Itay
Shalom

Itay Shalom is a neuroscientist and PhD candidate studying the behavioural and neuronal effects of recreational drugs. His research focuses on how cocaine alters interactions between neuronal populations—groups of neurons that researchers treat as a functional unit—in the striatum—a brain region sensitive to cocaine—and how these changes influence moment-to-moment behavioural choices. To analyze behaviour, Itay is developing advanced AI-based tools for automated, unbiased assessment. By linking neural activity with behaviour, his work aims to uncover how drugs like cocaine disrupt striatal function, and to support new therapeutic strategies.

Itay aims to uncover how recreational drugs disrupt striatal function by linking neural activity with behaviour.

Itay holds a BSc in computer science and cognitive sciences and an MSc from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife and son. For the past decade, he has coached youth basketball, combining his passion for sports with informal education. He enjoys hiking with his family, especially in the Judean Desert after seasonal floods.