Born in Paris, Prof. Avraham Levy immigrated to Israel in 1976. He earned his BSc and MSc in field crops and plant breeding at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1987, he received a PhD in plant genetics from the Weizmann Institute. From 1987 to 1990, he conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University and then, in 1991, at the Institut National de Recherche Agronomique in Versailles, France. In 1992, he joined the Weizmann Institute. He was head of the Department of Plant Sciences, until 2014, and the Chair of the Council of Professors until 2017. Today he serves as the Dean of Biochemistry, as well as the director of the Y. Leon Benoziyo Institute for Molecular Medicine and the Dr. Erhard, Emmi, and the Fred Loewinsohn Center for Pediatric Health. He is the incumbent of the Gilbert de Botton Professorial Chair of Plant Sciences.
Evolution has generated hundreds of thousands of plant species, compared to only a few thousand mammals. The questions Prof. Levy’s research addresses are: What are the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that are responsible for biodiversity in the plant kingdom? This includes research on hybridization, genome doubling, DNA recombination and genome stability. He is interested in utilizing these mechanisms to improve food production, and to find alternative energy solutions. In particular, he harnesses genetic manipulation capabilities to engineer new plant features in a precise manner.
Prof. Levy coordinates a Biofuel Consortium at the Institute, as well as the Israeli Center of Research Excellence (ICORE), in which 12 teams of Weizmann Institute scientists are working together on a number of basic science projects related to enhancing biofuels production. He also coordinates a group of scientists working on precise genome editing in plants. Prof. Levy was awarded the Landau Prize of Mifal Hapais (2016) and is also is the recipient of an ERC grant for targeted engineering of plant genomes and currently serves as chair of the Council of Professors. He previously served as president of the Genetic Society of Israel.
He is married and the father of four children.