About the Faculty
Life Sciences in the 21st Century
Some of the most consequential questions of the 21st century are questions about life. How do diseases emerge and progress? How can we protect human health while confronting environmental change? How can we produce food sustainably for a growing population? And how can new technologies help us understand biological systems that were once beyond our ability to observe or analyze?
The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar-Ilan University conducts research across scales—from genes, molecules, and cells to the brain, organisms, populations, and ecosystems.
Research at the Faculty
The Faculty brings together approximately 50 researchers and scientists, each leading an active research group of research fellows, technical staff, and master's and doctoral students.
Their research ranges from RNA editing, cancer genomics, immunology, microbiomes and the human virome to bionic vision, brain plasticity, structural biology, genetics, biotechnology, and plant and environmental research.
Understanding systems this complex requires different ways of looking at life. Our researchers combine molecular and cellular biology with artificial intelligence and computational modeling, high-throughput sequencing, advanced microscopy and imaging, bioengineering, and other experimental and computational technologies. This allows them to investigate fundamental biological mechanisms while also asking how scientific discoveries can contribute to medicine, biotechnology, agriculture, and environmental sustainability.
Research and teaching span:
- Cell and Developmental Biology
- Biotechnology
- Ecology and Plant Sciences
- Immunology and Cancer Research
- Computational and Structural Biology
- Microbiology and Virology
- Neurobiology
- Biochemistry
- Gerontology
Studying Life Sciences at Bar-Ilan
Students learn science where science is being done.
Undergraduate study provides a broad foundation in the life sciences while progressively introducing students to the questions, methods, and technologies shaping contemporary biological research. Alongside theoretical study, students develop the analytical and practical skills needed to examine scientific evidence, formulate questions, and solve problems.
The Faculty offers several undergraduate pathways. Single-major programs include Life Sciences, Biotechnology, and Computational Biology. Students can also combine the life sciences with complementary disciplines through programs including Chemistry and Life Sciences, Psychology and Life Sciences, and Brain Sciences and Life Sciences, among others.
Explore our Undergraduate Programs
Graduate study places research at the center. Master's and doctoral students join active research groups, work directly with Faculty researchers, and take part in investigating open scientific questions. In the process, they develop expertise in experimental or computational research, scientific analysis, and independent inquiry.
This combination of scientific knowledge and research experience prepares graduates for careers in academia, biotechnology and biomedicine, medical and research laboratories, the public sector, and other science- and technology-based fields. Faculty alumni hold key positions across these sectors.
Explore our Master's Degree Programs
Our Mission
Our mission is to advance the understanding of life through research and to educate students to engage with science critically, independently, and responsibly.
Scientific education at Bar-Ilan also provides opportunities to examine the broader questions that accompany advances in biology and biotechnology. Alongside their scientific studies, students can engage with the social, environmental, ethical, Jewish, and halakhic dimensions of contemporary life sciences.
We aim to give students more than scientific knowledge: the ability to ask good questions, evaluate evidence critically, work rigorously in the laboratory, field, or computational environment, and approach scientific problems with intellectual independence, integrity, and humility.
Life sciences are changing rapidly. Our role is not only to teach what is already known, but to give students the knowledge, tools, and research experience to take part in discovering what comes next.
Contact the Faculty of Life Sciences
