I’m originally from a small village in the north of Israel, in the Galilee Mountains, close to the border of Lebanon.

Growing up, I spent most of my free time in a pine forest on the edge of the village where I grew up. I have many memories from this forest, specifically the unique tree species, such as oak and cedar, that created a diverse environment to explore and play with. I remember in the winter season we would go to collect mushrooms and some herbs for our omelets. In retrospect, this mixed forest combining native and planted trees and the fungi in the soil became my Ph.D. project's main topic. My connection to science, and specifically agriculture and plant science, started at the Kibbutz school, where I understood the importance of agriculture for food production and a sustainable world. 

During my B.Sc. studies, I worked as a technician at the Weizmann Institute in Prof. Avihai Danon's lab and was introduced to a scientific lab and ongoing research. Avihai loved science and he enjoyed studying the molecular side of plant science, as well as observing the more holistic view of the basic biological mechanism in daily life. Through our in-depth discussions about various scientific topics, I became fascinated with science and was motivated to become a scientist myself.

On a more personal aspect, my grandmother Dr. Ruth Levin, a Holocaust survivor who never attended a formal school, earned her Ph.D. from Ben-Gurion University at the age of 60 and encouraged me to study for a Ph.D.

I have been involved with the Weizmann Institute since my B.Sc., where I worked as a lab technician. Later, I became a M.Sc. student in the lab of Avihai Danon and did my Ph.D. in the lab of Tamir Klein. During all of my time at Weizmann, I participated in many educational programs at the Davidson Institute – teaching, mentoring, and leading teenagers in their first steps in the scientific world.

In my Ph.D. I explored the symbiosis between plant roots and fungi (mycorrhiza), which has shaped our aboveground and belowground earth. Mycorrhizal fungi form extensive mycelial networks that can link roots of different trees, but the functional implications of these networks are just starting to be understood. I took advantage of a Free-Air CO2 Enrichment project in the Swiss forest led by Prof. Christian Körner, which provided a unique opportunity to study the extent of carbon movement in mature trees and the effect of elevated CO2 on the forest. I discovered that phylogenetically-related plant species host more similar mycorrhizal communities and exchange more carbon, likely via common mycorrhizal networks. These novel belowground interactions among trees and fungi may significantly influence forest biodiversity and forest structure.

My scientific journey has positioned me to gain a holistic view of plant carbon regulation by combining advanced molecular biology research on model plants with ecophysiological probing of plants in their native environment. In the early stages of my time at the Weizmann Institute, I focused on the regulation of photosynthesis and discovered a novel layer of signaling pathway controlling plant activity during day-to-night shifts Later in my training, I developed a method that combined stable-isotope labeling and carbon mass balance, allowing me to follow carbon allocation quantitatively in real-time. With the help of Prof. Dan Yakir and Prof. Ron Milo, I developed a compartmental model to calculate the effects of environmental parameters on tree carbon allocation – specifically those predicted as a consequence of anthropomorphic climate change. With this description in hand, I asked whether environmental factors affect carbon allocation belowground in mature trees in the forest. Surprisingly, we found enhanced root carbon exudation of mature trees during the dry season, which probably acts as a mechanism to supply the microbial community during the harsh seasons. Finally, using long-term ecophysiological measurements, I provided evidence for interspecific soil water partitioning and higher productivity of mixed versus monoculture forests.

The SAERI fellow meetings provided a broad spectrum of global and local scientific topics. The opportunity to learn and discuss global climate change and the most up-to-date methods to cope with climate change improved my research. As a SAERI fellow, I got to know many talented scientists who later became my colleagues. Specifically, at the end of my Ph.D., a group of scientists interested in the same topics helped me to find the right lab and scholarship for my postdoc research.

During my Ph.D. I was privileged to be a member of the SAERI fellowship, exploring sustainability and other ecological topics with students from varied backgrounds. During this time, together with another fellow, I invited two well-known scientists, Prof. Tomas Crowther (ETH, Zurich) and Prof. William M. Hammond (University of Florida, USA), to present in the SAERI seminars. The opportunity to contact the leading scientists in the field of global climate change and its effect on trees motivated me to continue my research and become a scientist.

The Ph.D. at the Weizmann Institute and specifically the SAERI program gave me the skills to ask scientific questions on different scales, from the molecular to the global one. Meeting with the SEARI fellows and the diverse scientists in the institute gave me the curiosity to enter any scientific seminar and think about how to adapt it to a more sustainable world. After one year as a postdoc, I’m able to see even more how meeting and collaborating with other SAERI fellows upgraded my scientific skills. The great ideas and discussions initiated in the SAERI meetings still influence my research and contribute to making me a better multi-disciplinary scientist with a comprehensive understanding of sustainability and alternative energy.

Now, one year in my postdoc, I’m returning to my roots in agriculture and applying my experience with forest ecophysiology to agro-ecology research. Agriculture fields face many challenges due to increased human population and diminishing resources. Prof. Marcel van der Heijden's group at the University of Zurich offers a unique combination of innovative experimental and analytical methods in the interface between environmental microbiology and applied agriculture. Using my experience in microbial community analysis, plant ecophysiology, and stable isotopes, I plan to study the particular mechanisms that regulate fungal networks.

Next year, I will start my grant as an SNSF-fellow and study the mechanism of tripartite partnership interactions and their uses in soil bioengineering for a sustainable agriculture.

Ido’s interest in biology began with a wish to understand how plants adapt to different environments and survive under extreme conditions. After completing his B.Sc. in Agronomy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he worked with local communities in Nepal, teaching and developing sustainable agriculture methods. During that time, he discovered his interest in fundamental molecular mechanisms, which inspired his enrollment for a M.Sc. in the lab of the late Prof. Avihai Danon at the Weizmann Institute of Science, focusing on the regulation of photosynthesis and the adaptations to solar radiation that evolved during terrestrial plant evolution. After more than two years in a molecular plant lab, he longed to get back into nature and combine his interests in molecular biology with a more holistic, ecophysiological approach to plants in their native environment. During his Ph.D. in Prof. Tamir Klein's lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science, he explored the aboveground and belowground parts of the forest, focusing on soil fungi and their ecological and physiological impacts on forest's adaptation to harsh environments. Currently, as a postdoc in the lab of Prof. Marcel van der Heijden at the University of Zurich and Agroscope (Swiss Federal Research Center for Agriculture), he hopes to return to his roots in agriculture and apply his extensive experience with forest ecophysiology to agro-ecology research and improving sustainable agriculture methods. Ido was awarded the Menashe Milo Memorial Prize for Ph.D. Excellence.