Dr. Shira Weingarten-Gabbay

Dr. Weingarten-Gabbay received her PhD in Life Sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science in the Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics and the Department of Molecular Cell Biology. There, she developed high-throughput methods to systematically study gene expression regulation in the human genome and in viruses. In her work, she discovered and characterized thousands of genomic sequences that direct the ribosome to initiate the production of proteins in cells. Before her study, scientists had identified only a few dozen regions on various Messenger RNAs where such initiation occurred.

At the Broad Institute, Dr. Weingarten-Gabbay intends to employ innovative interdisciplinary approaches to research critical questions in virology. With the goal of identifying novel phenomenon affecting hundreds of viruses pathogenic to humans, she will develop experimental systems to assay multiple viruses instead of traditional approaches which study one virus at a time. Her work could be fundamental to rethinking vaccines and therapies to counteract viral threats.

Dr. Weingarten-Gabbay has taught science to gifted high school students from the Ethiopian community, young female students, and science teachers. In the Israeli Air Force, Lieutenant Weingarten-Gabbay was given a special honor for her quick action in preventing an incident of “friendly fire.”