Award-Winning Scholars
Our scholars are decorated with many awards. Here is a partial list:
Dr. Burstein obtained his degrees from Tel Aviv University in multidisciplinary programs combining biology and computer science.
After his PhD, he pursued postdoctoral research in the labs of Prof. Jill Banfield and Nobel laureate Prof. Jennifer Doudna.
The Burstein lab investigates microbial interactions to discover novel gene functions, contributing to biotechnological tools and clinical approaches.
Drawing from global metagenomic data, they leverage machine learning, language models, and molecular techniques to predict, characterize, and study genes involved in horizontal transfer, antimicrobial resistance, microbial defense systems, and anti-defense mechanisms, exploring microbes in their natural contexts.
Selected academic awards:
- 2008: Wolf Foundation Award for excellent MSc students
- 2009: Excellence fellowship from the Converging Technologies Program of the Israeli Council for Higher Education
- 2012: Prof. Willy Hirsch Prize for original research work conducted in the field of microbiology from the Israel Society for Microbiology (ISM)
- 2013: Rothschild postdoctoral fellowship from Yad Hanadiv
- 2014: Long-term_ postdoctoral fellowship from the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
- 2018: Alon fellowship for outstanding young faculty from the Israel Council for Higher Education
- 2020: Rector's List for Excellence in Teaching
- 2020 - 2024: List of top 100 lecturers in TAU and Dean’s List for Excellence in Teaching (every year since started teaching)
