Prof. Meital Reches is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Chemistry and at the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She earned her B.Sc. and Ph.D. in nanobiotechnology from Tel Aviv University. She was an EMBO and an HFSP postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard University. In 2010, Prof. Reches established her independent research group at the Hebrew University. Her research focuses on designing new approaches for controlling the interactions between biomatter (proteins, viruses, bacteria, etc.) and abiotic surfaces. This includes developing environmentally-friendly peptide-based coatings that resist biofilm formation and have antiviral and antifungal activity. Prof. Reches was awarded the Marie Currie Alumni Association Best Innovator Award, the Kaye Award and the Tenne Family Prize in memory of Lea Tenne for Nanoscale Sciences.