Function and Responsibilities:

Helmholtz Global Fellow in Sections 4.7 and 3.6, developing approaches to study interactions between microbial communities and surface processes. 

Research Interests:

My research focuses on the interactions between microbial communities and surface processes. I study how microorganisms establish and adapt to newly formed landscapes, how microbial communities influence weathering and soil development, and how these biological–geomorphic feedbacks shape landscapes over time.

I integrate fieldwork, DNA sequencing, and cosmogenic nuclide dating to connect empirical observations with mechanistic understanding of how microbial communities and surface processes interact through time.

My current project focuses on developing an empirical approach for understanding how microbial community dynamics and geomorphic processes co-shape newly forming and rapidly changing environments.

Career:

2025 – present Helmholtz Global Fellow, GFZ (Sections 4.7 & 3.6)
2024 – 2025 Postdoctoral Scholar, UC Davis
2021 – 2024 Postdoctoral Scholar, UC Merced
2020 – 2021 Postdoctoral Researcher, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
2014 – 2019 Teaching Instructor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
2008 – 2010 Research Assistant, Geological Survey of Israel

Education:

2020 PhD in Geology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
2013 MSc in Geology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
2010 BSc in Chemistry and Geology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Awards:

2025 Helmholtz Global Fellowship, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences
2021 Chateaubriand Postdoctoral Fellowship (declined)
2019 International Association of Sedimentology (IAS) Travel Grant
2019 Israel Ministry of Science and Technology PhD Travel Grant
2017 BSF Rahamimoff Travel Grant
2016 Minerva Short-Term Research Grant
2015 DAAD Short-Term Research Grant
2013 GSA Farouk El-Baz Student Research Award
2013 GSA International Travel Grant