Shira Gavriely, born in 1993, lives in Ramat Hasharon with her husband, Gilad, and their baby boy, Alon. Always interested in science, Shira chose to do five-unit electives in chemistry, computer science, and physics for her matriculation exams, and in the 10th grade she completed the youth enrichment program in mathematics at Bar-Ilan University. After serving three years at the IDF intelligence service, Shira enrolled at Tel Aviv University, majoring in chemistry and materials science and engineering.

Shira received the rector’s award twice during her undergraduate studies and completed her BSc magna cum laude in chemistry and in materials science and engineering. She went on immediately to MSc studies at Tel Aviv University under the supervision of Prof. Shachar Richter, continuing to research the main subject of her final undergraduate project: exploiting bio-materials (specifically mucin glycoprotein extracted from jellyfish, among other sources) for different applications. However, while her final project focused on the biomedical field, she now shifted her research focus toward environmental issues, a field about which she is particularly passionate, and she transferred to a direct-track PhD under the co-supervision of Dr. Ines Zucker, an environmental engineering expert. She is currently continuing her research on using mucin’s natural properties to treat and decontaminate water.