Curriculum vitae
Maor Knafo
Molecular biologist and experimental systems builder working at the interface of molecular engineering, quantitative biology, and single-cell decision-making. I develop micro- and nanofabricated platforms, high-throughput perturbation assays, and closed-loop experimental systems to study adaptive behavior in unicellular organisms. My work combines synthetic and molecular tools, live-cell measurement, Bayesian inference, information theory, and population-level modeling.
Current position
Postdoctoral Researcher
Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE, CSIC–UPF) · Barcelona, Spain
Researching the origins of cognition in unicellular holozoans, with a focus on Capsaspora owczarzaki.
- Origins of cognition
- Single-cell learning and decision-making
- Evolutionary dynamics
- Capsaspora biology
- Controlled micro- and nanofabricated environments
- Bayesian and information-theoretic inference
Education
Ph.D. · Weizmann Institute of Science
Rehovot, Israel
Supervisor: Prof. Ziv Reich. Thesis: Noise in gene expression as a substrate for novel capabilities.
M.Sc. · Weizmann Institute of Science
Rehovot, Israel
Supervisor: Prof. Yoav Soen. Thesis: Coping with novel stress by de novo re-organization of symbionts.
B.Sc. · Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Israel
Faculty of Agriculture.
Research experience
Postdoctoral Researcher
Weizmann Institute of Science
Co-led CoSMIC, a hybrid long-read and multi-region amplicon workflow for high-resolution microbial profiling; contributed wet-lab validation, benchmarking, and pipeline development.
Ph.D. Researcher
Weizmann Institute of Science
Studied stress-induced phenotypic heterogeneity and early adaptation in yeast using microfluidics, single-cell assays, and information-theoretic and Bayesian analysis; co-developed gUMI-BEAR.
Publications
Beyond Diffusion: Bayesian Learning Strategies in Single-Cell Life
Maor Knafo, Elena Casacuberta, Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo
PRX Life 4, 023025 (2026)
CoSMIC: A hybrid approach for large-scale, high-resolution microbial profiling of novel niches
Maor Knafo, Shahar Rezenman, Tal Idan, Michael Elgart, Shlomi Dagan, Vered Zavaro, Ziv Reich, Ruti Kapon, Dagan Sade, Noam Shental
PLOS ONE 21(1):e0340349 (2026) · Co-first author
Variability in Protein Expression and Fitness Under Stress: Distinct Modes of Early Adaptation of Populations
Maor Knafo, Shahar Rezenman, Reinat Nevo, Ivgeni Tsigalnitski, Ziv Reich, Ruti Kapon
PRX Life 3(1):013006 (2025)
gUMI-BEAR, a modular, unsupervised population barcoding method to track variants and evolution at high resolution
Shahar Rezenman, Maor Knafo, Ivgeni Tsigalnitski, Shiri Barad, Ghil Jona, Dikla Levi, Orly Dym, Ziv Reich, Ruti Kapon
PLOS ONE 18(6):e0286696 (2023) · Co-first author
Identification and characterization of the key enzyme in the biosynthesis of the neurotoxin β-ODAP in grass pea
Moshe Goldsmith, Shiri Barad, Maor Knafo, Alon Savidor, Shifra Ben-Dor, Alexander Brandis, Tevie Mehlman, Yoav Peleg, Shira Albeck, Orly Dym, Efrat Ben-Zeev, Ranjit S. Barbole, Asaph Aharoni, Ziv Reich
Journal of Biological Chemistry 298(5):101806 (2022) · Co-first author
A principle of organization which facilitates broad Lamarckian-like adaptations by improvisation
Yoav Soen, Maor Knafo, Michael Elgart
Biology Direct 10:68 (2015)
Selected talks & posters
Beyond Diffusion: Basal Cognition as the Evolutionary Scaffold for Collective Resilience
XXV JBE · Selected oral presentation
Evolution and origins of multicellularity across the tree of life
EMBO · Poster
Selected talk
Israel Society for Evolutionary Biology
Selected talk
Israel Society for Microbiology
Minimal Cognition: Brained or Brainless Biological Intelligence
Poster · Best Poster Prize
Evolutionary Systems Biology
Wellcome Connecting Science · Poster · Best Poster Prize
Awards & honors
Best Poster Prize — Minimal Cognition conference
Ideas Matter Writing Fellowship
Best Poster Prize — Wellcome Connecting Science: Evolutionary Systems Biology
3rd Place (Poster) — Israel Society of Evolutionary Biology
Feinberg Graduate School Award for Academic Excellence
Outstanding Presentation Award (2nd Place) — Entomological Society of Israel
Dean’s List — Faculty of Agriculture, Hebrew University
Patents
gUMI-BEAR (barcoding method)
Co-inventor · U.S. Patent Application 18/166,263
Methods of microbial profiling (CoSMIC)
Co-inventor · Israeli Patent Application 314064
Teaching, mentoring & service
- Teaching instructor, Real-time PCR lab course, Weizmann Institute (2018)
- Davidson Institute Alpha Program high-school mentor (multiple years)
- Mentorship of high-school students for final biology examinations
- Led the establishment of the citizen-led science project Mapping the Israeli Plant Microbiome
- Lectures introducing science and evolution to underserved youth
Technical skills
- Molecular biology and pooled perturbation assays
- Microfluidic design and fabrication
- Live-cell imaging and FACS
- Python and MATLAB
- Bayesian statistics, information theory, and machine learning
- Genomic, metagenomic, and single-cell analysis
Contact
Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE, CSIC–UPF) · Barcelona, Spain