Oded Rechavi completed his B.Sc. in the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program for Excellent students in Tel-Aviv University (TAU) in 2006. In 2010 he obtained a PhD degree in Biology, also from TAU. Dr. Rechavi conducted his Post-doctoral studies in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, in Columbia University Medical Center under the mentorship of Dr. Oliver Hobert. In his PhD Dr. Rechavi found an exception to the original "Cell Theory" (formulated in 1839), when he discovered that small RNAs and other nonsecreted macromolecules "Ignore cell boundaries" and transfer between interacting human immune cells. In his post doc, Dr. Rechavi used nematodes to provide the first direct evidence that an acquired trait can be inherited through small RNA molecules. After establishing his own lab in TAU in 2012, Dr. Rechavi's team showed that starvation produces a small RNA-mediated transgenerational effect that extends the progeny's life span. Recently, the Rechavi lab discovered rules and genes that determine which heritable epigenetic responses would be inherited to the progeny, and for how long each response would last. In addition Dr. Rechavi uses powerful genetic tools to study "molecular memories" and the theoretical links between developmental and genetic processes. Dr. Rechavi is an ERC Fellow, and was awarded many prestigious prizes, such as the Krill Wolf, Alon, and F.I.R.S.T (Bikura) Prizes, and the Gross Lipper Fellowship. Dr. Rechavi was selected as one of the "10 Most Creative People in Israel Under 40," and one of the "40 Most Promising People in Israel Under 40."
