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Michael completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biomedical engineering at the Ben-Gurion University and received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Weizmann institute. He was subsequently a C.V. Starr fellow in neuroscience in the Princeton Neuroscience Institute where he completed a post-doc in the laboratory of Carlos Brody. He is an HHMI Investigator and an Associate Professor at UC Berkeley with a joint appointment in the departments of Bioengineering and Neuroscience. Michael is also the Research in his laboratory utilizes the bat as model system to study the neural mechanisms of natural behaviors, with focus on the neural computations underlying spatial navigation, group sociality and vocal communication/learning.

 

Awards and Honors 

2024              Howard Hughes  Medical Institute Investigator

2024              Boehringer Ingelheim FENS Research Award

2022              Young Investigator Award, Society of Neuroscience

2022               Peter Gruss Young Investigator Award

2022               Cajal Club Cortical Explorer Award

2022               AAA Early - Career Investigator Award - C. J. Herrick Award in Neuroanatomy

2021                 Early  Career Award, Society of Social Neuroscience

2020                 Vallee Foundation Scholar Award

2020                 Bakar Faculty Fellow Award

2020                 Brain Science Technology "Rising Star Award",

                  Mahoney Institute of Neuroscience (MINS), UPenn

2020                 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award

2019                  Janett Rosenberg Trubatch Award from the

                 Society of Neuroscience
2017                  Packard Fellowship
2017               Air Force Office of Scientific Research 

2017               Brain Research Foundation
2017               McKnight Scholar Award
2017         Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow
2017         NYSCF-Robertson Investigator Award
2016         NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2)

2016         NIMH Biobehavioral Research Award for Innovative

                  New Scientists (BRAINS) – Declined

2016         Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in the Neurosciences

2016         Pew Scholar Award
2016         Searle Scholar Award
2016         Human Frontiers Research Grant

2015         David Mahoney Neuroimaging program - Dana Foundation

2015         The Brain Initiative EAGER award from the National Science Foundation

2015         Allen Brain Institute Next Generation Leaders Program

2015         The Raymond Sackler fund for convergence research

2015         Konishi Neuroethology Research Award, International Society of Neuroethology

2014         Sieratzki Prize for Advances in Neuroscience

2014         ISEF International Post-Doctoral Fellowship

2013         Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology – Grand Prize Winner

2013         Donald B. Lindsley prize in Behavioral Neuroscience, Society of Neuroscience

2013         ISEF Lily Safra Award for Scientific Research.
2013         The John F. Kennedy PhD Distinction Award
2013         ISEF International Post-Doctoral Fellowship
2012         ELSC Brain Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship
2012         Young Investigator Award, International Society of Neuroethology

2012         Capranica Prize, International Society of Neuroethology

2012         ISEF International Post-Doctoral Fellowship

2012         CV Starr Fellowship, Princeton University

2012         FENS/IBRO travel grant award. FENS-forum, Barcelona, Spain

2012         Katzir Foundation travel award

2011         Best Poster award at the ISFN (Israeli Society of Neuroscience) annual meeting

2010        National institute for Psychobiology travel award

2010        Best Poster award Janelia Farm conference on “Bottom-up and Top-down Approaches to Understanding                                Circuits Processing: Meeting in the Middle”.

2010        FENS/IBRO travel grant award. FENS-forum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

2010        Otto Schwartz academic excellence award
2009        Lev-Zion Excellence predoctoral fellowship
2009        Otto Schwartz academic excellence award
2008        M.Sc degree with distinguished excellence (summa cum laude)

2008        Academic excellence award from the ISEF foundation

2007        Kreitman foundation fellowship for PhD studies - declined due to moving to Weizmann institute

2007        Zlotowski center for neuroscience travel award

2007        Best Poster award at the third international computational motor control workshop

2007        B.Sc degree with distinguished excellence (magna cum laude)

2006       Academic excellence award from the ISEF foundation

2004       Academic excellence award from the department of Industrial Engineering 

2004       Bank Hapoalim academic excellence award

2004       The Ben-Gurion University student body award for voluntary excellence.

 

Education

2013-2015

Princeton University

C.V. Starr Fellow in Neuroscience

2008-2012

Weizmann Institute

PhD in Neuroscience

2005-2007

Ben Gurion University

MSc in Biomedical engineering 

2003-2006

Ben Gurion University

BSc in Biomedical engineering 

 

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