Prof. Rotem Sorek

Department of Molecular Genetics

Born in Tel Aviv in 1975, Prof. Rotem Sorek conducted his undergraduate and graduate studies at Tel Aviv University, earning a BSc summa cum laude in life sciences in 2000, an MSc summa cum laude in molecular evolution in 2002, and a PhD with distinction in human genetics in 2006. During his graduate studies, he also managed the Genomics research group at Compugen, Ltd., a leading Israeli biotech firm. After conducting postdoctoral studies in the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in Berkeley, CA, for two years, he joined the Weizmann Institute in 2008. He is the incumbent of the Rowland and Sylvia Schaefer Career Development Chair in the Department of Molecular Genetics.

Prof. Sorek harnesses the power of computational genomics to reveal the biological properties of microorganisms through the study of their DNA. Much of his research focuses on “microbial warfare”—the mechanisms by which microorganisms attack one another and defend themselves against such attacks. He investigates CRISPR-Cas, the adaptive “immune” system that bacteria use to defend themselves against viruses. An improved understanding of this system could help devise effective means of protecting industrially beneficial bacteria—such as those for manufacturing yogurt, purifying sewage, or producing biofuel—against a viral attack. He also discovered that viruses can use small molecules to communicate among themselves and coordinate the dynamics of infection.

Prof. Sorek is a co-owner of 35 patents and patent applications in molecular biology and has received numerous prestigious honors, including the Weizmann Institute’s Scientific Council Prize for Life Sciences in 2016 and the Federation of European Biochemical Societies’ (FEBS) Anniversary Prize in 2015. He also earned many prizes as a young scientist, including the Teva Founders Award for Outstanding Young Scientists in Life Sciences, the Israel Society for Microbiology’s Nili Rubinowitz-Grossman Prize for Outstanding Young Scientist in the Field of Microbiology, the RNA Society/Scaringe Young Scientist Award, the Alon Fellowship, and the Weizmann Institute's Sir Charles Clore Prize for Outstanding Appointment as a Senior Scientist. In 2015, he was elected to the European Academy of Microbiology, and in 2012, he was appointed to the Israeli National Young Academy.