Avi Orr-Urtreger, MD, PhD, is the director of the Genetic Institute at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (TASMC), Tel Aviv, Israel; and associate professor of pediatrics and human genetics at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University. He is an expert in the field of human genetics and the genetic background of complex diseases in Ashkenazi Jews.

Dr. Orr-Urtreger attended Ben Gurion University School of Medicine and received his postgraduate specification training as pediatrician at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel. After residency he performed his PhD training in molecular development in the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel. He did his fellowship in clinical genetics and his postdoctoral research training in the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, under Dr. Art Beaudet. He returned to Israel to head the Genetic Institute in TASMC in 1998, and developed there comprehensive clinical genetic services as well as a modern and productive research laboratory for genetic studies. His research focus is on understanding the genetic background of human complex traits and diseases by studying models and cohorts of patients with cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.

Dr. Orr-Urtreger is a member of multiple national and international professional organizations. He has lectured in and organized numerous academic courses and symposia, both nationally and internationally, and published more than 125 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He serves as a member of the Supreme National Committee for Human Medical Research of the Ministry of Health, Israel.