Ekard Center for Food Security and Nutrition

About

One of the grand challenges of the 21st century is our ability to provide nutritious food to every person on the planet. This is due to global warming and the increased frequency of extreme events, such as floods, fires, and desertification, as well a range of other environmental and social factors, including a lack of arable land to expand farming, soil deterioration, population growth, urbanization, and more. Achieving food security under these constraints requires innovative scientific and technological advances based on the deployment of cutting-edge research.

At the Ekard Center for Food Security and Nutrition, scientists are working across a wide range of disciplines to develop a new generation of nutritious crops that are adapted to climate change and can be grown in a sustainable manner. They are conducting advanced research in genomics, computational biology, genome editing, metabolomics, microbiology, and protein design and physiology to develop the scientific innovations necessary to provide food security to people around the world in the near and long term.

Head of Center

Prof. Avraham Levy

Faculty of Biochemistry

Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences

Lab Website

Prof. Avraham Levy 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. He conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University and INRA Versailles, after which he joined the Weizmann Institute. He is a member of the Plant and Environmental Sciences department and served as the Dean of the faculty of Biochemistry until 2022.

Dr. Levy’s research probes the structure and evolution of the plant genome, in particular the genetic mechanisms responsible for biodiversity in the plant kingdom, including DNA repair and recombination, hybridization, and polyploidy. He develops advanced genetic manipulation techniques to engineer plants in a precise manner towards food security and sustainability. He serves on the scientific board of agro-biotech companies, on the editorial board for Plant Cell, and is an associate member of the French Academy of Agriculture. Dr. Levy leads the Green Campus Initiative at the Weizmann Institute.

Research Highlights

Investigating plant/microbe interactions for drought resistance and low-input farming: Investigating plant/microbe interactions for drought resistance and low-input farming through the analysis of wild wheat and the landrace microbiome, as well as for improved carbon sequestration into soil.
Designing crops for increased productivity and sustainability: Designing crops through new breeding techniques, such as genome editing and AI, for increased productivity and sustainability, higher nutritional value, vertical farming applications, agri-voltaic capabilities, and potential use as alternative food proteins.
Developing new plant-based protein sources: Developing new plant-based protein sources, such as cultured meat, to provide alternatives to animal products, i.e., meat or milk.
Developing new pest-resistant crops: Developing new pest-resistant crops to reduce the use of pesticides and support new post-harvest treatments, such as controlling fruit rot to reduce food loss via small RNAs targeting fungus.