Prof. Avraham Levy was born in Paris, immigrating to Israel as a young man. He earned his BSc and MSc in agriculture and plant breeding at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and his PhD in plant genetics from the Weizmann Institute of Science. He conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University and at the Institut National de Recherche Agronomique in Versailles, France, after which he joined the Weizmann Institute of Science. He was Head of the Department of Plant Sciences as well asChair of the Professorial Council . He currently serves as Dean of the Faculty of Biochemistry.
In his research, Prof. Levy probes the evolutionary processes that have generated hundreds of thousands of plant species, compared to only a few thousand species of mammals. His research asks: What are the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms responsible for biodiversity in the plant kingdom?This includes mechanistic studies on hybridization, genome doubling, DNA recombination, DNA repair and genome stability as well as population genetics analyses of wheat evolution in the wild habitat. A better understand of these mechanisms might be used to improve food production, to assess evolution under climate change as well as to find alternative energy solutions. In particular, he harnesses advanced genetic manipulation techinques, such as genome editing, to engineer plants with desired features in a precise manner.
Prof. Levy coordinates a group of Israeli scientists who are working on precise genome editing in plants, and serves on the scientific board of Israeli Agro-biotech companies. He was awarded the Landau Prize of Mifal Hapais for Plant Sciences and was the recipient of an ERC grant for targeted engineering of plant genomes. He previously served as President of the Genetic Society of Israel.
Prof. Avraham Levy is the incumbent of the Gilbert de Botton Professorial Chair of Plant Sciences and he is the Director of the Y. Leon Benoziyo Institute for Molecular Medicine; and the Dr. Erhard, Emmi, and Fred Loewinsohn Center for Pediatric Health.
Prof. Levy is married and he is the father of four children.