Who are Wilk?

The secret compound

The 'W' in Wilk stands for 'WE' and represents how, by collaborating with industry partners, we can all work together to establish sustainable means of production that can guarantee the continued supply of milk and dairy-based products for future generations.

Tomer Aizen, CEO

Leaders of the revolution

Our team

Tomer Aizen

CEO

Tomer is an experienced executive with over 15 years working at multinational companies in the healthcare industry and holding several leading commercial and management positions. Prior to Wilk, Tomer was managing Ethicon, a significant business unit at Johnson & Johnson specialized in surgical technologies and solutions. Skilled in creating value through multidimensional synergies, leading performance and teams successfully, Tomer holds an LL.B and is a licensed lawyer.

Dr. Nurit Argov-Argaman

CSO

A senior lecturer at the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment of the Hebrew University. Nurit’s field of expertise, which spreads across 15 years of research, is in lactation physiology and milk quality. Her academic focus is set on the metabolic regulation of milk composition, aiming to increase production efficiency of milk solids and product quality in terms of positive health effect on people. Nurit holds Animal Sciences degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a postdoc fellowship in the Food Science and Technology department from UC Davis, California.

Nathaniel Benchemhoun

VP Business Development

Nathaniel brings a familiarity with a variety of industries and technologies and a rich experience in venture capital and corporate innovation. His professional background ranges from operational executive roles at tech startups and venture funds, to innovation and strategy consulting for global Fortune 500 companies. Nathaniel graduated in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the University of Melbourne and the University of Southern California, following a bachelor’s degree in Economics at the University of Paris La Sorbonne.

Zohar Barbash

CTO

Dr Barbash holds PhD in Molecular genetics from Tel Aviv university. She conducted her post-doc studies in the National cancer institute, Bethesda MD, US, in molecular and cellular biology. Prior to Wilk, Zohar was VP R&D of Fore Biotherapeutics, leading team of researchers from preclinical studies to a phase II international clinical trial. Zohar has extensive experience as an executive, leading complex projects in various areas of research, product development, Diagnostics and high thruput processes. She is an expert in cellular and molecular biology and a natural leader.

Moran Attar

CFO

Moran has more than 14 years of experience as a financial advisor and accountant, including 9 years as a CFO of public companies traded in the Tel-Aviv, Nasdaq and London Stock Exchanges, and as an executive consultant with EY Israel. She has vast experience working in the pharma, retail, high-tech and food-tech industries. Moran is a CPA, holds a B.A. in Accounting & Economics from Negev University, and a M.A. in Accounting from Bar-Ilan University.

Ezra Ella

Head of Bioinformatics and Innovation

An experienced R&D researcher with a thirst for new technologies. Ezra is head of innovation at Wilk, He harnesses multidisciplinary knowledge to provide out-of-the-box solutions. Additionally, Ezra leads bioinformatics, gene expression modulation, genetic modification, and data analysis using machine learning. Prior to Wilk, he was a scientist in Biokine Therapeutics, Novellus, and Kamari Pharma, and had a significant contribution to the product development: from idea to a clinically tested drug.  Ezra holds a Ph.D. in life science from the Hebrew University.

Dalia Rosin Grunewald

Head of Human Milk Project

Dr. Rosin-Grunewald holds a PhD in developmental genetics from the Weizmann Institute of Science. She conducted her post-doc studies in the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Barcelona, focusing on cell division mechanisms under normal and tumorous circumstances. Prior to Wilk, she was an intern in the Weizmann Institute of Science using system biology approaches to understand complex biological systems. Her experience includes the molecular innovation team at Evogene, an ag-biotech company; research manager and director of POC at Orgenesis LTD, a cell and gene therapy company, and heading the R&D lab of Poold Diagnostics.

Omri Shmuel Alfassy

Head of Bovine Milk Project

Omri holds a M.Sc in Molecular and Structural Biochemistry (2012) and a B.Sc in Biotechnology Engineering (2008). Since graduating, Omri has worked as a R&D engineer, biochemist, molecular biologist and procurement manger (Bioimmunate technology LTD.) Omri also worked as a research assistant in industrial and academic laboratories both in Israel abroad (Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Centre for Cancer Biology, Australia) where he published his work in the field of protein-protein interaction.

Yonatan Eylon

Senior Process Development Scientist

Yonatan is an experienced Process Engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the biotechnology industry. Skilled in Biotechnology, Cell Culture, Biopharmaceuticals, and Purification. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology and a Master of Business Administration from Tel-Hai & Ono colleges.

Leah Efron

Senior Scientist Analytics

Leah is an organic/peptide /bio-analytical scientist with over 15 years team and project management experience in R&D and QC laboratory in multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to Wilk, she was team leader focused on development of the analytical/bio-analytical methods of monoclonal antibody, polymers and other compounds. Her experience includes a strong background of academic research combined with deep understanding of the Bio/Pharma industry. She did Postdoctoral research in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical chemistry in the University Catholic de Leuven, Brussel.

Oren Hadaya

Senior Research Scientist

Oren has eight years of experience in scientific research of mammary gland and the physiology of lactation in various models as in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro.
Oren labored on his PhD thesis in Prof. Nurit Argov-Argaman's lab at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he acquired knowledge in mammary gland production processes by investigating its redox-status, bioenergetic and genetic cell mechanisms. He holds an M. sc. and a B. Sc. from the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, the Department of Animal sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Sima Yona Zilbersmidt

Research Scientist

Sima is an experienced process engineer specializing in scaling manufacturing of cell cultures and is excited about the processed milk and its potential to revolutionize the dairy industry.
Sima has a biotechnology background. Prior to Wilk, she worked at Biotechnology General developing processes for large bioreactors. She holds a B.Sc. from Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

Linoy Katz

Research Scientist

Linoy started her way in the Department of Animal science in Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment. There she got her B. Sc in animal science and her M. Sc in immunology. Linoy has wide experience in immunological techniques and molecular biology, experience she got also through her former position as a scientist at Quark Pharmaceuticals Inc. (QBI) and in Nucleix company. Linoy is familiar with Nurit Argov-Argaman's research for many years since the times of her M. Sc position, that is also why Linoy feels excited and connected to this research and feels like she came back home to the agriculture field and animal science.

Ella Banano

Administration & Purchasing

Ella has over 20 years of experience in purchasing, warehouse management and import shipments for the pharmaceutical industry. As an administrative manager, she has worked with multiple stakeholders, always understanding their needs, and solving internal processes in an innovative fashion. Ella is a Graphic Designer.

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