Harnessing TAU Talent for Quantum Computing

The School of Public Health at the Gray Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, together with biopharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and other partners, established the TAU-AZ BEAM Center for Real-World Data Research. This Center, headed at TAU by Prof. Gabriel Chodick (Medicine), aims to enhance patient care and health outcomes globally by sharing insights generated from extensive, demographically diverse data and cutting-edge analyses. The Center connects world-class TAU researchers with a powerful network spanning the healthcare ecosystem including facilities, partnerships and databanks from Israeli healthcare providers.

Set to launch in the 2025-26 academic year, the pioneering Coller DeepTech MBA is a new program designed to bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology and business leadership. The program will equip top talent from Israel and around the world with the expertise to lead, scale, and commercialize transformative tech solutions to complex problems. It is tailored for individuals with prior exposure to Deep Tech, such as STEM researchers, entrepreneurs and defense tech experts, who aspire to drive new technological ventures involving a heavy investment in R&D.

Though many envision equality as society’s ideal state, people may actually be naturally averse to equal outcomes. Dr. Meyrav Shoham (Social Sciences), alongside an international team, is investigating the novel phenomenon of tie aversion, wherein people perceive tied outcomes to be more like losses than wins. Her research shows that this perception affects people’s judgment, emotional reactions, and expectations regarding future performance. Dr. Shoham’s work has implications for academic knowledge in multiple disciplines, including marketing, decision-making, social psychology and economics.

TAU's Class Action Legal Clinic at the Buchmann Faculty of Law won a landmark class action lawsuit against burial discrimination. In the ruling, the Central District Court ordered the Chevra Kadisha burial society to pay 4.3 million shekels in compensation to families of immigrants from the former Soviet Union who were buried in separate sections of cemeteries. This precedent-setting victory marks the first class action lawsuit in Israel to successfully establish segregation between groups as unlawful discrimination and award significant compensation. The Clinic is one of nine that operate as part of the Elga Cegla Clinical Legal Education Program at the Law Faculty.

New high-tech greenhouses are driving breakthroughs in plant research and agricultural innovation.

• Advanced plant analysis: Located in the Yehuda Naftali Botanic Garden, the greenhouse features Israel’s only custom phenotyping system, enabling in-depth monitoring of plant growth above and below ground.
• Cutting-edge gene editing: The expanded plant transformation facility at the Institute for Cereal Crops Research now develops genetically modified wheat, barley and rice. Prof. Yariv Brotman (Life Sciences) is leading studies into plant metabolism, while other researchers are introducing disease- and drought-resistant genes into wheat, using the greenhouse to assess their potential in real-world conditions.

Intel is strengthening its collaboration with Prof. Eran Socher (Engineering) to advance VLSI and chip design research. His team recently secured a grant from Intel Labs for work on ultra-high-speed wireless communication. Intel also awarded an educational grant to the VLSI Lab, enabling students to gain hands-on experience designing circuits using an Intel fabrication process. Additionally, Dr. Ofir Degani, an Intel Fellow and Visiting Professor, leads a unique chip design project whereby Intel engineers mentor students.

Prof. Rani Gilad-Bachrach (Engineering) is leading the new Knowledge Center for Artificial Intelligence Policy, a joint initiative between Tel Aviv University and Israel’s Ministry of Science and Technology. The Center brings together government officials, academics, and industry leaders to shape AI policies that impact society. Key issues include AI transparency, its role in education and healthcare, and ethical considerations. Leveraging TAU’s deep expertise in AI – spanning technology, law, and societal impact – the Center is set to drive responsible and effective AI governance in Israel.

From orbiting satellites to electrons in atoms, many things in nature move in cycles – but measuring these movements is tricky. Profs. Lev Buhovsky and Leonid Polterovich (Exact Sciences) with collaborators have developed a new mathematical method using topological data analysis to measure oscillations more accurately. Their approach is stable, meaning that small changes do not affect results. It also helps analyze patterns in mathematical equations, leading to new insights into geometry and physics. By refining classical mathematical theorems, their work offers a better way to understand oscillatory motion – from big orbital cycles to tiny quantum vibrations.

TAU’s MultiPiano Ensemble saw their latest recording released by Hyperion Records this year. The Ensemble, which features a mix of faculty, alumni and students, recorded with the RSB Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and pianist Prof. Tomer Lev (Arts), first Head of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music and a TAU alumnus himself. The released album, entitled Unplayed Stories…in 40 Fingers, is the result of roughly a decade of research and preparation. Each recording is a world premiere, including the exciting resurrection of a long-lost work by Mendelssohn. MultiPiano also recently played this work with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, recipient of a 2025 TAU Honorary Fellowship, and on an eight-city US tour including at Carnegie Hall.

How does cancer put the brakes on the immune system, and how can we release this braking mechanism to fight off tumors? Prof. Carmit Levy (Medicine) led a team who discovered that some tumors release a protein which suppresses immune cells, allowing cancer to grow unchecked. They found that inhibiting this protein stimulates the immune system battle against the disease, even in lab models for which current immunotherapies were not effective. The team is now working to develop their discovery into a treatment that can be administered to cancer patients who do not respond to available therapies.

The team of Prof. Oded Rechavi (Life Sciences), of the Sagol School of Neuroscience and a 2019 recipient of the Kadar Family Award, has found a groundbreaking way to deliver drugs to the brain. They re-engineered Toxoplasma gondii – the parasite behind “cat disease” – to release therapeutic proteins inside the human brain without itself causing harm. The parasite's ability to pass through the blood-brain barrier and communicate with neurons offered the opportunity to solve the great therapeutic challenge of delivering medications to the brain. The breakthrough, published in Nature Microbiology, could open new doors for treating neurological diseases.

VP for R&D Prof. Dan Peer (Life Sciences) of the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research and post-doctoral fellow Dr. Riccardo Rampado have achieved a global milestone in drug delivery. They altered the proportions of lipids in nanoparticles to bypass the liver and deliver mRNA-based drugs directly to the intestine. This innovation, which made the cover of Advanced Science, offers a new approach to treating digestive diseases.

The TAU Digital Tutor is a novel, AI-powered system that was developed in-house to help students master course material through instant support. Designed by a team of talented TAU PhD and MSc students, the system functions as a smart chatbot that answers students' academic questions on course materials in real time, making learning more accessible and effective. Already in use across a range of courses, it enables students to study independently and receive academic assistance anytime, anywhere. The project, led by Exact Sciences Dean Prof. Tova Milo and TAU Rector Prof. Mark Shtaif, reflects the University’s strong commitment to integrating cutting-edge technology into pedagogy.

A new imaging and selection method for sperm cells, developed by Prof. Natan T. Shaked (Engineering), is revolutionizing in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Already used by Barzilai Medical Center, the method has increased IVF success rates from 34% to 65%. In one remarkable case, a couple who endured 15 failed IVF cycles finally became parents thanks to this innovation. The technology, commercialized by QART Medical with support from TAU’s tech transfer company Ramot, is now being tested in multiple Israeli hospitals and is in use at UCSF Medical Center and University of Tokyo Hospital.

One of the challenges facing academic researchers is translating ideas developed in the lab into real-world products. TAU’s Zimin Institute for Engineering Solutions Advancing Better Lives provides support to select projects with high potential for applicability, to help facilitate the transition from experimental findings to commercialization. One success story is X-trodes, a startup based on wearable technology developed by Prof. Yael Hanein (Engineering) of the Jan Koum Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. The Zimin Institute supported a collaboration with Prof. Tom Schonberg (Life Sciences) to test the applicability of the technology, which promises to revolutionize electrophysiological monitoring in areas such as sleep medicine, clinical psychology, sports performance, injury rehabilitation, human-machine interface design, and many others.