• Director of the Central Virology Laboratory of the Ministry of Health.

• Senior Lecturer at the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University. 

yaniv.lustig@sheba.health.gov.il

My CRIS profile

General:

Dr. Lustig serves as the director of the Central Virology Laboratory of the Ministry of Health (MOH) since 2023. He is a Senior Lecturer at the Epidemiology and Preventive
Medicine Department, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University since 2021. Dr. Lustig conducted his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in biochemistry and biotechnology at the Faculty of Life Sciences in Bar-Ilan University. In 2007 Dr. Lustig received his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at Bar-Ilan University and moved to
Boston for a post-doctoral fellowship at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in the United States. After completing his post-doctoral training in transcriptional
regulation, he moved to Israel’s Central Virology Laboratory, where he served as the head of the National Center for Zoonotic Viruses until 2022. In 2022 Dr. Lustig spent a sabbatical at the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Douek, Chief of Human Immunology Section at the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Maryland, USA, to deepen his understanding of the immune response to viral infections. Dr. Lustig serves in several national and international committees, including the MOH outbreak response team, the MOH advisory committee to national vaccinations and is on the scientific advisory board of the European Center for Disease Control funded Emerging Viral Disease (EVD) Laboratories Network.

Research:

Arboviruses; Vector-Borne viruses, SARS-CoV-2; Emerging Viruses; Clinical Virology; Epidemiology; Immune response to viruses

Clinical and epidemiological studies of emerging viruses such as vector-borne viruses and other viruses that may be responsible for pandemics.
Characterization of the immune response against emerging viruses and impact to public health.
 

Publications:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=yaniv+lustig&sort=date&size=200 

Zuckerman NS, Schwartz E, Pandey P, Erster O, Halpern O, Bucris E, Morad- Eliyahu H, Wax M, Lustig Y. Dengue Types 1 and 3 Identified in Travelers Returning from Kathmandu, Nepal, during the October 2022 Outbreak Are Related to Strains Recently Identified in India. Viruses. 2023 Nov 28;15(12):2334. doi: 10.3390/v15122334. PMID: 38140575.

Joseph G, Cohen C, Rubin C, Murad H, Indenbaum V, Asraf K, Weiss-Ottolenghi Y, Segal-Lieberman G, Kreiss Y, Lustig Y, Regev-Yochay G. Humoral Immunity of Unvaccinated COVID-19 Recovered vs. Naïve BNT162b2 Vaccinated Individuals: A Prospective Longitudinal Study. Microorganisms. 2023 Jun 22;11(7):1628. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11071628. PMID: 37512801; PMCID: PMC10384358.

Gilboa M, Gonen T, Barda N, Cohn S, Indenbaum V, Weiss-Ottolenghi Y, Amit S, Asraf K, Joseph G, Levin T, Kanaaneh Y, Aydenzon A, Canetti M, Freedman L, Zuckerman N, Mendelson E, Doolman R, Kreiss Y, Regev-Yochay G, Lustig Y. Factors Associated With Protection From SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Infection and Disease Among Vaccinated Health Care Workers in Israel. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 May 1;6(5):e2314757. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.14757. PMID: 37219906; PMCID: PMC10208153.

Regev-Yochay G, Lustig Y, Joseph G, Gilboa M, Barda N, Gens I, Indenbaum V, Halpern O, Katz-Likvornik S, Levin T, Kanaaneh Y, Asraf K, Amit S, Rubin C, Ziv A, Koren R, Mandelboim M, Tokayer NH, Meltzer L, Doolman R, Mendelson E, Alroy-Preis S, Kreiss Y. Correlates of protection against COVID-19 infection and intensity of symptomatic disease in vaccinated individuals exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in households in Israel (ICoFS): a prospective cohort study. Lancet Microbe. 2023 May;4(5):e309-e318. doi: 10.1016/S2666-5247(23)00012-5. Epub 2023 Mar 21. PMID: 36963419; PMCID: PMC10030121.

Canetti M, Barda N, Gilboa M, Indenbaum V, Asraf K, Gonen T, Weiss-Ottolenghi Y, Amit S, Doolman R, Mendelson E, Freedman LS, Kreiss Y, Lustig Y, Regev-Yochay G. Six-Month Follow-up after a Fourth BNT162b2 Vaccine Dose. N Engl J Med. 2022 Dec 1;387(22):2092-2094. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2211283. Epub 2022 Nov 9. PMID: 36351266; PMCID: PMC9730934.

Bassal R, Keinan-Boker L, Cohen D, Mendelson E, Lustig Y, Indenbaum V. Estimated Infection and Vaccine Induced SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in Israel among Adults, January 2020-July 2021. Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Oct 5;10(10):1663. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10101663. PMID: 36298527; PMCID: PMC9609359.

Gilboa M, Regev-Yochay G, Mandelboim M, Indenbaum V, Asraf K, Fluss R, Amit S, Mendelson E, Doolman R, Afek A, Freedman LS, Kreiss Y, Lustig Y. Durability of Immune Response After COVID-19 Booster Vaccination and Association With COVID-19 Omicron Infection. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Sep 1;5(9):e2231778. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.31778. PMID: 36107426; PMCID: PMC9478782.

Lustig Y, Gonen T, Meltzer L, Gilboa M, Indenbaum V, Cohen C, Amit S, Jaber H, Doolman R, Asraf K, Rubin C, Fluss R, Mendelson E, Freedman L, Regev-Yochay G, Kreiss Y. Superior immunogenicity and effectiveness of the third compared to the second BNT162b2 vaccine dose. Nat Immunol. 2022 Jun;23(6):940-946. doi: 10.1038/s41590-022-01212-3. Epub 2022 May 9. PMID: 35534723.

Regev-Yochay G, Gonen T, Gilboa M, Mandelboim M, Indenbaum V, Amit S, Meltzer L, Asraf K, Cohen C, Fluss R, Biber A, Nemet I, Kliker L, Joseph G, Doolman R, Mendelson E, Freedman LS, Harats D, Kreiss Y, Lustig Y. Efficacy of a Fourth Dose of Covid-19 mRNA Vaccine against Omicron. N Engl J Med. 2022 Apr 7;386(14):1377-1380. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2202542. Epub 2022 Mar 16. PMID: 35297591; PMCID: PMC9006792.

Lustig Y, Mendelson E, Mandelboim M, Biber A, Levin EG, Cohen C, Regev-Yochay G, Schwartz E. Existence of immunological memory response in true sero-negative individuals post COVID-19 molecular diagnosis. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Mar 10:ciac196. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac196. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35271690.

Lustig Y, Zuckerman N, Koren R, Katz-Likvornik S, Yizchaki M, Mendelson E, Freedman L, Schwartz E. Rapid Decline of Zika Virus IgM Antibodies against the NS1 Protein in Imported Israeli Cases. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2022 Feb 21;106(4):1121–5. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.21-0099. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35189591; PMCID: PMC8991335.

Lustig Y, Cohen C, Biber A, Jaber H, Becker Ilany Y, Indenbaum V, Amit S, Mandelboim M, Mendelson E, Regev-Yochay G. Immunoglobulin (Ig)A seropositivity against SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers in Israel, 4 April to 13 July 2020: an observational study. Euro Surveill. 2021 Dec;26(48):2001690. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.48.2001690. PMID: 34857065; PMCID: PMC8641069.

Levin EG, Lustig Y, Cohen C, Fluss R, Indenbaum V, Amit S, Doolman R, Asraf K, Mendelson E, Ziv A, Rubin C, Freedman L, Kreiss Y, Regev-Yochay G. Waning Immune Humoral Response to BNT162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine over 6 Months. N Engl J Med. 2021 Dec 9;385(24):e84. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2114583. Epub 2021 Oct 6. PMID: 34614326; PMCID: PMC8522797.

Lustig Y, Sapir E, Regev-Yochay G, Cohen C, Fluss R, Olmer L, Indenbaum V, Mandelboim M, Doolman R, Amit S, Mendelson E, Ziv A, Huppert A, Rubin C, Freedman L, Kreiss Y. BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine and correlates of humoral immune responses and dynamics: a prospective, single-centre, longitudinal cohort study in health-care workers. Lancet Respir Med. 2021 Sep;9(9):999-1009. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(21)00220-4. Epub 2021 Jul 2. PMID: 34224675; PMCID: PMC8253545.

Lustig Y, Zuckerman N, Nemet I, Atari N, Kliker L, Regev-Yochay G, Sapir E, Mor O, Alroy-Preis S, Mendelson E, Mandelboim M. Neutralising capacity against Delta (B.1.617.2) and other variants of concern following Comirnaty (BNT162b2, BioNTech/Pfizer) vaccination in health care workers, Israel. Euro Surveill. 2021 Jul;26(26):2100557. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.26.2100557. PMID: 34212838; PMCID: PMC8326656.

Lustig Y, Nemet I, Kliker L, Zuckerman N, Yishai R, Alroy-Preis S, Mendelson E, Mandelboim M. Neutralizing Response against Variants after SARS-CoV-2 Infection and One Dose of BNT162b2. N Engl J Med. 2021 Jun 24;384(25):2453-2454. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2104036. Epub 2021 Apr 7. PMID: 33826815; PMCID: PMC8063887.

Oved K, Olmer L, Shemer-Avni Y, Wolf T, Supino-Rosin L, Prajgrod G, Shenhar Y, Payorsky I, Cohen Y, Kohn Y, Indenbaum V, Lazar R, Geylis V, Oikawa MT, Shinar E, Stoyanov E, Keinan-Boker L, Bassal R, Reicher S, Yishai R, Bar-Chaim A, Doolman R, Reiter Y, Mendelson E, Livneh Z, Freedman LS, Lustig Y. Multi-center nationwide comparison of seven serology assays reveals a SARS-CoV-2 non-responding seronegative subpopulation. EClinicalMedicine. 2020 Dec;29:100651. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100651. Epub 2020 Nov 19. PMID: 33235985; PMCID: PMC7676374.

Indenbaum V, Koren R, Katz-Likvornik S, Yitzchaki M, Halpern O, Regev-Yochay G, Cohen C, Biber A, Feferman T, Cohen Saban N, Dhan R, Levin T, Gozlan Y, Weil M, Mor O, Mandelboim M, Sofer D, Mendelson E, Lustig Y. Testing IgG antibodies against the RBD of SARS-CoV-2 is sufficient and necessary for COVID-19 diagnosis. PLoS One. 2020 Nov 23;15(11):e0241164. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241164. PMID: 33227020; PMCID: PMC7682882.

Lustig Y, Keler S, Kolodny R, Ben-Tal N, Atias-Varon D, Shlush E, Gerlic M, Munitz A, Doolman R, Asraf K, Shlush LI, Vivante A. Potential Antigenic Cross-reactivity Between Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Dengue Viruses. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Oct 5;73(7):e2444-e2449. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1207. PMID: 32797228; PMCID: PMC7454334.

Lustig Y, Koren R, Biber A, Zuckerman N, Mendelson E, Schwartz E. Screening and exclusion of Zika virus infection in travellers by an NS1-based ELISA and qRT-PCR. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2020 Dec;26(12):1687.e7-1687.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2020.02.037. Epub 2020 Mar 6. PMID: 32151598.

Koren R, Bassal R, Shohat T, Cohen D, Mor O, Mendelson E, Lustig Y. Presence of Antibodies against Sindbis Virus in the Israeli Population: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study. Viruses. 2019 Jun 11;11(6):542. doi: 10.3390/v11060542. PMID: 31212605; PMCID: PMC6630228.

Zuckerman NS, Indenbaum V, Milo R, Mendelson E, Lustig Y. JC virus identified in a patient with persistent and severe West Nile virus disease. J Neurovirol. 2019 Aug;25(4):608-611. doi: 10.1007/s13365-019-00744-z. Epub 2019 Apr 4. PMID: 30949974.

Lustig Y, Gosinov R, Zuckerman N, Glazer Y, Orshan L, Sofer D, Schwartz E, Schvartz G, Farnoushi Y, Lublin A, Erster O, Shalom U, Yeger T, Mor O, Anis E, Mendelson E. Epidemiologic and phylogenetic analysis of the 2018 West Nile virus (WNV) outbreak in Israel demonstrates human infection of WNV lineage I. Euro Surveill. 2019 Jan;24(1):1800662. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2019.24.1.1800662. PMID: 30621816; PMCID: PMC6325669.

Avizov N, Zuckerman N, Orshan L, Shalom U, Yeger T, Vapalahti O, Israely T, Paran N, Melamed S, Mendelson E, Lustig Y. High Endemicity and Distinct Phylogenetic Characteristics of Sindbis Virus in Israel. J Infect Dis. 2018 Sep 22;218(9):1500-1506. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiy234. PMID: 30184090.

Mannasse B, Mendelson E, Orshan L, Mor O, Shalom U, Yeger T, Lustig Y. Usutu Virus RNA in Mosquitoes, Israel, 2014-2015. Emerg Infect Dis. 2017 Oct;23(10):1699-1702. doi: 10.3201/eid2310.171017. PMID: 28930008; PMCID: PMC5621534.

Bassal R, Shohat T, Kaufman Z, Mannasse B, Shinar E, Amichay D, Barak M, Ben-Dor A, Bar Haim A, Cohen D, Mendelson E, Lustig Y. The seroprevalence of West Nile Virus in Israel: A nationwide cross sectional study. PLoS One. 2017 Jun 16;12(6):e0179774. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179774. PMID: 28622360; PMCID: PMC5473576.

Lustig Y, Mendelson E, Paran N, Melamed S, Schwartz E. Detection of Zika virus RNA in whole blood of imported Zika virus disease cases up to 2 months after symptom onset, Israel, December 2015 to April 2016. Euro Surveill. 2016 Jun 30;21(26). doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2016.21.26.30269. PMID: 27386894.

Lustig Y, Mannasse B, Koren R, Katz-Likvornik S, Hindiyeh M, Mandelboim M, Dovrat S, Sofer D, Mendelson E. Superiority of West Nile Virus RNA Detection in Whole Blood for Diagnosis of Acute Infection. J Clin Microbiol. 2016 Sep;54(9):2294-7. doi: 10.1128/JCM.01283-16. Epub 2016 Jun 22. PMID: 27335150; PMCID: PMC5005505.