Nathalie Q. Balaban () is an Israelibiophysicist and systems biologist. She is a full professor at the Racah Institute of Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. and a member of the European Academy of Microbiology (EAM), the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) and the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).
Balaban completed her PhD degree in Condensed Matter Physics at the Weizmann Institute. She first became interested in biophysics and studied mechanical forces in cells with Benny Geiger in 2000. She then joined Stanislas LeiblerâÂÂs lab in Princeton University as a postdoctoral researcher, where she was a Robert H. Dicke Fellow. Since 2003, she has been a faculty member in the Physics Department of the Hebrew University. Her research today focuses on the biophysical description of the responses of bacteria under antibiotic treatments, and their implications for understanding treatment failure and evolution of resistance
Balaban initiated and established, together with Professor Eran Sharon ÃÂ the "Scholar-Teacher" ÃÂ which creates academic research positions at the Hebrew University that include also part-time science teaching in high schools for the advancement of science teaching.