When Dreams Do Come True
An inspiring substitute teacher, a lab visit at age 10, and laziness as motivation — three Bar-Ilan researchers share how they got to where they are today
Dr. Einat Zalckvar's desire to become a scientist was sparked as early as 9th grade, when a substitute teacher gave a lecture on genetics at her school. After completing her military service in the Navy, she innocently showed up at the gates of the Weizmann Institute of Science and asked where she could register for a bachelor’s degree. “I’m not a second-generation academic — I didn’t know what a university looked like or what path one had to take to advance,” she recalls. “The first time I set foot in a university was with my 9th grade homeroom teacher, who was studying at the time and took me with her one afternoon. We visited the library, I drank a milkshake at the cafeteria, saw all the students and the green lawns, and was blown away by everything happening around me. I knew I wanted to be part of it.”
Dr. Zalckvar returned to the Weizmann Institute after completing a bachelor's degree in Life Sciences and enrolled in the direct PhD track. After several years of research, she joined the Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar-Ilan, where she established her own lab, studying organelles (cell regions) called peroxisomes, which are involved in various cellular processes. When damaged, they can lead to rare and severe genetic diseases. “I began researching peroxisomes because I saw an opportunity to make a significant impact in this field,” she explains. As her research progressed, her passion for the topic only grew stronger.
Approximately 7,000 diseases are classified as rare, affecting over 300 million people globally. “I met parents of children suffering from rare genetic diseases, as well as clinicians and biotech leaders, and discovered that this is my true passion: to bridge the gap between basic science and applied science — to develop better tools for diagnosing and treating rare genetic diseases,” she says. “To me, each rare disease is like a detective mystery: learning new facts and data, creative thinking, trying to find a solution, collaborating with the team — it’s a process I truly enjoy.” Following her scientific success, Dr. Zalckvar is now also thinking about the next generation of researchers. “It’s important to me that prospective students get to know us — the researchers — and hear firsthand about the excitement of scientific discovery.”
Developing the Materials That Will Save the Planet
For Dr. Hannah-Noa Barad from the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Exact Sciences, working in a lab is like being in an action film full of mysteries. “The daily challenge of solving problems is what drives me,” she says. “Sometimes, the solution to a research problem turns out to be something I never expected — it creates a plot twist that intrigues me and motivates me to continue until I find the final answer.”
Dr. Barad develops materials for alternative energy devices. The climate crisis and the accompanying energy crisis, she says, are close to her heart, and she’s passionate about promoting sustainable energy solutions. “In my lab, we develop new materials to generate energy from sunlight, air, and water. Our work includes the use of artificial intelligence, which helps us predict new materials, identify trends, and focus our development efforts on those with the properties we’re looking for. We synthesize these materials in the lab and measure them using robotic scanners to determine how suitable they are for their intended applications.”
Dr. Barad shares that she was interested in science even as a child. “I was a curious kid — everything in the world and nature fascinated me. I asked tons of questions and invented experiments to test my ideas. When I was 10, my dad took me to visit a research lab belonging to a friend of his, a professor at the Hebrew University. I saw all kinds of cool things that only deepened my desire to explore this world,” she recalls. She earned her PhD in materials chemistry at Bar-Ilan, under the guidance of Prof. Arie Zaban (now the university president), and continued with postdoctoral research at the Institute for Smart Systems in Germany. “I love talking to potential students, sharing my experiences, and explaining about the studies and research. I hope to convince them to join me and my colleagues in our mission to create a better world, where we can live in harmony with the environment.”
Researching Robots So They’ll Work for Us
Prof. Gal Kaminka’s research in intelligent robotics and robot swarms was born, he admits, out of laziness. “I study robots because I’m curious — but also lazy. I’m fascinated by how far we can push smart robot development, and I’m willing to work hard researching and building them so that one day, they’ll do the tasks we don’t like doing.”
Surprisingly, Prof. Kaminka doesn’t have a high school diploma. “I never even considered an academic career. I wanted to dive into the industry, be my own boss, and work on things that interested me,” he recalls. “I did my bachelor’s degree in computer science during my military service, at the Open University. After finishing my degree, I worked a bit in high-tech, then went abroad to pursue a PhD, thinking that’s where I’d master advanced technologies. But along the way, I realized that everything I wanted was actually in academia — it’s the only job where I get to constantly work on things that interest me. And when they stop being interesting, I can just move on to the next research project.”
In his lab at the Department of Computer Science, Prof. Kaminka focuses on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics, with an emphasis on healthcare, teamwork, and robot swarms. He’s also founded or helped establish several high-tech startups in areas overlapping with his research. “I go to work every day with a huge smile because I get to spend all my time on my hobby — and they even pay me a salary for it.”