Dr. Iris Grossman-Haham

Department of Life Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences​

My life before BGU:​​

I was born and raised in Haifa. I studied for an undergraduate degree in chemistry and biology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and did my master’s and PhD in structural biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, under the guidance of Prof. Deborah Fass. I did my postdoc at UCSF, with Prof. Ron Vale, working on the locomotion mechanisms of flagella (such the ‘tails’ of sperm cells or the cilia on various cells in our respiratory systems). 

My res​​​​earch:

I am attempting to understand how specific proteins bind together to create mechanisms that can propel entire cells across distances (such as the sperm cell moving within the female reproductive system) or move a stream of particles across a tissue surface (such as the respiratory system that expels dust and other pollutants). We use tools from biochemistry and methods from structural biology to understand the organization of proteins and their function within the larger ‘machine’.

Why ​BGU?

Because of the people in the Department of Life Sciences and the University’s willingness to invest in structural biology​.

An insight from my resear​ch:

The higher the resolution, the more complex things become.

Something that doesn't appear on my CV:

I’m addicted to kickboxing and doing puzzles. 

When I grow up:

As a child I wanted to become a graphic designer. Today my only foray into design is to make charts and illustrations for my articles.

If I wasn’t a researcher, I would​...

open a bakery.

In Brief: 

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