Maayan Levy receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for her interdisciplinary approach combining metabolism, physiology, and immunology. Her work explores the therapeutic applications of metabolites—studying their role in the development and prevention of human diseases.

“The vision of my lab is to understand, develop, and apply the concept of metabotherapy—the usage of metabolites as vehicles and targets to prevent and treat disease,” Levy says. While we know about the roles of metabolites in physiology, many metabolites in the human body remain unidentified. Her research focuses specifically on the metabolite landscape of the gastrointestinal tract. The goal of Levy’s team is not only to identify metabolites for disease treatment, but to help better predict health outcomes in patients. Her research group is now pursuing this strategy in the context of cancer, inflammatory diseases, women’s health, and post-infection syndromes.

Growing up in Israel, Levy was immersed in a culture of immigration and cultural heterogeneity. Through the stories of her family members who had immigrated from Eastern Europe and the Middle East, she learned about the challenges of displacement and cultural adaptation. She witnessed firsthand how immigration can affect integration and equality. She carries this core experience in her practice, and advocates for minority students in the sciences.

Levy brings a unique perspective to her work, not only as an immigrant but as a woman and a mother of young children. Levy emphasizes the importance of fostering a supportive environment for parents in academia. She advocates for policies that enable work-life balance for scientists with young families.

“For a young immigrant pursuing a career in biomedical science, my advice would be to embrace your unique perspective and resilience as strengths,” Levy says. “Be persistent in your goals, take advantage of every learning opportunity, and remember that your background and life experiences have shaped who you are.”

Awards & Accomplishments

Basser Center’s Young Leadership Council (YLC) Young Investigator Award (2023)
V Foundation Research Award (2023)
Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award (2023)
Convergent Science Virtual Cancer Center Fellow (2023)
W.W. Smith Scholar (2023)
Pew Scholar (2022)
American Cancer Society Scholar (2022)
Mallinckrodt Award (2020)
Scialog Fellow, Microbiome, Neurobiology and Disease, Corporation for Science Advancement (2020)
Searle Scholar (2019)
NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (2019)
Rappaport Prize for Excellence in Research (2017)
The Dimitris N. Chorafas Foundation Award (2016)
Keystone Symposia Future of Science Fund Scholarship (2016)
Immunology Department Student Award, Weizmann Institute of Science (2015)
Systems Biology Student Award, Weizmann Institute of Science (2014)