Animal Research

Domesticated animals supply a significant portion of the world’s population protein consumption. One of the most important challenges of the 21st century will be to supply enough food for 10 billion people by 2050. Meat consumption steadily increase in Israel over last decades, and it is among highest in the OECD and worldwide. About 40% of the Israeli agricultural farms produce animal products, supplying fresh meat, eggs and milk. Animal farms faces unique challenges, due to the high cost of farm inputs and the need to reach standards of animals’ welfare and environmental quality. Our research comes from these challenges, and characterized by using various tools and approaches, from genomics and genetics to proteomic, epigenetics, physiology and microbiology. From molecular biology and biochemistry in cells and tissues to studies in whole animal and population levels. There are two departments in the Institute of Animal Sciences, the Department of Poultry and Aquaculture and the Department of Ruminant Science, in which there are 18 research groups that include technicians, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.