulations to Prof. Yoav Benjamini, Prof. Daniel Yekutieli, and Prof. Ruth Heller for winning the prestigious Rousseeuw Prize for Statistics

The King Baudouin Foundation has awarded the prestigious Rousseeuw Prize for Statistics to Prof. Yoav Benjamini, Prof. Daniel Yekutieli, and Prof. Ruth Heller from the Department of Statistics and Operations Research at Tel Aviv University for their pioneering work on False Discovery Rate (FDR). The biennial $1m prize, inaugurated in 2022 and awarded in even years, honors outstanding innovations in statistical research that profoundly impact society.

The Prize was awarded to this year’s laureates for work that enables scanning large numbers of experimental results and selecting real discoveries while limiting the number of false discoveries. In their groundbreaking paper, Prof. Yoav Benjamini and the late Prof. Yosef Hochberg first presented the FDR criterion, expressed it mathematically, and proposed a method for identifying a maximum number of discoveries while maintaining a desirable FDR. At the time, this paper conflicted with widely accepted criteria, and consequently, its publication was delayed for years. Today, however, it is one of the most highly cited papers in the scientific world.

Prof. Benjamini was joined by his students Profs. Yekutieli and Heller who continued in his footsteps both together and separately, adding further innovations to the theory of FDR. Their work has enabled the extension of the Benjamini-Hochberg method’s uses beyond the original paper, applying it to challenges in genomics and neuroscience and proposing methods for assessing the reproducibility of scientific findings.

Prof. Yoav Benjamini: “The concept of FDR was born from a need in medical research, specifically studies examining large numbers of success parameters to evaluate new treatments. However, in statistics, a new approach established in one field of research can also impact other areas. Today FDR methods are applied in a wide variety of fields, such as genomics – where researchers investigate tens of thousands of genetic indicators for certain diseases; neuroscience – where studies look for parts of the brain activated by specific tasks, such as face recognition; and also agriculture, economics, behavioral sciences, astronomy and more. All these fields share a need to scan enormous quantities of possible results and ultimately find real discoveries in mountains of data”.

“I am pleased about the expressed appreciation for our research. Winning the Rousseeuw Prize is the outcome of a long process, planted and cultivated in Israel for many years, in a fertile academic substrate, that grew into the global world of science. I hope that even in these difficult times for Israel and the region, our societies will allow academia to sustain an open and healthy environment, enabling continued scientific growth that benefits mankind with no borders” – Prof. Benjamini

How a Brain Parasite Becomes a Brain Cure

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TAU research paves the way to brain healing with parasites

Have you ever imagined that parasites could be beneficial for brain diseases? TAU Researchers have reengineered Toxoplasma gondii, the ‘cat parasite,’ transforming it from a feared threat into a groundbreaking tool for delivering drugs directly to the brain. This surprising innovation not only overturns our expectations but also opens new possibilities for treating neurological disorders.

In a breakthrough study by an international team of scientists led by researchers from Tel Aviv and Glasgow Universities, the ‘cat parasite’ Toxoplasma gondii was engineered to deliver drugs to the human brain. The study was led by Prof. Oded Rechavi from the Department of Neurobiology and the Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University, together with his PhD student Dr. Shahar Bracha, and with Prof. Lilach Sheiner, an Israeli scientist and toxoplasma expert from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. The results were published in the leading scientific journal Nature Microbiology.

“One of the biggest challenges in treating neurological diseases is getting through the blood-brain barrier (BBB),” explains Prof. Rechavi. “It is tough to deliver drugs to the brain via the bloodstream, and this is especially true for large molecules such as proteins, the critical ‘machines’ that carry out many important functions inside the cell”.

Toxoplasma gondii – the ‘cat parasite’

The creative solution proposed by the TAU team utilizes the unicellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which can infect a vast variety of organisms, but reproduces only in the guts of cats. The parasite is very effective in infecting humans, with an estimated third of the global population infected at some point in their lives. Prof. Rechavi explains: “Most people don’t even feel the infection or only experience mild flu-like symptoms.

Dormant Parasite Sparks New Treatment

The parasite is, however, dangerous for people with immune failure due to conditions like AIDS, and for fetuses whose immune system has not yet developed. This is why pregnant women are advised not to eat raw meat which might contain the parasite, and to stay away from cats, which might deliver it through their feces. While ridding the body of the parasite, a healthy immune system has only limited access to the brain, and the parasite remains in the brain throughout the carrier’s lifetime”.

The parasite’s ability to penetrate the human brain and survive there in a dormant state, without reproducing, made it a perfect candidate for the researchers’ novel approach: genetically engineering Toxoplasma gondii to secrete therapeutic proteins.

Can Parasites Deliver Medications to the Brain?

“The parasite has three distinct secretion systems and we ‘hitched a ride’ on two of them”, says Prof. Rechavi. “We did not intervene with the first system, which secretes proteins outside the neurons. The second system ‘shoots’ a ‘harpoon’ into the neuron, to enable penetration. Once inside, the parasite forms a kind of cyst that continues to secrete proteins permanently. We engineered the parasite’s DNA to make it produce and secrete the proteins we want, which have therapeutic potential”.

“The parasite’s ability to pass through the BBB and communicate with the neurons, combined with our ability to engineer the parasite, generate a golden opportunity for solving the great therapeutic challenge of delivering medications to the brain”, says Prof. Sheiner.

Illustration of the activity of neurons

In this study, the team used transgenic model animals that were injected with parasites genetically engineered to produce and secrete proteins that travel into cell nuclei. Several lines of evidence proved that the proteins had been delivered to the target area and remained active in the neurons’ nuclei. One of these was especially eye-catching: a protein that, delivered by the parasite, entered the nuclei and cut out specific DNA segments, causing the transgenic animals’ brains to glow in the dark.

New Method for Rett Syndrome

This breakthrough can have far-reaching implications for a series of severe diseases. In the present study, the researchers specifically demonstrated the delivery of a protein called MeCP2, whose deficiency is associated with Rett syndrome. “This is a deadly syndrome caused by a deficiency in a single gene called MePC2 in brain cells, and our engineered Toxoplasma gondii was able to deliver it to the target cells”, says Prof. Rechavi. “But this is just one example. There are many other diseases caused by deficiency or abnormal expression of a certain protein”. To ensure the method’s safe and effective therapeutic implementation, for both drug delivery and genetic editing, a company named Epeius was established in collaboration with Ramot – the technology transfer company of Tel Aviv University, and with the University of Glasgow’s research and innovation services.

How TAU Is Navigating Campus Co-existence:

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In classrooms, labs and cafeterias, Jews and Arabs confront the reality of a post-October 7 world

When the first academic term after October 7 was about to begin at Tel Aviv University (TAU), Prof. Neta Ziv, TAU’s vice president of equity, diversity and community, wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, however she knew it would be complicated. For instance, there was the lab in the School of Medicine made up of three Arab doctorates, with family members in Gaza, and five Jewish researchers, including one whose best friend was killed at the Nova Music Festival massacre and another who had family members held hostage. Furthermore, there were the many, many classrooms across campus where Jewish and Arab students studied together and were expected to continue learning in the same space.

TAU and Israeli universities had a task no other academic institution had ever had to confront to the same degree: trying to ensure coexistence, safety and wellbeing among Jews and Arabs on campus amid a tragic and violent crisis that has personally affected so many.

Preparing for the Return to Campus

Campuses across Israel are some of the most diverse spaces in Israel and where most Arab- and Jewish-Israeli citizens first really get to know one another; approximately 20 percent of students on Israeli campuses are Arab, consistent with the percentage of Arabs in Israel’s population. (While some Arabs in Israel identify as Palestinian, others do not, which is why the more general term tends to be used when referring to non-Jewish Middle Eastern Israelis.)

Regarding the return to campus on December 31, 2023, Ziv and others at TAU determined that they really needed a plan both for classrooms and public spaces that prioritized safe coexistence.

“The first thing we did was we set up a task force of Arab and Jewish faculty, as well as representatives from the Dean of Students, and we looked around and we tried to identify all the places where issues could arise.”—Prof. Neta Ziv, TAU’s VP of Equity, Diversity and Community

The University immediately hired social psychologists and organizational consultants to be on hand to assist faculties with any conflict that might arise, and more than 800 faculty members were given training on how to handle tensions in class. TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat met with all of the University’s Arab student organizations and political Jewish organizations to solicit their help in promoting coexistence on campus.

Arab-Israeli journalist Yoseph Haddad speaks at a 2024 TAU Board of Governors panel.

Ziv’s team met with all Arab faculty members as well as staff at the dormitories to reassure and offer support. For the beginning of the return to campus, many faculty members were recruited to welcome all students to campus and make them feel more comfortable returning.

“We did a lot of different things to make sure that the school year would start peacefully.”—Prof. Neta Ziv

A Faculty-Specific Approach

Ziv’s team also doubled down on their support for faculty management, empowering each faculty to do what made the most sense for their students. For example, Ziv recently attended a meeting with TAU’s School of Psychological Sciences, where they discussed how to decrease barriers for Arab students interested in clinical psychology. “We’re thinking of ways to enhance the successes of these students because we know that there are very few psychologists right now serving the Arab community in Israel,” she says. 

For the Faculty of Social Sciences, which houses the School of Psychological Sciences, another main concern since October 7 has been adapting course content so that it is both relevant and sensitive to Jewish and Arab students in today’s context. 

Students attend one of their first classes after the semester started on December 31, 2023

“If you teach in the social sciences … you speak immediately about students’ own lives and their lives have been changing tremendously and rapidly in the last year. So how do you maintain the high academic level, but at the same time be sensitive to their feelings about what’s going on?” asks Prof. Amal Jamal, vice dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and head of the Walter Lebach Institute for the Study of Jewish-Arab Coexistence.

“This combination is not easy and cannot be taken for granted, and this is what we are trying to accomplish.”— Prof. Amal Jamal, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences

Other schools and faculties are focused on alternative approaches. In the Coller School of Management, where about a third of accounting students and a quarter of management students are Arab, a pilot project will resume next academic year requiring Arabs and Jewish students to work together on group projects. “That’s the big question we have now, is how do we get back to the activities we had before October 7,” says Prof. Dotan Persitz, an inclusion advisor for Arab students in the Coller School.

Beginning the Dialogue Process 

While many at the faculty level are actively finding ways to support students and bolster coexistence, there are others who are focused on confronting division by offering Jewish and Arab students a framework for coming together to hold space for the difficult truths. 

The Dugri course at TAU is one example—the term “dugri” is known in both Arabic and Hebrew and means talking bluntly and without reserve to confront the hard truths and trauma of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. The intensive TAU course, which takes place over three all-day sessions and involves 20 Arab and Jewish students from across TAU faculties, is offered by Youssef Masharawi, an Arab professor from the Department of Physical Therapy, and Uriel Abulof, a Jewish professor from the Department of Political Science. 

“This is dealing, hardcore, with the issues between Arabs and Jews by discussing the truth honestly, but with a lot of respect,”—Prof. Masharawi

The Dugri class, led by Masharawi and Abulof, in session. 

Another program, MiddleMeets, was conceived during a student-led TAU hackathon called The Day After. Initially, MiddleMeets was intended to bring international students and Israeli students together in conversation; however, program organizers quickly realized that dialogue was first needed at home.

The program brings together approximately 35 students from across Israeli universities. First-year TAU student Maysan Madi, who is Palestinian, is one of the participants. “It made me feel much less helpless,” she says.

“There’s something so comforting and so unique about expressing your pain to the so-called other side and that has been MiddleMeets for me.”

For the initial meeting of MiddleMeets, the Arab and Jewish groups of students met separately with a Hebrew-speaking or Arabic-speaking facilitator to discuss expectations and fears. During other meetings, shared conversation revolved around a particular theme like rights on the land, shame and guilt, and sympathy and empathy.

Regarding one meeting held at TAU, the academic advisor for the program, Prof. Elitzur Bar-Asher Siegal, recalls a particularly tense encounter between a student recently stationed in Gaza and an Arab-speaking student who asked the Jewish student if he had killed anyone. 

“When you actually hear someone coming back from the war, talking with someone who blames him for genocide, and they have a sincere conversation and each one gets for a second, for a moment, that the other side is not just pure evil … I think that this is an experience that I wish everyone had for a moment,”—Prof. Elitzur Bar-Asher Siegal   

The MiddleMeets initiative also led to representatives, including Madi and Bar-Asher Siegal, being invited in June to speak at the Vatican and meet the Pope. “We told him to pray for the war to end and for the hostages and for the children killed in Gaza, and we gave him the shirt of MiddleMeets and he read it in English and said thank you. He was very sweet,” says Madi.

Bar-Asher Siegal and Madi (both standing, left-hand side) offering the Pope a MiddleMeets shirt.

Madi has decided to continue with the MiddleMeets project, which is entering its second phase as organizers fundraise and work to bring together a diverse Israeli delegation with American and European students:

“I hope we get many more Palestinian and Jewish students involved, as well as international students—with what has been going on, they need to hear more from the people that live here.”—Maysan Madi

The War Isn’t Over Yet 

While Ziv credits the work of the dialogue groups as well as the faculties in supporting students, she is still cautious, reflecting that the war in Gaza continues. 

“Tel Aviv University is an open, democratic campus, and we are really fighting to ensure that even during periods of real tension between groups, especially now during the war, we maintain an opportunity for our students to express their views,” says Ziv. “It’s a continuing challenge, and I think it’s important to put that on the table.” 

At the same time, hope persists that facilitating dialogue at TAU will have an effect and even reverberate more widely in Israeli society: “Universities are very sensitive and unique zones for Jewish and Arab relations,” says Jamal.

“Getting students to take an active role in facilitating these relationships not only helps them feel better during their studies, but they also then become messengers of better relations in their own communities.”—Prof. Amal Jamal

Global Day of Engagement: Celebrating International Ties

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Tel Aviv University hosts three international delegations

On July 25, a remarkable convergence of events took place at Tel Aviv University, showcasing the spirit of innovation, solidarity, and learning. The Lowy International School hosted visits from Columbia University faculty, leadership of several Indian universities, and a large group of American undergraduate students.

Columbia University Solidarity Delegation 

As part of the ongoing series of solidarity visits from elite universities and TAU partners, Columbia University faculty came to Tel Aviv to talk about antisemitism, BDS in the context of international collaborations, freedom of speech, and the state of TAU post-October 7th.

TAU President Prof Ariel Porat talking about Tel Aviv University initiatives post-October 7

The discussions were led by Prof. Ariel Porat, TAU President, who described all the challenges TAU has been facing since October 7, including assisting student reservists return to their studies, joining the country-wide volunteer efforts, and protecting academic freedoms.

Despite the challenges, Israeli academia, particularly at Tel Aviv University, has seen significant international support from colleagues and institutions abroad.  “At the same time, we’re at a point in which we are seriously concerned about the state of international collaborations in Israel and at Tel Aviv University,” noted Prof. Milette Shamir, VP for International, highlighting increasing institutional boycotts from European universities and silent disengagements by individual faculty, which could severely impact young researchers first and foremost. 

Prof. Milette Shamir, Prof. Ariel Porat, Ms Camellia Darawscha at the meeting with Columbia University faculty

Prof. Shamir described some of TAU’s new initiatives to support internationalization:

“We give support to faculty to prepare them as they go abroad now for how to conduct themselves and how to cultivate ties despite the situation.”

The university has also joined a task force formed by the VERA committee of university presidents to counter the boycotts: “They’re collecting the data, but they’re also leading, for example, the efforts to have a legal stance at the European Commission,” explained Shamir.

Columbia University delegation and students of the Dual Degree TAU–Columbia BA Program in Liberal Arts

In addition, the Lowy International School is actively promoting study abroad programs for international students and exchange programs for TAU’s Israeli students. This fall, over 200 undergraduate and graduate students will spend a semester abroad.

“It’s very important for Israelis now to be present on campuses around the world,” – commented one of the delegation participants.

Ms Camellia Darawscha, Diversity Officer at the TAU Equity, Diversity, and Community Office Commission, spoke about the measures the university undertakes to ensure a safe campus environment for all students, including staff training sessions and personal consultations on dealing with diverse classes, monitoring and regulating incidents of microagression and harassment, and regulating hate speech. 

Columbia University faculty

“Despite the complications, inspiring things are still happening. One example is a project named The Artist’s Lake. It’s a community theater of Arab and Jewish students who have never studied acting, and they act together on stage. Another example is Force and Dialogue through Palestinian artists.”—Camellia Darawscha

The visit also featured a discussion about antisemitism, its current meaning, origins, and implications with Prof Dina Porat, Emeritus in the Department of Jewish History and the Chief Historian of Yad Vashem.

As part of the visit, the delegation met with students and alumni of the Joint Dual Degree Liberal Arts BA program between Columbia and TAU. Lisa Rosen-Metsch, the Dean of the Columbia School for General Studies, while not present at the meeting, sent her message:

“While these past months since October 7th have been extremely difficult, I have no doubt that our dual degree students will pull through, and the intellectual, social, and emotional education that they are receiving will yield the outcome of our students becoming future leaders in the world who has never needed them more.”

Prof Krasna (right), Associate Dean of Columbia Mailman School of Public Health reading the address from Prof. Rosen-Metsch, the Dean of the Columbia School for General Studies

Rosen-Metsch added in her letter: “I and my colleagues at Columbia, as demonstrated by their presence today, are doing everything possible to make sure we remain the destination Ivy League school for every student from Israel, and that our students are welcomed, supported, and receive the best intellectual experience at Columbia.”

“I’m very grateful to our colleagues at Tel Aviv University for being such outstanding academic partners.”—Prof. Rosen-Metsch

Elisha Baker, Columbia junior, described the initiatives of the Jewish community on campus and answered questions from students who will be starting their classes at Columbia this fall.     

“I will double down on needing more Jewish students to apply to Columbia so that we can build a stronger community. We already have a very strong one, but build it even stronger, raise our voices even more.”—Elisha Baker, Columbia student

Columbia University delegation and students of the Dual Degree TAU–Columbia BA Program in Liberal Arts

Expanding Collaborations with India

Another solidarity visit was organized by the Israeli Embassy in Delhi and the Foreign Ministry. The delegation comprising university vice-chancellors and leaders, representing the Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, University of Mumbai, and 12 other institutions from across India met with Prof. Milette Shamir and Prof. Colin Price who gave a talk on sustainability and climate crisis. 

“We come to Israel to show solidarity.”— Prof E J James, Karunya University

Since 2016, Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology and Tel Aviv University have collaborated on food security and advanced manufacturing research. Professor Yossi Shacham from Tel Aviv University initially led the Center for Excellence in Food Security, succeeded by Professor Nir Ohad.

Prof Ohad, head of the Food Security Center; Prof Batish, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology; Prof Shamir, VP for International at TAU; and Konstantin Platonov, TAU Asia Engagement Director (from left to right)

Professor Noam Eliaz is the inaugural Chair Center of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing. There are also joint projects with Prof Ram Fishman and Prof Hadas Mamane, including Digital Villages, water treatment and irrigation models, and perishable fruit sensor technologies.

“The water treatment model has been adopted by the government of Panjab and is implemented in 13000 villages.”—Prof Ajay Batish, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology.

The partnership also includes student exchange, with Thapar University sending top students to Tel Aviv University for life sciences and engineering programs and hosting Israeli MSc students who work in the farms with Indian farmers and experimenting with various aspects of the Digital Villages project.

“I’m very proud of them because these boys, despite not knowing the local language and handicapped with not knowing the way to that place and also needing support to get there, they’ve done extremely well. They’re like mini celebrities in those farms and villages because people love them there. So I think that way it has been a big success from both sides,” comments Batish.

The leader of the Indian student community at TAU meeting with the delegation

Members of the delegation expressed a lot of interest in building connections with TAU, particularly in the fields of agriculture, climate, cyber security, and also fine arts. As Prof Avkash Yadav from the University of Mumbai said, “Our relations with Israel have a lot of potential.”

“We can collaborate in the space of climate change and thunder-lightning.”—Bal Raj Singh, Vice Chancelllor of Sri Karan Narendra Agriculture University.

As part of their visit, guests from India went to other Israeli universities, toured Jerusalem, kibbutzim in the south, towns in the north, and met with families of hostages.

The Indian delegation to Tel Aviv University

They also went to the Israeli Chamber of Commerce and met with some young innovators who are in the process of setting up their own companies or startups. 

“They have really brilliant ideas. One of them has already reached out to me on LinkedIn because his product looks very exciting to me. So, I am going to try and work with him and see what we can do together.”—Prof. Batish

Largest Student Visit to TAU Led by Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus

For the second consecutive year, The Lowy International School hosted 250 JLIC summer students to learn about Tel Aviv University and its multi-disciplinary academic offerings. American undergraduates came to Israel to learn Torah and intern in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. 

Rabbi Eitan Philips, head of JLIC at Tel Aviv University

Rabbi Eitan Philips, who is leading the JLIC at Tel Aviv University, shared his journey with students, emphasizing the significance of their choice to come to Israel and Tel Aviv University despite the challenges:

“Think about what Tel Aviv means to you, think about what this university can offer you, and think about how your Judaism, which you’ve spent a whole summer now involved in, what it has to say to the whole world.”—Rabbi Eitan Philips

Reflecting on the turmoil before October 7th and his own experiences in Gaza, he highlighted Tel Aviv’s role as Israel’s face to the west: “Tel Aviv represents what we have to give to the world, what we have to give to humanity, our particularism and our universalism.”

Prof Rosen, TAU Faculty of Engineering

Professor Brian Rosen, from the Faculty of Engineering, discussed the intersection of his scientific and religious life, emphasizing that both realms seek different aspects of truth. 

In his talk entitled ‘The Halachic Engineer’ he shared a story from the 1960s about the discovery of the Big Bang Theory, illustrating how scientific advancements can complement rather than contradict religious beliefs.

“The advancement in one field does not need to come at the expense or the dignity of another.”—Prof. Rosen

JLIC students at Tel Aviv University

He encouraged students to see their academic pursuits and Torah study as integrated rather than conflicting: “To study science and engineering and any other discipline here can be done in parallel to Torah study because you’re looking for a single answer.” 

Quoting Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, he concluded, “Science takes things apart to see how they work, Judaism puts things together to see what they mean, and we need them both,” stressing the importance of a harmonious balance between scientific inquiry and spiritual meaning.

JLIC students visiting the new Nanotechnology building

As part of their visit, students met with representatives from TAU faculties: Nanotechnology, Business, Neuroscience, Engineering, Social Sciences, Environmental Studies, as well as the Moshe Dayan Center. Each faculty introduced a topic within their field of study allowing students to experience the breadth of learning and innovation that takes place at TAU. 

An olah hadasha and TAU Sofaer MBA graduate Rachel Thau talking to JLIC students about her startup that verifies the validity of news statements online

They also got to see the lab and learning facilities of Tel Aviv University, including a neuroscience lab that uses EEG equipment and an industry-grade clean room at the recently inaugurated Roman Abramovich Building for Nano and Quantum Science & Technology.

JLIC students on their visit to the Sagol School of Neuroscience

The day events of the day exemplify the spirit of collaboration, resilience, and academic excellence of Tel Aviv University. From hosting international delegations and holding meaningful discussions to showcasing cutting-edge research and innovation, TAU continues to strengthen its global ties and inspire future leaders. 

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