Yonatan Stelzer

2025 Israel Award Winner — Faculty

Yonatan Stelzer

Current Position:
Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Cell Biology

Institution:
Weizmann Institute of Science

Discipline:
Molecular & Cellular Biology

Recognized for: Devising a new method of tracing the intricate process of mammalian embryonic development and increasing our understanding of epigenetics, which hold significant promise for advancing research in regenerative and therapeutic medicine 

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Embryonic Development; Embryonic Stem Cells; Epigenetics; DNA Methylation; Systems Biology

Previous Positions:

BsC, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
PhD, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Advisor: Nissim Benvenisty)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Whitehead Institute of MIT (Advisor: Rudolf Jaenisch)

Research Summary:

Yonatan Stelzer, PhD, seeks to answer a fundamental question in biology: How does a single fertilized egg develop into a complex and complete mammalian embryo, despite all cells containing the same genetic information? Stelzer uniquely integrates developmental biology, computational biology, epigenetics, and single cell genomics to model cellular differentiation, the process by which cells become more specialized over time in a coordinated manner. His groundbreaking work provides experimental systems and a unified quantitative model that simultaneously accounts for heterogeneity, time, dimensionality, and the inner workings of cells, capturing differentiation with unprecedented detail. His work’s implications for understanding epigenetic memory and tissue function pave the way for significant development in the fields of regenerative medicine, cancer, aging, and in vitro-derived embryo models.

“I am honored to join the Blavatnik Scholars Community and deeply grateful to receive recognition for our work aiming to understand one of nature’s most remarkable processes: the formation of an entire mammalian embryo from a single fertilized egg.”

Key Publications:

  1. Mittnenzweig, M., Mayshar, Y., Cheng, S., Ben-Yair, R., Hadas, R., Rais, Y., Chomsky, E., Reines, N., Uzonyi, A., Lumerman, L., Lifshitz, A., Mukamel, Z., Orenbuch, A.-H., Tanay, A., Stelzer, Y. A single-embryo, single-cell time-resolved model for mouse gastrulation. Cell, 2021  
  2. Cheng S, Mittnenzweig M, Mayshar Y, Lifshitz A, Dunjić M, Rais Y, Ben-Yair R, Gehrs S, Chomsky E, Mukamel Z, Rubinstein H, Schlereth K, Reines N, Orenbuch AH, Tanay A, Stelzer Y. The intrinsic and extrinsic effects of TET proteins during gastrulation. Cell. 2022  
  3. Mayshar Y, Raz O, Cheng S, Ben-Yair R, Hadas R, Reines N, Mittnenzweig M, Ben-Kiki O, Lifshitz A, Tanay A, Stelzer Y. Time-aligned hourglass gastrulation models in rabbit and mouse. Cell. 2023  
  4. Hadas R, Rubinstein H, Mittnenzweig M, Mayshar Y, Ben-Yair R, Cheng S, Aguilera-Castrejon A, Reines N, Orenbuch AH, Lifshitz A, Chen DY, Elowitz MB, Zernicka-Goetz M, Hanna JH, Tanay A, Stelzer Y. Temporal BMP4 effects on mouse embryonic and extraembryonic development. Nature, 2024

Other Honors:

2025 The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Outstanding Young Investigator Award 
2022 EMBO Young Investigator Award 
2019 Human Frontier Career Development Award 
2018 Alon Foundation Scholar 
2014 Human Frontier Postdoctoral Fellowship

In the Media:

Website