Dr. Daniel Z. Bar
Daniel Z. Bar, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer and Principal Investigator at the Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, with expertise in molecular biology of aging, proximity labeling technologies, and the development of innovative methodologies for studying age-related diseases.
Danny received tenure at Tel Aviv University in recognition of his pioneering contributions to the field of aging research and protein interaction mapping. He is known for developing the groundbreaking Biotinylation by Antibody Recognition (BAR) method, a proximity labeling technique that enables the identification of protein interactions directly in primary human tissues.
As Principal Investigator of the Bar Lab at Tel Aviv University, Danny leads research focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of aging and developing novel approaches to study age-dependent changes in cellular structures. His laboratory develops new tools and applies them to study the molecular changes that accompany aging, using antibodies and various enzymes to label proteins, DNA, and RNA for analysis through high-throughput methods.
His current research focuses on the molecular aspects of aging in humans and the pathogen hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease. The lab has developed unique methods to comprehensively explore how the proteome of specific subcellular structures changes with age, with a particular focus on the nuclear envelope composition in different human tissues. Read Anti-herpetic tau preserves neurons via the cGAS-STING-TBK1 pathway in Alzheimer’s disease and Epigenetic information loss is a common feature of multiple diseases and aging.
In 2018, Danny published his most influential work in Nature Methods, describing the BAR method, which uses antibodies to guide biotin deposition onto adjacent proteins in fixed cells and primary tissues. This innovative approach overcame a major limitation of existing proximity labeling methods that required genetic manipulation and could not be applied to primary human tissues.
The method has been successfully used to profile the dynamic interactome of lamin A/C in multiple cell and tissue types under various treatment conditions, revealing considerable variation in the nuclear envelope composition of different tissues. The publication demonstrated that DNA damage response proteins Ku70 and Ku80 become more abundant near lamin A/C after thermal stress, potentially contributing to aging phenotypes. Read Biotinylation by antibody recognition—a method for proximity labeling.
Danny earned his Ph.D. in Genetics from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2014, under the supervision of Prof. Yosef Gruenbaum. His doctoral dissertation focused on lifespan-regulating pathways, metabolism, and lamins, using Nematodes as a model organism, specifically for studying the nuclear lamina and lifespan-regulating pathways in C. elegans. His thesis work helped understand how nuclear lamina proteins affect aging processes and cellular longevity. Danny earned his Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Physics and Biology from Tel Aviv University.
Following his Ph.D., Danny completed his postdoctoral studies at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), where he developed new technologies for proximity labeling and protein-DNA interactions under the direction of Dr. Francis Collins. During this prestigious fellowship, he worked in the laboratory of the NIH Director and Human Genome Project leader, where he developed the BAR method that would become his signature scientific contribution. He worked on proximity labeling, focusing on the nuclear lamina in primary human samples.
Danny has authored numerous high-impact publications in prestigious journals such as Nature Methods, PNAS, and Journal of Medical Genetics. His 2018 Nature Methods paper on BAR has been widely cited and has opened new avenues for studying protein interactions in tissues that were previously inaccessible to such analyses.. Beyond the BAR method, his work includes developing innovative methods in proximity labeling and studying the reversal of age-dependent nuclear morphology phenotypes. His research has been published in leading journals and has influenced the field of proximity labeling technologies.
Danny has been awarded several grants for his research, including the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) and the Israel Innovation Authority. These competitive grants have supported his innovative research program and enabled the development of new technologies for studying aging and age-related diseases. The ISF grants have particularly supported his work on developing novel approaches to determine the local protein environment near targets of interest in human samples.
Danny serves as guest editor of JOVE, contributing his expertise to this peer-reviewed scientific video journal that publishes experimental methods in video format. He is a regular speaker at international scientific conferences, and also serves as a reviewer for several prestigious journals. His expertise in proximity labeling and aging research makes him a sought-after speaker at international conferences and symposia. Watch Molecular Ageing – Lamins, metabolism and Ageing and Epigenetic information loss is a common feature of multiple diseases and aging.
In addition to his aging research, Danny’s lab works on developing and improving isothermal methods for pathogen detection, including those capable of identifying specific strains, allowing for quick pathogen identification without the need for specialized equipment. This work has gained particular relevance in the context of pandemic preparedness and rapid diagnostic development. The lab is part of the Epidemic Research Center at Tel Aviv University, where they contribute to developing innovative approaches for pathogen detection and identification.
Danny’s research group is also investigating the Alzheimer’s disease pathogen hypothesis, exploring potential connections between microbial infections and neurodegenerative processes. His lab uses a unique proximity-labeling method to unravel disease mechanisms and is developing an alternative method to ChIP-seq for mapping DNA protein binding sites, with the capability to detect protein binding events on long single molecules. This multifaceted research program positions his laboratory at the forefront of aging research and studies on disease mechanisms.
At Tel Aviv University, Danny is a member of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and contributes to the Department of Oral Biology within the Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine. His research bridges multiple disciplines, from dental medicine to molecular biology and aging research, reflecting the interconnected nature of modern biomedical science.
As an educator at Tel Aviv University, Danny mentors graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, training the next generation of scientists in cutting-edge molecular biology techniques. By developing methods to study protein interactions in aging tissues and investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying age-related changes, his research contributes to the broader goal of extending healthspan and understanding the fundamental processes of aging.
Visit his Tel Aviv University profile, Lab Homepage, ResearchGate profile, and ORCiD profile.