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Draft:Moran Yassour

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  • Comment: This is scored at 79% LLM by zerogpt. Please write in your own words. There are also not enough independent references given to show that she is notable. Most of the citations are to her own work, or to organisations connected with her. Tacyarg (talk) 00:40, 5 April 2026 (UTC)
Moran Yassour
מורן יסעור
Born (1979-04-22) April 22, 1979 (age 47)
San Diego, California
Alma materHebrew University of Jerusalem
Scientific career
InstitutionsHebrew University of Jerusalem
Nir Friedman, Aviv Regev

Moran Yassour (born April 22, 1979) is a computational biologist and microbiome researcher.[1] She is an associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, jointly appointed at the Rachel and Selim Benin School of Computer Science and Engineering. She holds the Rosalind, Paul and Robin Berlin Chair in Perinatal Research.[2] Yassour’s research focuses on the early-life gut microbiome, mother-to-infant microbial transmission, and the effects of diet and antibiotics on microbial community development.[3][4]As of 2025, Yassour is the head of the Computer Science & Computational Biology program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a visiting scientist at The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University.

Education and Career

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Yassour completed her BSc (magna cum laude) and MSc (magna cum laude) degrees in Computer Science and Computational Biology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[5] She earned her PhD in Computer Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she was jointly supervised by Prof. Nir Friedman and Prof. Aviv Regev.[5][6] Her doctoral research focused on developing computational approaches for transcriptome reconstruction and analysis, leading to the creation of Trinity, a de novo RNA-seq assembler published in Nature Biotechnology in 2011.[7] The study, “Full-length transcriptome assembly from RNA-Seq data without a reference genome,” introduced a computational framework that allows for accurate reconstruction of full-length transcripts without a reference genome, transforming RNA-seq analysis for both model and non-model organisms.[7] Trinity remains one of the most widely used tools in bioinformatics, with nearly 10,000 citations, as of 2025.[8]

From 2012 to 2018, Yassour was a postdoctoral fellow at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Medical School, working in the laboratories of Prof. Eric Lander and Prof. Ramnik Xavier. During this period, she shifted her focus toward microbiome research, applying computational and genomic tools to study microbial communities in the human gut and their roles in health and disease.[5][9][10]

In 2018, Yassour joined the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine.[2][5] She holds a joint appointment in the School of Computer Science and Engineering, reflecting her dual expertise in computational biology and microbial ecology.[2][5]

Research interests

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Yassour’s research combines computational modeling, high-throughput sequencing, and experimental collaborations to study the development and dynamics of the infant gut microbiome. Her work focuses on how microbial communities are established during early life and how factors such as delivery mode, breastfeeding, diet, and antibiotic exposure shape microbial colonization and functional adaptation. By integrating computational biology, genomics, and clinical data, her group investigates microbial strain transmission, ecological succession, and the links between early-life microbiome composition and pediatric inflammatory diseases.[3][4]

Initial colonization of the infant gut microbiome

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A major focus of her work is the colonization of the infant gut microbiome, examining how delivery mode,[11] antibiotic exposure,[11] and maternal microbial reservoirs influence which bacterial strains persist in the newborn intestine.[12] Using longitudinal metagenomic datasets, her team has characterized strain-level mother-to-child transmission patterns and the temporal stability of early microbial communities.[13]

The effects of breastfeeding on the infant microbiome

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Yassour also investigates the effects of breastfeeding on the infant gut microbiome, particularly how human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and breast milk-derived bacteria shape the composition[14] and function[15] of gut microbial populations. Her research has identified microbial adaptations for utilizing HMOs[16] and has compared microbiome development in breastfed and formula-fed infants.[17]

Pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases

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Another active area of study concerns pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and other immune-related conditions. Yassour’s group explores how disruptions to early microbial colonization may contribute to immune dysregulation and inflammation later in childhood. Through collaborations with clinical partners, her lab aims to identify microbial signatures linked to disease risk and resilience.[18]

Pooled testing for large-scale viral screening

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Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Yassour lab has contributed to the development and implementation of pooled PCR testing. First, checking SARS-CoV-2 presence,[19] especially when the volume of tests increased drastically, and then to enable universal neonatal screening for congenital Cytomegalovirus (cCMV), which has become the standard in Hadassah Medical Center since 2022.[20]

Awards and Honors

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  • Krill Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research (2022): Awarded by the Wolf Foundation for outstanding achievements in life sciences.[21]
  • Rosalind, Paul and Robin Berlin Chair in Perinatal Research (from 2018): Hebrew University of Jerusalem endowed chair recognizing leadership in perinatal microbiome research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[2]
  • Azrieli Early Career Faculty Fellowship (2018): Recognizing promising new investigators in Israeli academia.[22]
  • NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) (2017): Supporting her transition from postdoctoral training to independent research.[5]
  • Israel Science Foundation (ISF) Research Grant (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2025): For individual and collaborative studies on early-life microbiome development.[5]
  • Binational Science Foundation (BSF) Grant (2022): For collaborative research on microbiome and immune system interactions.[5]
  • Rothschild Postdoctoral Fellowship (2022): For postdoctoral studies at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.[23]
  • Clore Doctoral Scholarship (2010): Recognizing outstanding doctoral students in science and technology in Israel.[5]
  1. ^ Yassour, Moran (September 2025). "Curriculum Vitae: Moran Yassour" (PDF).
  2. ^ a b c d "Prof. Moran Yassour". medicine.ekmd.huji.ac.il. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
  3. ^ a b "Home". Yassour Lab. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
  4. ^ a b "More than a mother's love: the transfer of a mother's microbiota to her infant - CIDR". CIDR. Archived from the original on 2024-12-27. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Resume". Yassour Lab. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
  6. ^ "Nir Friedman". www.cs.huji.ac.il. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
  7. ^ a b Grabherr, Manfred G.; Haas, Brian J.; Yassour, Moran; Levin, Joshua Z.; Thompson, Dawn A.; Amit, Ido; Adiconis, Xian; Fan, Lin; Raychowdhury, Raktima; Zeng, Qiandong; Chen, Zehua; Mauceli, Evan; Hacohen, Nir; Gnirke, Andreas; Rhind, Nicholas (July 2011). "Full-length transcriptome assembly from RNA-Seq data without a reference genome". Nature Biotechnology. 29 (7): 644–652. doi:10.1038/nbt.1883. ISSN 1546-1696. PMC 3571712. PMID 21572440.
  8. ^ "Cited In for PMID: 21572440 - Search Results - PubMed". PubMed. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
  9. ^ "Moran Yassour, Microbiome Maven | Giving to Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard". giving.broadinstitute.org. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
  10. ^ "Moran Yassour | Giving to Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard". giving.broadinstitute.org. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
  11. ^ a b Yassour, Moran; Vatanen, Tommi; Siljander, Heli; Hämäläinen, Anu-Maaria; Härkönen, Taina; Ryhänen, Samppa J.; Franzosa, Eric A.; Vlamakis, Hera; Huttenhower, Curtis; Gevers, Dirk; Lander, Eric S.; Knip, Mikael; on behalf of the DIABIMMUNE Study Group; Xavier, Ramnik J. (2016-06-15). "Natural history of the infant gut microbiome and impact of antibiotic treatment on bacterial strain diversity and stability". Science Translational Medicine. 8 (343): 343ra81. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aad0917. PMC 5032909. PMID 27306663.
  12. ^ Yassour, Moran; Jason, Eeva; Hogstrom, Larson J.; Arthur, Timothy D.; Tripathi, Surya; Siljander, Heli; Selvenius, Jenni; Oikarinen, Sami; Hyöty, Heikki; Virtanen, Suvi M.; Ilonen, Jorma; Ferretti, Pamela; Pasolli, Edoardo; Tett, Adrian; Asnicar, Francesco (2018-07-11). "Strain-Level Analysis of Mother-to-Child Bacterial Transmission during the First Few Months of Life". Cell Host & Microbe. 24 (1): 146–154.e4. doi:10.1016/j.chom.2018.06.007. ISSN 1931-3128. PMC 6091882. PMID 30001517.
  13. ^ Mitchell, Caroline M.; Mazzoni, Chiara; Hogstrom, Larson; Bryant, Allison; Bergerat, Agnes; Cher, Avital; Pochan, Shawna; Herman, Penelope; Carrigan, Maureen; Sharp, Karen; Huttenhower, Curtis; Lander, Eric S.; Vlamakis, Hera; Xavier, Ramnik J.; Yassour, Moran (2020-12-22). "Delivery Mode Affects Stability of Early Infant Gut Microbiota". Cell Reports Medicine. 1 (9): 100156. doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2020.100156. ISSN 2666-3791. PMC 7762768. PMID 33377127.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  14. ^ Kijner, Sivan; Kolodny, Oren; Yassour, Moran (2022-08-01). "Human milk oligosaccharides and the infant gut microbiome from an eco-evolutionary perspective". Current Opinion in Microbiology. 68 102156. doi:10.1016/j.mib.2022.102156. ISSN 1369-5274. PMID 35598464.
  15. ^ Kijner, Sivan; Cher, Avital; Yassour, Moran (2022-03-18). "The Infant Gut Commensal Bacteroides dorei Presents a Generalized Transcriptional Response to Various Human Milk Oligosaccharides". Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. 12 854122. doi:10.3389/fcimb.2022.854122. ISSN 2235-2988. PMC 8971754. PMID 35372092.
  16. ^ Kijner, Sivan; Ennis, Dena; Shmorak, Shimrit; Florentin, Anat; Yassour, Moran (2024-01-02). "CRISPR-Cas-based identification of a sialylated human milk oligosaccharides utilization cluster in the infant gut commensal Bacteroides dorei". Nature Communications. 15 (1): 105. Bibcode:2024NatCo..15..105K. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-44437-y. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 10761964. PMID 38167825.
  17. ^ Ennis, Dena; Shmorak, Shimrit; Jantscher-Krenn, Evelyn; Yassour, Moran (2024-01-30). "Longitudinal quantification of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis reveals late colonization in the infant gut independent of maternal milk HMO composition". Nature Communications. 15 (1): 894. Bibcode:2024NatCo..15..894E. doi:10.1038/s41467-024-45209-y. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 10827747. PMID 38291346.
  18. ^ Hall, Andrew Brantley; Yassour, Moran; Sauk, Jenny; Garner, Ashley; Jiang, Xiaofang; Arthur, Timothy; Lagoudas, Georgia K.; Vatanen, Tommi; Fornelos, Nadine; Wilson, Robin; Bertha, Madeline; Cohen, Melissa; Garber, John; Khalili, Hamed; Gevers, Dirk (2017-11-28). "A novel Ruminococcus gnavus clade enriched in inflammatory bowel disease patients". Genome Medicine. 9 (1): 103. doi:10.1186/s13073-017-0490-5. ISSN 1756-994X. PMC 5704459. PMID 29183332.
  19. ^ Barak, Netta; Ben-Ami, Roni; Sido, Tal; Perri, Amir; Shtoyer, Aviad; Rivkin, Mila; Licht, Tamar; Peretz, Ayelet; Magenheim, Judith; Fogel, Irit; Livneh, Ayalah; Daitch, Yutti; Oiknine-Djian, Esther; Benedek, Gil; Dor, Yuval (2021-04-14). "Lessons from applied large-scale pooling of 133,816 SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests". Science Translational Medicine. 13 (589): eabf2823. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.abf2823. PMC 8099176. PMID 33619081.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  20. ^ Merav, Lior; Ofek Shlomai, Noa; Oiknine-Djian, Esther; Caplan, Orit; Livneh, Ayala; Sido, Tal; Peri, Amir; Shtoyer, Aviad; Amir, Eden; Ben Meir, Kerem; Daitch, Yutti; Rivkin, Mila; Kripper, Esther; Fogel, Irit; Horowitz, Hadar (April 2024). "Implementation of pooled saliva tests for universal screening of cCMV infection". Nature Medicine. 30 (4): 1111–1117. doi:10.1038/s41591-024-02873-3. ISSN 1546-170X. PMC 11031397. PMID 38459181.
  21. ^ "Hebrew University Drs. Moran Yassour & Haitham Amal Awarded 2022 Krill Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research". en.huji.ac.il. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  22. ^ "Moran Yassour". The Azrieli Foundation. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  23. ^ "Rothschild Fellows" (PDF).
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