Amit Meller

Biography

Prof. Meller is received his PhD in Physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1998. He then moved to Harvard University for his postdoctoral studies in Prof. Daniel Branton’s laboratory. At Harvard he was among the pioneers developing nanopore sensors for single molecule DNA sequencing. In 2000 Dr. Meller started his own research group at the Rowland Institute at Harvard, developing single-molecule techniques, such as nanopores and FRET for novel nucleic acids and proteins characterization. In 2006 Dr. Meller joined Boston University’sdepartment of Biomedical Engineering as a tenured Associate Professor. Dr. Meller has led a number of internationally recognized, multi co-PI’s project funded by the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP), NIH and NSF. In 2010 Dr. Meller returned to Technion as a full professor of Biomedical Engineering. At the Technion he led the German-Israeli Helmholtz Research School SignGene, jointly with leading scientists in Germany and in Israel. Dr. Meller is the director of the first Israeli Center of Excellence (I-Core) in the area of Biological Physics.   The Meller laboratory focuses on development and applications of new methods for the study of biological system from the single molecule to live cells. These include three main efforts: (i) Protein translation dynamics and translation initiation biophysics. (ii) Single-molecule biosensors for molecular diagnosis and disease characterization, including early detection of cancer biomarkers, and antimicrobial resistance typing. (iii) Methods development for ultra-sensitive biomolecules sensing in live cells; DNA sequencing and genotyping. Prof. Meller recently awarded The Diane Sherman Prize for Medical innovations for a Better World.   Prof. Meller is received his PhD in Physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1998. He then moved to Harvard University for his postdoctoral studies in Prof. Daniel Branton’s laboratory. At Harvard he was among the pioneers developing nanopore sensors for single molecule DNA sequencing. In 2000 Dr. Meller started his own research group at the Rowland Institute at Harvard, developing single-molecule techniques, such as nanopores and FRET for novel nucleic acids and proteins characterization. In 2006 Dr. Meller joined Boston University’sdepartment of Biomedical Engineering as a tenured Associate Professor. Dr. Meller has led a number of internationally recognized, multi co-PI’s project funded by the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP), NIH and NSF. In 2010 Dr. Meller returned to Technion as a full professor of Biomedical Engineering. At the Technion he led the German-Israeli Helmholtz Research School SignGene, jointly with leading scientists in Germany and in Israel. Dr. Meller is the director of the first Israeli Center of Excellence (I-Core) in the area of Biological Physics.   The Meller laboratory focuses on development and applications of new methods for the study of biological system from the single molecule to live cells. These include three main efforts: (i) Protein translation dynamics and translation initiation biophysics. (ii) Single-molecule biosensors for molecular diagnosis and disease characterization, including early detection of cancer biomarkers, and antimicrobial resistance typing. (iii) Methods development for ultra-sensitive biomolecules sensing in live cells; DNA sequencing and genotyping. Prof. Meller recently awarded The Diane Sherman Prize for Medical innovations for a Better World.  

Research Interest

Nanopores are single-molecule analogs of gel electrophoresis. Gel Electrophoresis (GE) is one of the most broadly used methods for nucleic acid and protein characterization in life sciences. In GE an electrical field is used to mobilize biological molecules through a porous media in which molecules are separated by their size and/or charge. Nanopores are the single-molecule analogs of GE, permitting the analysis of individual biopolymers.