The Team

Prof. Tom Schonberg
Principal Investigator | Dept. of Neurobiology
My laboratory is focused on the study of the neural basis of behavior change. We are interested in the process of value construction, how values can be perturbed and changed and how these processes are manifested in the human brain. We study the multiple components of this process by designing novel behavioral paradigms and using converging research tools to analyze them. We use functional MRI, eye tracking and computational learning models to better understand human mental function and its underlying neural substrates. The lab currently focuses on studying the structural and functional plasticity underlying non-reinforced behavioral manipulations of snack food items in humans, as well as extending the scope of change to multiple domains of objects using other tools such as effort.
Michal Gabay
Ph.D. student | Sagol School of Neuroscience
In 2018 I joined the Ph.D. program of Sagol School of Neuroscience. I am coming from a background of B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from the Technion and Tel-Aviv University respectively; followed by about six years in a biomedical startup company as an algorithms developer. Fascinated by individual neural patterns related to learning, cognitive performance and decision making, I am using the tools of machine learning and mathematical modeling in the endeavor to infer on these mechanisms.
Maya Bar Or
Ph.D. student | Sagol School of Neuroscience
In 2020 I graduated my M.A in Psychology from Haifa University where I studied the neural circuits of goal-directed and habitual behavior. I joined the Ph.D. program of Sagol School of Neuroscience in 2021. Here, I hope to continue exploring goal-directed and habitual behaviors and related pathologies, and further understand their neural mechanisms.
Masha Khlopovsky
M.Sc. student | Dept. of Neurobiology
The first degree I obtained was a 5-year degree in linguistics at Moscow State Linguistic University back in 2013. In 2017 I moved to Israel, and in 2018 I joined the B.Sc. program in biomedical sciences with the focus on neurobiology at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. From 2019 till 2021 I worked as a B.Sc. researcher at Adi Inbals lab, that dedicated itself to retinal development. In 2021 I started M.Sc. program in neurobiology at Tel-Aviv University and joined our lab. My project is “located” at the intersection of neurobiology and linguistics. I am trying to understand the neural mechanism and pattern of unsatisfied verbal expectation with the help of pupillometry. In other words, I am studying what happens to your nervous system when instead of hearing what you expected, you hear what you did not.
Maya Harel
M.Sc. student | Sagol School of Neuroscience
I recently graduated my B.Sc in Biology and Psychology from TAU. I am currently an M.Sc. student in Segol School of neuroscience and an aviation physiology officer in the IAF. My study goal is to create a behavioral intervention to prevent spatial disorientation during flight.
Yehuda Bergstein
M.Sc. student | Dept. of Neurobiology
I obtained my B.Sc in Biotechnology from TAU in 2022. Currently I am an M.Sc. student in the Neurobiology and Behavioral Neuroscience track, participating in a joint project in Prof. Tom Schonberg and Prof. Pablo Blinder's laboratories, involving the study of exploratory and learning behaviors. Our study is being conducted through the utilisation of a large spatial task (i.e maze) with humans and mice.
Eden Ishakov
M.Sc. student | Dept. of Neurobiology
I completed my B.Sc. in biology from TAU In 2023. As of now, I am a M.Sc. student in neurobiology and behavioral neuroscience working on my current study, which is exploring whether physiological movements can predict subjective preferences in humans by using a VR environment setup.
Adi Cantor
M.Sc. student | Sagol School of Neuroscience
I am currently pursuing an M.Sc. at Tel Aviv University, after completing my B.Sc in Biology.
My research focuses on investigating the underlying mechanisms of Cue Approach Training (CAT), particularly how attention and memory influence preference changes.
Neta Moses
VR Developer
I am a video and installation artist and a programmer. I’m a graduate of the combined program in computer science and screen arts at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design (2020). I joined the lab in 2024 as a programmer working meanly in Unity. In my art works I explores the tension between the virtual and the real, and processes of production, distribution and projection of digital images.