Member Profiles:

• Dr. Eddie Cytryn is a research scientist in soil microbiology in the Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Volcani Center, ARO. His research focuses on elucidating the effect of biotic and abiotic factors on microbial community structure and activity in agriculturally-relevant soil and water environments.
• Prof. Yigal Elad is a senior research scientist in the Institute of Plant Protection, Volcani Center, ARO, who conducts research on various topics related to safe crop production, food safety and quality technologies. His research focuses on modes of action of biocontrol agents and induced resistance, and physiology of the diseased plant.
• Dr. Alex Furman is a Senior Lecturer in the Dept. of Environmental, Water and Agricultural Engineering, in the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. His research interests include vadose zone and groundwater hydrology, hydro-geophysics, and soil physics.
• Dr. Ellen Graber is a senior research scientist in the Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Volcani Center, ARO. Her research involves multi-faceted and cross-disciplinary research related to agricultural and environmental sustainability in the fields of soil, water and atmospheric organic chemistry. Current research interests include biochar use in agriculture, soil water repellency, phytoscreening, and sorption of contaminants.
• Dr. Efrat Hadas is a specialist in Agricultural Economics. She is the director of the Economy and Quality Management Department in the Investment Financing Authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Israel. Dr. Hadas is responsible for investments at the level of the individual farmer as well for budgeting investments at the Ministry level, and for economic analyses regarding agricultural growth at the micro and macro level, and analysis of the interrelationships of Israeli agricultural export and European trade regulations.
• Dr. Beni Lew is a research scientist in treatment processes for environmental issues related to Agriculture Engineering in the Institute of Agriculture Engineering, Volcani Center, ARO. His research focus on biological, chemical and physical processes for waste and water treatment, including anaerobic and membrane processes for domestic wastewater treatment for irrigation and struvite fertilizer production from wastewater. Nowadays, Dr. Lew's main research is on poultry air treatment, water savings for irrigation and agriculture waste treatment.
• Dr. Amnon Lichter is a senior research scientist from the Department of Postharvest Science in the Volcani Center, ARO. He specializes in postharvest of table grapes and tomato covering both physiological and pathological aspects. Dr Lichter studies the effect of horticultural aspects on postharvest quality and development of storage technologies based on fruit sanitation. A significant part of his research focuses around the fungus Botrytis cinerea which is a major postharvest pathogen due to its ability to develop at low temperature.
• Dr. Yael Meller Harel is a research fellow in the group of Prof Elad. She is a plant molecular biologist with experience in plant/pathogen interactions, plant genetics and microbiology. She is currently studying microbiological and molecular aspects of plant induced resistance towards foliar fungal pathogens in response to biochar treatment, as well as the effect of climate change on plant diseases, and resistance to plant nematodes via RNAi.
• Dr. Avner Silber is a senior research scientist in the Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Volcani Center, ARO. His expertise is in nutrient reactions in the rhizosphere and soil, and mechanisms of nutrient uptake by plants. He is involved in development of irrigation methods that optimize nutrient uptake by plants, including high fertigation frequency and subsurface drip irrigation.
• Dr. Hagai Yasuor is a research scientist in the Institute of Plant Science, Gilat Research Center, (ARO). His research focuses on elucidating the effect of abiotic and biotic factors on the response of vegetable crops. His expertise is in plant hormones and secondary metabolites during flower and fruit development under stress environment. His current research interests include: elucidating the effect of biochar application on plant physiology and evaluating the role of biochar in improving crop productivity under stress conditions.