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Food Quality and Safety
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| Mechrez Guy |
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Team: Dr. Yafit Itzhaik Alkotzer, Dr. Franziska Grzegorzewski Dr. Karthik Ananth Dr. Noga Yaakov Magen Lahat P.I: Dr. Guy Mechrez |
| Development of chemoresistive sensors for food safety. |
Uncontrolled ethylene emission in growth chambers, greenhouses, storage facilities and during transportation leads to fast degradation of fresh produces and consequently to a significant amount of postharvest losses. To predict the shelf life, optimize the fruit quality, and reduce in-storage losses it is of paramount importance to monitor and control the ethylene emission along the supply chain. To this end, the analysis of the fruit pre-climacteric developmental phase is particularly important. Despite their excellent sensitivity, and capability of discriminating ethylene among complex mixtures of analytes, commonly used ethylene detection methods such as gas chromatography or laser photoacoustic spectroscopy suffer from expensive, bulky instrumentation, incompatible with large scale applications in industrial horticulture, and usually are unsuitable for on-site detection.Chemoresistive Sensing technology rely on the direct reversible chemical interaction between sensing material and
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| Education requirements |
| Ph.D, former postdoctoral position, an advantage |
| Scientific experience |
| Polymer Science, material science, chemistry |
| Skills |
| Polymer nanocomposites, thin films, photolithography, carbon nanotubes, organometallic compounds, conductive polymers, click chemistry, electrical engineering |
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| Nanostructures based on natural polymers for smart delivery of active agents in food and agriculture |
Development of new smart responsive nanostructures based on biodegradable nature-sourced polymers. The prepared nanostructures will be utilized for delivery of nutraceuticals (in food pproducts), antimicrobial and antiinsects agents (in food storage room) and nutrients and fertilizers (in field).
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in chemistry or Material Science or Biotechnology |
| Scientific experience |
| Organic chemistry or polymer chemistry or formation of nanostructures. Work with spectroscopic and microscopic analytical equipment |
| Skills |
| Ability to work with spectroscopic and microscopic analytical equipment Knowledge in polymer chemistry or synthetic chemistry or formation of nanostructures Ability to work in team and independently, to work with scientific literature, to write papers |
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| Active edible coatings to improve storability of afresh agricultural products |
In this project active edible coatings that allow to prolong storability and improve quality of agricultural products will be developed. To enhance a beneficial effect of the developed coatings, active components such as nutraceutic agents, antimicrobial agents, aroma and color agents will be incorporated utilizing nanotechnological approaches. The effect of the advanced active coatings on quality and storability of fresh agricultural products such as fruit and vegetables will be examined.
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in chemistry or biotechnology or food science |
| Scientific experience |
| Work with natural polymers or natural active agents Ability to perform fresh product quality studies |
| Skills |
| Ability to work in team and independently ability to read scientific literature and write scientific papers High motivation |
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| Contact active materials and surfaces |
The project will involve surface modifications of various industry relevant materials, polypropylene, polystyrene, other synthetic and natural polymers, glass and stainless steel to provide these materials with beneficial activity. Advanced material science approaches such as layer by layer deposition, nanotechnologies, electrochemical deposition and covalent surface linkage will be utilized for modification and formation of contact active materials. The modified materials will be characterized by numerous spectroscopic and microscopic methods and their activity will be studied.
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in chemistry or material science |
| Scientific experience |
| Surface chemistry or organic chemistry or polymer chemistry or nanotechnology Spectroscopic and microscopic techniques |
| Skills |
| Surface chemistry or nanotechnology background in organic or polymer chemistry Ability to work in team and independently Ability to read and to write scientific papers |
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| Antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity following simple surface modification |
Previous studies have demonstrated that a simple chemical modification of a surface, that did not affect its physical properites, resulted in much lower adherence of E. coli. The objective of the present research is to study the effect of such modificatio
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in Microbiology related field and good background in Chemistry |
| Scientific experience |
| Basic microbiological techniques |
| Skills |
| Highly dedicated, open for collaborative type of study |
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| Transcriptomic and genetic approaches for elucidating stress tolerance in Salmonella |
Our laboratory is interested in understanding how foodborne pathogens (mainly, Salmonella) survive in the agricultural and food-industry environments in order to design science-based approaches to prevent bacterial contamination, and/or to increase decont
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in relevant field |
| Scientific experience |
| Microbiology, bacterial genetics, transcriptomics, bioinformatics |
| Skills |
| Ambitious and eager to learn how a foodborne pathogen has evolved to withstand stresses along the food-production chain and to contaminate food products |
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| Human Pathogens on Plants: How Salmonella enterica colonizes and invade leafy vegetables? |
Our laboratory is interested in understanding how foodborne pathogens (mainly, Salmonella) survive in the agricultural and food-industry environments in order to design science-based approaches to prevent bacterial contamination, and/or to increase decont
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in the field of Microbiology or Plant physiology |
| Scientific experience |
| Microbiology, Molecular Microbiology, Plant Physiology, experience with NGS, microbiome, transcriptomics and bioinformatics |
| Skills |
| Excellent background in Microbiology and Molecular Microbiology and/or Plant physiology |
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| SELA SHLOMO |
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Team: Dr. Yulia Kroupitski Dr. Avishai Lublin |
| Biological control of Salmonella in poultry |
We have screened poultry litter and identified several bacterial isolates with antagonistic properties against Salmonella. The objective of the project is to characterize the antagonistic activity and to examine the use of the most active isolates as poul
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in relevant field |
| Scientific experience |
| Microbiology, and or biochemistry, and or veterinary |
| Skills |
| Highly dedicated open for collaborations |
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| SELA SHLOMO |
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Team: Dr. Yulia Kroupitski Dr. Zeev Shmilovitz Dr. Michael Borisover |
| Developement of sensors for rapid identification of bacteria and human pathogens |
We are currently working on several platforrms (including fluorescence and Raman) for the quantification of bacteria in water and for identification of specific human pathogens. The candidate will join one of these projects and will lead an independnat st
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in one of these fields: Microbiology, or Chemistry or Physics/enginnering |
| Scientific experience |
| PhD in one of these fields: Microbiology, or Chemistry or Physics/engineering |
| Skills |
| Experience in one or more of the above fields. ready to work with scientists of different disciplines |
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| Developing a biodegradable nano-formulation for treating cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater aquaculture ponds |
Cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater aquaculture ponds are affecting the quality and safety of fish and other crop organisms through accumulation of off-flavors and cyanotoxins. The project will focus on developing a novel algaecidic nano-formulation that will have specific activity against cyanobacteria with minimal impact on other organisms, and that will be safe for release in open ponds used for food production. The candidate will be involved in chemical formulation of the algaecidic nanoparticles as well as in testing their activity in vitro. The project includes working with an advanced microfluidic platform combined with live-imaging microcopy.
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in life sciences, biochemistry or biotechnology engineering. |
| Scientific experience |
| Experience in working with microbial cultures. Background in chemistry or materials engineering. |
| Skills |
| Work in "wet" microbiological laboratory. Competence with computers including office. Background in chemistry or materials engineering an advantage. |
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| Real-time monitoring of cyanobacterial blooms using raman spectroscopy |
Cyanobacterial blooms are increasingly affecting freshwater reservoirs worldwide, including ponds used for freshwater aquaculture. The current project aims at developing a new tool which utilizes Raman spectroscopy to detect cyanobacterial blooms at an early stage, thus allowing effective treatment with minimal environmental impact. The ideal candidate will be competent in handling microbial cultures in the laboratory, and will be required to acquire skills in developing chemometric methods..
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| Education requirements |
| A PhD in life sciences, with preference for skills in engineering or biophysics. |
| Scientific experience |
| The candidate will have completed his PhD, and will be experienced in working in a "wet" microbiology laboratory. |
| Skills |
| Handling of microbial cultures, general competence in computers including office. Exerience with matlab and data analysis an advantage. |
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| Investigating regulation mechanism for biofilm formation by probiotic bacteria |
Probiotics can beneficially affect the host by improving its microbial balance. Due to their perceived health benefits, probiotic bacteria are increasingly incorporated into a variety of food and drink products. To assure the beneficial effects in the body, these organisms must survive during food processing, storage and the passage through the upper gastrointestinal tract and arrive alive to its site of action. However, it appears that probiotic bacteria can poorly reach final food products. Moreover, there is a considerable loss in viability of probiotic bacteria in acidic conditions of the stomach and high bile concentration in the small intestine. We think to improve the viability of probiotic bacteria by inducing biofilm formation, which represent a protective mode of growth for bacteria.
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| Education requirements |
| Ph.D. in Microbiology Field |
| Scientific experience |
| Food Microbiology, Molecular Microbiology, significant record of high impact scientific publications |
| Skills |
| Fluent English language, independence in research, ability to summarize scientific papers. |
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| The Biological and Genetic Basis for Postharvest Chilling Injury Development in Stored Fruits |
Reducing postharvest losses estimated globally to be around 30% is considered an important solution to improve food security. Storage at low temperature is an efficient practice to prolong postharvest life of crops however its application is limited since many crops are susceptible to low temperature. Research is performed to learn about the physiological, biochemical, molecular and genetic basis for fruit sensitivity/tolerance to chilling stress in fruits. The results should aid in developing new strategies/treatments to alleviate chilling stress during postharvest as well as new tools for genetic or biotechnology-based breeding for chilling tolerance in postharvest storage.
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| Education requirements |
| Ph.D. in plant biology or in biochemistry & molecular biology |
| Scientific experience |
| Experience in molecular biology and plant physiology is preferred. |
| Skills |
| Good English, highly motivated, good learning capabilities and independence in research work. |
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| The involvement of RNases and nucleases in senescence, abscission and programmed cell death processes in plants. |
The T2 RNases and type I nucleases are highly conserved enzymes, found in a wide variety of organisms but their specific biological functions are largely unknown. RNases and nucleases were hypothesized to be involved in senescence and programmed cell death (PCD) processes in plants. Research is conducted, in both tomato and Arabidopsis, to study the specific function/s of these nucleic acid degrading enzymes in senescence, abscission and PCD and the regulatory mechanism which governs the expression of their encoding genes.
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| Education requirements |
| Ph.D. in plant biology or in biochemistry & molecular biology |
| Scientific experience |
| Experience in molecular biology and plant physiology is preferred. |
| Skills |
| Good English, highly motivated, good learning capabilities and independence in research work. |
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| ELTZOV EVGENI |
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Team: Collaboration with any plant pathologist in the Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce Department |
| Fiber-optic immunosensor for detection pathogenic microorganisms in fruits and vegetables |
Optical techniques offer certain advantages in that they are simple and flexible and allow for multichannel and remote sensing. Rapid diagnostics of crops pathogenesis is vital for appropriate post-harvest storage ant treatment managements. Currently, diagnostics relies on real-time RT-PCR and antibody or antigen detection using ELISA. These methods require trained personnel and expensive equipment and are not appropriate for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. We are proposing a fiber-optic biosensor for the detection of various pathogen microorganisms. The core of optic-fiber biosensor development is the immobilization of capture affine biomolecules (e.g., antigen, antibodies, nucleic acids) at the enface tip of an optical fiber. Target molecules then bind to the capture biomolecules and these can also bind to complementary labelled detection biomolecules. After exposure to a substrate, the marker enzyme oxidizes it and a chemiluminescent glow is produced as a side reaction that is col
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in biotechnology engineering or related field |
| Scientific experience |
| Developing diagnostic devices or assays. Immunology. Surface chemistry |
| Skills |
| Multitasking Excellent research and technical skills Excellent writing scientific reports, publications, and proposals. Ability to work independently as well as in multidisciplinary research teams. Ability to respond quickly to diverse and shifting demands. Ability to provide in-depth analyses and develop unique technical solutions. Demonstrated interpersonal communication skills necessary to work effectively in a dynamic team environment. |
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| Development colorimetric stack pad immunoassay for plant pathogens identification |
We are proposing a new colorimetric immunoassay biosensor, utilising conventional lateral flow membranes, placed in a different configuration in a stacking manner, where the liquid sample that may contain the analyte diffuses (in controlled matter) from the bottom to the upper-most layer. The key element of this proprietary technology is a capture layer, where a blocking membrane is preventing an uncontrolled migration of all active molecules inside the device. The advantages of this approach include miniaturization, operational simplicity, fast response time (less than 5 min), useful sensitivity.
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in biotechnology engineering or related field |
| Scientific experience |
| Developing diagnostic devices or assays. Immunology. Molecular biology methods. Basic experience in microbiology. |
| Skills |
| Multitasking Excellent research and technical skills Excellent writing scientific reports, publications, and proposals. Ability to work independently as well as in multidisciplinary research teams. Ability to respond quickly to diverse and shifting demands. Ability to provide in-depth analyses and develop unique technical solutions. Demonstrated interpersonal communication skills necessary to work effectively in a dynamic team environment. |
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| Genome editing of potato seed tubers using CRISPR/Cas9 in order to control postharvest sweetening |
Physiological aging of seed tubers during storage is a serious problem because it affects the number of plant stems and determines daughter-tuber sizes.Our working hypothesis is that the parenchyma sweetening induced by storage conditions is a key factor controlling stem number and branching. Specific genome editing, using CRISPR/Cas9, is used in our lab to modify stem number in non-transgenic commercial cultivars, based on our discovery that cold-induced genes are involved tuber branching and sweetening.The byproducts of this research may mitigate health concerns by allowing the development of potato cultivars that have reduced contents of the acrylamide precursors, glucose and fructose, in cold-stored tubers.
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in Molecular Biology |
| Scientific experience |
| Molecular biology tools, plant tissue culture, cloning, bioinformatics, transgenic plants |
| Skills |
| High motivated, well organized scientist, good interpersonal skills and good English speaker |
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| Improving the storage capacity of late peach cultivars, and understanding the underlying molecular mechanism |
Late harvested peach and nectarine cultivars are especially susceptible to chilling temperatures during storage which cause juiciness loss and internal browining. We have discovered multiple genes associated with chilling resistant cultivars . In additio
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| Education requirements |
| Plant Physiology and molecular biology |
| Scientific experience |
| Molecular biology techniques, knowledge of available tools for genetic analysis |
| Skills |
| Organizing large scale experiments . studying new techniques, curiosity |
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| Elucidating the role of calcium in apple physiological disorders of storage |
Apples might develop during storage physiological disorders like bitter pit and lenticels breakdown. Our preliminary data show that while calcium application might reduce bitter pit , it increases lenticels breakdown. Our goal is to elucidate the two face
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| Education requirements |
| Physiology and molecular biology |
| Scientific experience |
| Molecular biology techniques. bioinformatics tools are recommended , Microscopy is benficial |
| Skills |
| Communications, curiosity, desire to learn |
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| Elucidating the mechanism of surface injury in cherry |
The storage capacity of cherries is limited by pit formation (tissue sinking). We have initial evidence showing that this damage is caused by exposure to low temperature. Our aim is to find the molecular mechanism that contribute to this damage. We hypot
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| Education requirements |
| The candidate should have a strong background in plant physiology and molecular biology |
| Scientific experience |
| Need to have experience in RNA preparation and preferably bioinformatics analysis. Experience in microscopy is beneficial |
| Skills |
| Need to be able to interact with other Post Doc and scientists. Desire to learn bioinformatics applications |
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| Updated on: 24/09/17 12:45 |
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