Carmi is an adjunct full professor at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. He has a background in physiological and nutritional ecology of mammals, disciplines that explore the ways in which animals function in response to their natural environments, in an ecological and evolutionary context. Over the past few years, he has been using a broad arsenal of physiological tools to answer ecological questions related to conservation issues and the responses to increased aridity, particularly for desert-dwelling bats. He contributed to the development of bat research and conservation in Israel, and provides significant professional consulting on bats to both non-governmental organisations and governmental offices. He has done fieldwork in several countries and he is collaborating with scientists from Israel and abroad.