I was born in Nazareth,  Israel. I'm a Ph.D. student in the Institute of Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where I also received my B.Sc and M.Sc in Chemistry and Biology. In my research, I study the polymorphism and the structure of bacterial extracellular matrix proteins as well as the interactions between organic and inorganic materials within the extracellular matrix of bacterial biofilms. In my free time, I like to play the guitar and to watch football matches. My favorite team is F.C. Barcelona!

Publications:

Hayet, S., Ghrayeb, M., Azulay, D. N., Shpilt, Z., Tshuva, E. Y., & Chai, L. (2023). Titanium complexes affect Bacillus subtilis biofilm formation. RSC Medicinal Chemistry.

Böhning, J., Ghrayeb, M., Pedebos, C. et al. Donor-strand exchange drives assembly of the TasA scaffold in Bacillus subtilis biofilms. Nat Commun 13, 7082 (2022). 

Ghrayeb, M., & Chai, L. (2022). Demonstrating Principle Aspects of Peptide‐and Protein‐Based Hydrogels Using Metallogels Examples. Israel Journal of Chemistry, e202200011.‏

Azulay DN, Späker O, Ghrayeb M, Wilsch-Bräuninger M, Scoppola E, Burghammer M, Zizak I, Bertinetti L, Politi Y, Chai L. Multiscale X-ray study of Bacillus subtilis biofilms reveals interlinked structural hierarchy and elemental heterogeneity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America [Internet]. 2022;119 (4).

Azulay DN, Späker O, Ghrayeb M, Wilsch-Bräuninger M, Scoppola E, Burghammer M, Zizak I, Bertinetti L, Politi Y, Chai L. Spores and extracellular matrix components impart molecular order in Bacillus subtilis biofilms. BioRxiv [Internet]. 2021. 

Ghrayeb M, Hayet S, Zer NL, Levi-Kalisman Y, Chai L. Fibrilar Polymorphism of the Bacterial Extracellular Matrix Protein TasA. Microorganisms [Internet]. 2021;9 (3) :529. Publisher's Version

Azulay DN, Ghrayeb M, Ktorza IBS, Nir I, Nasser R, Harel YS, Chai L. Colloidal-like aggregation of a functional amyloid protein. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics [Internet]. 2020;22 :23286-23294.

Nir I, Lybman A, Hayet S, Azulay DN, Ghrayeb M, Liddaweih S, Chai L. Bacillus subtilis biofilms characterized as hydrogels. Insights on water uptake and water binding in biofilms. Soft Matter [Internet]. 2020.

Lester-Zer N, Ghrayeb M, Chai L. Nanomechanical properties of steric zipper globular structures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America [Internet]. 2019.