Prof. Ehud Gazit

Vice President for Research and Development and the incumbent of the Chair for Nano-Biology Tel Aviv University
Gazit received his B.Sc. summa cum laude after completing the Special Program for Outstanding Students at Tel Aviv University, and his Ph.D. (with highest distinction) from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1997. For his Ph.D. work, he received the John F. Kennedy Award in 1996. He has been a faculty member at Tel Aviv University since 2000, after completing his post-doctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he has held a visiting appointment since 2002.

Gazit's research is directed toward the study of protein folding, misfolding, and self-assembly. His work has resulted in the identification of elements that facilitate the assembly of amyloid fibrils, associated with Alzheimer's disease, and he has identified novel ways to inhibit this process. His laboratory was the first to discover aromatic dipeptides that form nanotubes and nanospheres with unique mechanical and chemical properties. Applications of these nano-assemblies include ultra-sensitive biosensors, energy-storage devices, and metallic nanowires. His work has been published in prestigious academic journals such as Science, Nature Nanotechnology, and Proceedings of the US National Academy of Science, among others.

Gazit served as one of the Strategic Research Program (SRP) Leaders of the European Union's Nano2Life Network of Excellence; as an expert of the European Observatory of Nanobiotechnology (EoN); and as a resident expert in the field of nano-biology for Science At Stake. He is on the editorial board of several journals including Journal of Bionanoscience, Nanomedicine, PLoS ONE, Amyloid and Current Chemical Biology.

Gazit had received numerous awards and honors including the Landau Research Award, Dan David Scholarship Award, and TAU Research Council Prize for excellence in research. His technology transfer achievements were acknowledged by inclusion in the 40/40 list of the The Marker journal in 2007 and the 2008 list of "100 Innovations from Academic Research to Real-World Application" by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM).