Prof. Salomon started his academic career as a student of psychology in the “Amirim” program for excellence at the Hebrew University. He completed his Ph.D. at Tel Aviv University in cognitive neuroscience studying the neural and cognitive mechanisms of the Self, under the guidance of Prof. Dominique Lamy and Prof. Rafi Malach from the Weizmann Institute of Science. He continued to a postdoctoral fellowship at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland where he worked with Prof. Olaf Blanke on Bodily Self Consciousness. In 2022, he began his appointment as a tenured professor at the The Integrated Brain And Behavior Research Center at Haifa University.

Ophir Netzer is a Ph.D. neuroscience student at the University of Haifa and an Azrieli Graduate Fellow. She holds a B.A. in Cognitive Sciences and Economics and an M.A. in Cognitive and Brain Sciences from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During her M.A. studies, Ophir investigated sensory substitution and the creation of novel sensory experiences. Her current research investigates the psychological, physiological, and neural mechanisms of trauma experienced under the influence of psychedelics. Specifically, her work examines how psychedelics affect trauma processing, with a focus on the Nova Festival attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, where many attendees endured severe, life-threatening trauma while under the influence of these substances. This interdisciplinary research aims to improve the early detection of trauma-related psychopathologies and inform the development of evidence-based therapeutic approaches.

Dr. Amir Harduf is a research fellow at the University of Haifa. He studied neuroscience at Bar-Ilan University, where he got his Ph.D. As Scientific Co-Director, Amir collaborates closely with Prof. Salomon to shape and implement the lab’s research agenda, oversee daily operations, and mentor students. He leads efforts to develop a unified system for analyzing all VR experiments in the lab, advancing the lab's capacity for cutting-edge research. In addition to managing projects, Amir secures grants and ensures the lab’s extensive knowledge base is maintained and expanded.

Michal is an M.A. student in the Experimental Psychology program at the University of Haifa, where she also earned her B.A. in Psychology. During her undergraduate studies, she contributed to several research projects exploring the physiological aspects of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Since October 7, 2023, Michal has been an integral part of the Nova Project, where she leads the control group component of the study. Her primary research interests focus on trauma experiences and identifying predictors for the development of PTSD, particularly among Nova survivors

Daniel Sand is a postdoctoral researcher at the Salomon Lab, specializing in the intersection of computational neuroscience and mental health. With a background in brain-machine interfaces, artificial intelligence, and digital health, his work focuses on how technology can enhance the understanding and treatment of mental health, with a particular emphasis on the use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes. He earned his Ph.D. in Brain Science from the Hebrew University under the mentorship of Prof. Hagai Bergman and Dr. Renana Eitan. He is currently completing a practicum in Hakomi psychotherapy at Soteria. Previously, Daniel held senior roles in AI development for digital health startups, where he contributed to FDA-approved innovations.

Lisa is a postdoctoral research fellow and clinical psychology intern at Reichman University. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Clinical Neuropsychology from Haifa University. Her Ph.D. research explored psychological and physiological mechanisms underlying individual differences in stress responses, leveraging wearable sensors in real-world settings. Currently, her research focuses on the interplay of psychological and physiological processes in trauma, with a particular focus on psychedelics and their therapeutic potential.

Yoni is a Ph.D. student in Clinical Psychology at Haifa University, co-supervised by Prof. Danny Koren and Dr. Roy Salomon, and an Azrieli Graduate Fellow. He is also a clinical psychology intern at Rambam’s psychiatry division and the ZOHAR clinic for early psychosis detection and intervention. Yoni holds an M.A. in Cognitive Science and a B.Sc. (cum laude) in Biology and Psychology from Ben-Gurion University. His research aims to enhance early psychosis identification by investigating how stress impacts neurocognitive capacities related to the Self, using VR, computational methods and physiological biomarkers.

Gadi is a PhD neuroscience student at the Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center at Bar-Ilan University. Gadi holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in neuroscience and has worked for several years as a research assistant at the Sagol Brain Institute at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. Gadi’s research focuses on how the brain creates a sense of reality. His interests include psychedelic neuroscience and computational markers of consciousness. Thesis title: “Neural correlates of the Sense of Reality”

Reina is a PhD candidate at the Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center at Bar-Ilan University. She obtained a B.Sc. in Psychology and M.Sc. in Cognitive Neuroscience (both Cum Laude) from the University of Amsterdam. During the first internship of her research master she investigated sleep stability using EEG at the Sleep and Memory Lab at the University of Amsterdam. During the second internship she investigated the conscious state-dependency of neural markers of conscious access using EEG at the Consciousness and Cognition Lab at the University of Cambridge. Reina’s main interests include reality and consciousness. Thesis title: ‘Multivariate classification of neural time series data decodes conscious states but not conscious access’.

Maya Pery is a Ph.D. student in Psychology at the University of Haifa. Her research focuses on the neural and cognitive mechanisms that shape the perception of the self. She holds an M.Sc. from the Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, where she specialized in Cognitive Psychology. Before transitioning to academia, Maya spent nearly a decade working as a User Experience Designer in the professional sector, following a B.F.A. in Design from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Israel. Her design work centered on how people perceive and interact with complex information- an interest that evolved into her current scientific exploration of how the mind constructs reality. Her main interest lies in how we experience ourselves as conscious beings-what creates the feeling of being “me”, what mechanisms shape the subjective boundaries perceived between the self and the external world, and what happens when those boundaries begin to blur.

Avraham is a PhD candidate at the School of Psychology at the University of Haifa. He holds an M.Sc. in Neurobiology from the University of Haifa (come lada) and a B.A. in Psychology from the Open University. His master's work focused on how interoception influences the processing of trauma-related symptoms in chronic stress in Israel since Oct 7th. In his PhD, this work is applied to the Nova festival cohort. Avraham believes that a complex process such as interoception requires research that considers its multidimensionality. In his study, Avraham combines different measurements of interoception, including self-report, cognitive tasks, metacognitive evaluation, physiological recordings, and brain-body interactions.

Gideon is an M.A. student in Clinical Neuropsychology at Haifa University. He holds a B.Sc. in Psychology and Cognitive Science from Ben-Gurion University. His primary research interests include psychedelics and their therapeutic potential. In his free time, he enjoys music and traveling.

Atalya is a B.A. student in Psychology at the University of Haifa. She works as a research assistant on the "Safe Heart" project, focusing on the MRI segment of the research. Atalya's main interests are neurology, mental health, and the underlying connections in neural networks. In her free time, Atalya enjoys spending time with her friends and family, cooking, singing, playing video games, and traveling.

Eden is a B.A. student in Cognitive Science and a B.Sc. student in Information Systems at the University of Haifa. She participated in the Nova project, working alongside Ophir, Noah, Gal, and Michal to manage the control group. Currently, Eden works as a research assistant, collaborating with Amir and Alex on the Alice system and processing data from lab studies. Her main interests include the sense of reality, perception, and the intersection of mental disorders with cognitive processes. Eden is an animal lover and is especially fond of her newly adopted dog, Venus. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Tzuk is a B.A. student in cognitive science and mathematics at Haifa University. He joined us after spending three years in robotics automation and developing image processing algorithms. His primary interests lie in the mathematics behind metacognition and learning, as well as understanding how past experiences influence the current cognitive state.

Mary is an M.A. student in Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Haifa, where she also completed her B.A. in Psychology and Cognitive Science. During her undergraduate studies, she worked on the Nova survivors’ research as part of the interoception team. Her current research focuses on the therapeutic effects of psychedelics on severe mental health conditions. In her free time, Mary enjoys beach volleyball and bouldering, and she has also written a children’s book.

Gal recently graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and is a research assistant on the "Safe Heart" project. As part of the Interoception team, she focuses on EEG research, with primary interests in neurology and mental health. In her free time, Gal loves hiking, spending time with her dog, and playing video games.

Yael is a B.A. student in Psychology at the University of Haifa. She works as a research assistant on the Unreal projects. Her main interests include the sense of reality, perception, and the neurological aspects of mental disorders. Yael is an animal enthusiast who likes to read, travel, and spend time with family and friends in her spare time.

Rona recently graduated with a dual B.A. in Psychology and Cognitive Science. She is currently working as a research assistant on the Sense of Agency project. Her research interests include embodied cognition and the phenomenology of psychedelic experiences and hallucinations. In her free time, she enjoys dancing and drumming.

Shai is a B.A. student in Psychology and Biology with a Concentration in Neuroscience at the University of Haifa. She currently works as a research assistant on the "NOVA" project, analyzing the experiences of survivors of extreme traumatic events involving altered states of consciousness. Shai's primary academic interests include trauma and PTSD, the mind-brain relationship, mental health, and the impact of psychological therapy. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, listening to music, watching movies, and spending time with family and friends.

Yahav is a B.A. student in Cognitive science and Psychology at the University of Haifa. She is currently working as a research assistant on the Unreal project, focusing on the EEG study. Her main interest lies in the relationship between consciousness and neuroscience, exploring how the brain relates to the mind and vice versa. She is also interested in AI and its connections to neuroscience and consciousness. Yahav comes from an educational background, having worked as a boarding school educator. She loves to travel and practices aerial silk.

Ayala is a B.A. student in Cognitive Science and Psychology at the University of Haifa. She is currently working as a research assistant on the NOVA project, analyzing the experiences of survivors of extreme traumatic events involving altered states of consciousness. Her primary research interests include bodily self-consciousness, sensorimotor integration, and altered states such as anesthesia, sleep, and hypnosis. In her free time, Ayala enjoys dancing, singing, and taking care of approximately seven cats.

Shira is a B.A. student in Psychology at the University of Haifa. She is currently working as a research assistant on the unreal project, focusing on the EEG study. Shira’s main interest include mental health, mind- body connection and the neural underpinnings of mental disorders. In her free time, Shira enjoys traveling, cooking and spending time with family and friends.

Yair has 30 years of experience in software development. Worked at IDF/MAMRAM, Bank Hapoalim, and LSI technologies (currently Broadcom). In recent years Yair has been building experiments in VR and AR with Unity Game Engine for Brain Science Research for Solomon Lab and in various other establishments, Bar Ilan University, Technion Institute, Weizmann Institute, and Haifa University. The experiments built vary in subjects from Sense of Agency, Sense of Reality, Attention and eyesight therapy. He holds Certified Video Game Development Credentials from the Open University. He enjoys playing Video games with his son and Practices Non-Violent-Communications.

Adi is a B.A. student in Psychology at the University of Haifa and a research assistant on the NOVA project, which explores how trauma shapes perception, emotion, and lived experience. She is particularly interested in resilience, and the potential role of psychedelics in treating post-traumatic stress. In her free time, Adi enjoys competitive chess, improvising on the piano, and spending time with friends.