[1] He is also an associate member of the department of microbiology and immunology and holds an adjunct professorship at the medical school of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.
Av-Gay received his BSc in Biology, MSc in Microbiology, and PhD in Microbial Genetics – all from Tel Aviv University, Israel.
He had an advanced training at John Innes Institute, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York and the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
His research group further demonstrated that MSH is a key cyto-protectant in Mtb, and EGT has a role in persistence and long-term infection of macrophages.
Av-Gay's most significant discovery was the identification and characterization of PtpA, a protein phosphatase in Mtb which inhibits the normal macrophage response to infection.