Itzhak (Itzik) Mizrahi is a Professor of Microbial Ecology at the Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where he is affiliated with both the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev and the School of Sustainability and Climate Change. His research focuses on the ecology, evolution, and function of complex gut microbial communities, with an emphasis on the rumen and gut microbiomes. His work integrates anaerobic culturing, multi-omics, and systems-level approaches to uncover principles governing microbial interactions, community assembly, and ecosystem function. A central aspect of his research explores plasmid ecology and horizontal gene transfer, and their roles in shaping microbial adaptation and functional potential. Mizrahi is an elected Fellow of the American and European Academies of Microbiology.