Meet Salima
Name: Salima Abu Rabe’a
Research Topic: Genetic Autism, Alternative Splicing
Field: Genetics & Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences
Salima Abu Rabe’a, a 3rd-year PhD student at Tel Aviv University, is making strides in autism research, focusing specifically on the genetic factors underlying the condition and the possibilities of addressing it with new genetic editing tools.
Early in her PhD journey, Salima was awarded the Neubauer Family Foundation Doctoral Fellowship Fund, an initiative supporting outstanding doctoral students from underrepresented communities in Israeli academia. For Salima, the fellowship has been more than financial support—it has also created a sense of belonging and recognition at a critical stage of her scientific path. She speaks warmly about the Foundation’s benefactors, Joseph and Jeanette Neubauer, describing how meaningful it was to meet them in person.
“I felt like they were family, like I’ve known them for years. They genuinely care, and I love having this connection. I’m very grateful,” she shares.
Their encouragement, she says, strengthened her motivation to continue pushing forward in her research.
“Autism has been studied for a very long time, yet in 2026, we still don’t have a definitive explanation for its causes,” Salima explains. “This needs to change. I believe that a deeper understanding will lead to better approaches for managing and treating autism.”
Salima holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology, followed by a Master's degree, and now her PhD, all from Tel Aviv University, but her road to higher education was not an easy one. Hailing from Nazareth, a city with a large Arab population in northern Israel, Salima is the eldest of three siblings and the first in her extended family to attend college.
Without prior family experience in academia, she navigated the complex process of applications, entrance exams, and requirements on her own. “This is not part of our lifestyle,” she says, reflecting on the challenges she faced. “When I got accepted to TAU, I surprised my parents: they didn’t even know I had applied.”
Despite initial uncertainties, Salima found unwavering support in her father, who encouraged her to pursue her academic dreams. One of her proudest moments was having her family present at her TAU graduation, a testament to how far she had come. Now, at 25, she is determined to complete her PhD and contribute meaningful research to the field of genetics.
Salima conducts her research in Prof. Gil Ast's lab in the Department of Human Genetics at the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. She says Prof. Ast has been incredibly supportive of her work, providing invaluable mentorship and guidance as she explores the genetic mechanisms of autism.
