Noam Sobel obtained a Ph.D. in neuroscience at Stanford University, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Prior to joining the Weizmann Institute of Science, Sobel was an Associate Professor at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California at Berkeley. He became head of the Department of Neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute in the summer of 2013.

The Sobel laboratory studies brain mechanisms of the human olfactory system and pioneered the development of “electronic noses” — devices that mimic the animal nose in its ability to transform molecules to percepts. Using functional imaging studies in humans and their electronic noses, Sobel’s laboratory aims to understand 1) the systems-level neurobiological mechanisms of olfactory processing and 2) ways in which chemical sensing effects human health and behavior, and how it contributes to disorders such as autism.