He earned his PhD in Chemistry at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and did postdoctoral research at Harvard University. Patolsky's work has been recognized with a number of awards including the Tel Aviv University Applied Sciences Award (2009), the Alon Fellowship award (2006) and the Schmidt Prize (2005). He published over 70 highly cited papers in peer-reviewed journals, and has more than 20 submitted patents. In addition, Patolsky is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Nanobiotechnology.