Ruth Feldman, PhD is the Simms-Mann Professor of Developmental Social Neuroscience at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzlia with joint appointment at Yale Child Study Center.
With degrees in music composition (summa cum-laude), neuroscience (with honors), clinical psychology (with honors), and developmental psychology and psychopathology, her approach integrates perspectives from neuroscience, human development, philosophy, clinical practice, and the arts within an interpersonal frame and a behavior-based approach. Her conceptual model on biobehavioral synchrony systematically describes how a lived experience within close relationships builds brain, creates relationships, confers resilience, and promotes creativity. Her studies were the first to detail the role of oxytocin in the formation of human social bonds.
Her research is translational and informs the development of various interventions applied internationally. Her observational tools are used in 17 countries, translated to multiple languages, and utilized in research on all facets of human social relationships in health and psychopathology. She is a consultant on multiple international grants and a frequent keynote speaker in international conferences. Her studies often follow children from infancy to adulthood, address topics that are highly relevant to the general public, and receive substantial media attention.
Dr. Feldman is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and received multiple awards, including a young musician award, Rothschild award, NARSAD independent investigator award (twice), the Zeskind award for best paper in Biological Psychiatry, and the Graven’s Award for research on high-risk infants.
Highly Cited Researcher – 2018 – Web of Science. Among top 0.01% of scientists based on impact (PLOS Biology).
Expertscape World Expert in Parent-Child Relations, expertscape World Expert in Psychoanalytic Theory.
Dr. Feldman is the recipient of 2020 EMET prize, Israel’s highest prize in arts and sciences.
SRIP Lecturer Award 2022
World expert in parenting research 2019
Hormone Lab
Orna Zagoory-Sharon
PRINCIPAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Orna is a Biochemist, holding a PhD in chemistry from Ben-Gurion University in the field of Biophysics. She is an expert in measuring hormones, mainly Oxytocin, taken from body fluids (blood, urine, salvia and more). Orna was a Post-doc at the Weizmann institute in neurobiology. During her research activities, she also worked in clinical laboratories. In 2011 she received her “Senior Medical Laboratory Worker Recognition” in Endocrinology, and in 2014 she received her “Medical Laboratory Management Permit” from the Israeli Ministry of Health.
FMRI
Adi Ulmer-Yaniv
Senior Research ASSOCIATE
Adi is leading the lab’s fMRI projects. Her research is focused on understanding the neural, behavioral, and hormonal mechanisms that underlie social behavior, across development. In order to tackle these questions, Adi is combining neuroanatomical knowledge for data interpretation and computational skills for intensive data processing and modeling.
Brain-to-Brain Synchrony
Yaara Endevelt-Shapira
RESEARCH ASSOCIATe
Yaara is responsible for the infant-adult brain-to-brain hyperscanning dual-eeg studies, including both father-infant and mother-infant dyads. Specifically interested in the role of social chemosignling during early development.
Linoy Schwartz
Postdoctoral Researcher
Early Clinical Interventions (RCT)
Yael Apter-Levy
Postdoctoral Researcher
Yael is an expert in child and adolescent’s clinical psychology and holds a PhD from Bar-Ilan University. She is the Manager of the psychological clinic of the Baruch Ivcher’s school of psychology at Reichman University. She specializes in the care and research of infants and toddlers (dyad and triad), as well as adolescents and adults. Certified as an instructor at the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology’s Community Clinic, and at the Early Childhood Clinic run by Prof. Ruth Feldman.
Ortal Shimon-Raz
Postdoctoral Researcher
Ortal is a clinical psychologist. Her current study aims to shed light on brain mechanisms underlying maternal responsiveness during the infant’s first year of life. In her clinical training she worked with infants and preschoolers children at the Early Childhood Community Clinic.
Moran Influs
Postdoctoral Researcher
Moran is a clinical psychologist. As part of her research, she is conducting therapeutic interventions to women suffering from postpartum depression, and assesses aspects of depression, mother-infant relationship, infants’ development, and hormonal markers.
PhD Students
Shiran Lifshin
Doctoral Student
Shiran is a clinical psychologist. Her research is focused on understanding the continuance relationship between postpartum depression and mother-infant synchrony. As part of her current research, Shiran recruits, assesses and conducts therapeutic interventions to women suffering from postpartum depression.
Olga Hayut-Nevenchannaya
Doctoral Student
Other Lab Members
Milana Gorelik
Lab Administrator & Micro-coding expert
Milana is responsible for administering all aspects of laboratory environment. She is also a behavioral micro-coding expert and consultant, responsible for micro-coding training and designing new coding schemes.
Tehila Singer
Director of social coding and CIB
Dr. Singer has a graduate in psychology and PhD in Neuroscience. She is an expert on behavioral observation and macro and micro-coding of social behavior. Dr. Singer has been part of our lab since 2001. She is responsible for the international CIB training and participates in the development of new CIB applications.
Past PhD Students
Hagar Harel
Psychology
mothering, emotion regulation, and information processing in premature infants
Roni Nadam
Psychology
Emotion regulation in preschoolers
Adi Granat
Psychology
Maternal depression and infant physiological stress and emotion regulation across the first year
Hadar Arditi
Brain sciences
Contact effects on newborns’ physiological stress response and information processing
Ronit Geler
Brain sciences
perschoolers’ mental representation of their mothers and fathers
Maayan Prat
PSYCHOLOGY
Maternal postpartum depression and the neural basis of empathy in preadolescence
Ari Levin
Brain sciences
Oxyocin and the development of mothering from early pregnancy to the postpartum
Dalia Zilberstein
Brain sciences
Neonatal brainstem dysfunction and feeding disorders in premature infants
Ilanit Gordon
Psychology
Oxytocin and the development of parenting
Merav Burg
Psychology
Genetic disorders in children (williams’ syndrome, VCF), social behavior, and social cognition
Giora Galili
Brain sciences
Neonatal brainstem dysfunction and physiological and emotional regulation in premature infants across the first months
Zehava Rosental
Psychology
The effects of kangaroo care intervention to premature neonates at ten years
Naomi Freziger
Brain sciences
Behavioral assessment for children with CP
Lea Korzman
Brain sciences
Neonatal brainstem dysfunction and the development of attention and symbolic competencies in premature infants
Esther Bemberger
Psychology
Reciprocity with mother and father in early adolescence
Adva Vengrober
Psychology
Behavioral and mental consequence of exposure to war-related trauma in early childhood
Vered Aylon
Psychology
Physiological and behavioral synchrony with mother and father at the transition to parenthood
Michal Feldman
Psychology
Empathy and social adaptation in preschoolers exposed to maternal depression
Shir Atzil
Psychology
The maternal brain
Inna Schneiderman
Brain sciences
Hormones, autonomic response, and social interactive behavior during the first stages of romantic love
Omri Weisman
Psychology
Oxytocin and human fatherhood
Yael Apter
Psychology
Effects of maternal postpartum depression on children’s psychopathology, cortisol, and oxytocin at six years
Karen Rubio
Psychology
Effects of maternal postpartum depression on stress reactivity and executive functions at ten years
Yael Hirschler
Psychology
Mothering, fathering and the development of emotion regulation in preschoolers with high-functioning ASD
Sharon
Ostfeld-Etzion
Psychology
Self and co-regulation in preschoolers with ASD
Moran Eidelman
Brain sciences
Oxytocin impact on trauma exposed veterans
Adam Vakart
Psychology
Fathering in the context of chronic maternal depression
Avital Priel
Psychology
Effects of maternal postpartum depression on child well-being, oxytocin, and synchrony at ten years
