Meet Adi Rachum

Adi Rachum is a PhD candidate in the School of Zoology at Tel Aviv University, conducting her research under the supervision of Prof. Yossi Yovel. She holds a BSc in Marine Biotechnology and an MSc in Ecology and Environmental Quality. 

She is currently studying the behavior and cognition of Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus). Her research focuses on the long-term effects of environmental enrichment and impoverishment on cognition, learning, navigation, and behavioral individuality in bats.

Using captive and semi-wild bat populations, she combines behavioral experiments, MRI imaging, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analyses to investigate how aging and environmental conditions shape navigation, cognition, and behavioral flexibility across the lifespan.

By comparing bats of known ages, the study aims to link age-related neural changes with differences in navigation and behavior. The outcomes of the research are expected to provide deeper insight into the relationship between environment, aging, cognition, and behavioral adaptation in highly social mammals.