image: Moran Yassour
Credit: Ariel van Straten.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem is proud to announce that Prof. Moran Yassour, a leading researcher at the Faculty of Medicine and the School of Computer Science and Engineering, has been selected as one of the 2025 EMBO Young Investigators. She receives this prestigious recognition for her innovative research on the developing infant microbiome and its impact on pediatric health.
Prof. Yassour is among 28 exceptional scientists worldwide chosen for the four-year EMBO Young Investigator Programme, which acknowledges and supports outstanding young group leaders in the life sciences. Her research explores how microbial communities develop in early life and shape short- and long-term health outcomes, work with major implications for understanding immune development, childhood disease, and personalized medicine.
Prof. Oron Shagrir, Rector of the Hebrew University, said: “Prof. Moran Yassour represents the very best of Hebrew University’s spirit of innovation and scientific excellence. Her groundbreaking work on the infant microbiome not only advances our understanding of human health but also reflects the deep commitment of our researchers to improving lives. We congratulate her on this well-deserved honor and are excited to see where her discoveries lead.”
“EMBO is delighted to welcome the new young investigators. Their outstanding achievements demonstrate the excellence and ambition that will drive progress in the life sciences,” said EMBO Director Fiona Watt in the organization’s announcement. “We are pleased to support these young group leaders as they take the next steps in their careers, and we look forward to their discoveries and contributions to our community.”
About Prof. Moran Yassour
Prof. Yassour is the Rosalind, Paul and Robin Berlin Faculty Development Chair in Perinatal Research, the head of the Computer Science and Computational Biology program, and a co-director of the Hebrew University Center for Computational Medicine. She is jointly appointed at the Faculty of Medicine and the School of Computer Science and Engineering at Hebrew University. Her research combines computational biology, microbiology, and pediatric medicine to uncover how early-life microbial development influences health trajectories.
Prof. Yassour’s work has advanced our understanding of how the human gut microbiome is established, and how delivery mode impacts its early-life trajectory. She demonstrated that specific bacterial strains are often transmitted from mother to infant, especially via the maternal gut rather than the vaginal microbiome, and explored the impact of breastfeeding on the developing infant gut microbiome.
Her recent work focuses on the infant gut microbiome in disease, particularly in premature infants, infants with food allergy, and pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases. Her lab collaborates widely with clinicians, computational scientists, and microbiologists in Israel and internationally.
For more information on the Yassour lab’s research: YassourLab.com