About Me...

I am a climatologist and environmental health researcher investigating the scientific basis and the impacts of the changing climate. 

Over the years, my research has focused on analyzing, expanding and deepening scientific knowledge on the human health impacts of climate change, with special attention to the influences on the transmission of vector-borne diseases at regional and global levels. In my work I explore the diverse effects on the eruption, spreading and transmission of infectious diseases, mainly those transmitted by insects (West Nile virus, Leishmania) but also food-borne (campylobacter) and water-borne (cholera) diseases. In addition, I am involved in a large project on the association between severe heat and the risk of stroke among the Israeli population. My work is focused not only on scientific aspects but also on practical recommendations for better preparedness and adaptation to the health risks resulting from the climate crisis. 

My publications appear in leading peer-reviewed journals such as The BMJ, Nature Climate Change, Environmental Research Letters, Environmental Research, The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, Parasites & Vectors, following previous publications in The Lancet, Philos. Trans. of the Royal Society B., Journal of Climate, Geophysical Research Letters, PloS One, EcoHealth among others. 

During the years I have won a large number of research grants, for example from the European Union (EU Horizon), European Science Foundation, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), COST Action, Israel Science Foundation (ISF) and others. 

I have various editorial assignments as an Associate Deputy Editor of Climatic Change, Editorial Board Member of Scientific Reports (Climate Change section), and Academic Editor of PloS Climate. In addition, I was a member of the International Advisory Board of The Lancet Global Health and currently I serve as an Advisory Board Member of The Lancet Regional Health – Europe. 

I am involved in various international, European, Mediterranean and Israeli projects on the current and predicted impacts of climate change. During recent years I worked as the leader of research for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on the current and predicted impacts of climate change on vector-borne diseases spreading in Europe. 

I am a member of the Steering Committee of the MedECC (network of Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change) that includes about 650 scientists from 35 states from the Mediterranean and Europe. 

I was a contributor to the Human Health section of the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, a reviewer of the Adaptation Gap Report of the UN, and the Coordinating Lead Author of the Health chapter, MedECC Report on Environmental and Climate Change Impacts on the Mediterranean Basin Countries (published by the Union for the Mediterranean, Plan Bleu and UNEP/MAP). 

In 2020, 2023 and 2024 my name appeared on the World's Top Scientists list - the top 2% of the most-cited scientists in their sub-discipline (Stanford University and Elsevier Rank). 

In Israel, I am a member of the Israel Climate Forum of The President of the State of Israel and a member of the Climate Committee of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.