Vinnie (Miriam) Altstein

I am a retired scientist specializing in neurochemistry, chemical ecology, and environmentally sustainable pest management. I received my B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Microbiology from Tel Aviv University, Israel, earned my Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, and completed postdoctoral training at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). In 1987, I joined the Institute of Plant Protection at the Volcani Institute (Agricultural Research Organization, ARO, Israel), where I served as a senior researcher until her retirement in 2020.

During my scientific career, I developed an internationally recognized research program focused on innovative and environmentally friendly approaches to agriculture and food safety. My research led to the discovery of selective, bioactive compounds for sustainable insect pest control based on neuroendocrine disruption, the development of rapid analytical methods for detecting pesticide residues and environmental contaminants in food and biological samples, and the identification of plant-derived antimicrobial and antifungal compounds with applications in food preservation and biofilm control. Analytical protocols developed in my laboratory were adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) as Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), while several patented bioactive compounds have a high potential to be evaluated for commercial development as insect control agents.

I established the Insect Neurochemistry Laboratory at the Volcani Institute and built extensive national and international collaborations with leading academic institutions and research organizations. I supervised graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, taught at the Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, organized numerous national and international scientific conferences, and delivered invited lectures worldwide. I also served as a reviewer for competitive research programs, a member of scientific evaluation committees, and a guest editor for scientific journals.

I authored 125 scientific publications, including peer-reviewed articles, invited review papers, book chapters, and patents. Throughout my career, I successfully initiated and led numerous national and multinational research projects and secured approximately US$4.3 million in competitive and industrial research funding. Among my major accomplishments was coordinating a multinational consortium funded under the European Union Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), with a total budget of US$2.4 million. My research was supported by the European Union, the U.S.–Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD), the U.S. EPA, German–Israeli funding programs, the Israel Science Foundation, and several Israeli governmental agencies. I also obtained a major industrial research grant from The Coca-Cola Company. In recognition of my scientific achievements, I received the Researcher of the Year Excellence Award in 2010.

Between March 2016 and September 2020, I served on the Executive Management Board of the Volcani Institute, where I was responsible for academic affairs and international scientific collaborations. I initiated and strengthened partnerships with Israeli and international universities, promoting the recruitment of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and expanding the Institute’s global academic network.

Following my retirement, I continued to contribute to Israeli agricultural research as a Scientific Advisor to the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (2021–2025). In this role, I oversaw the scientific evaluation of the Ministry’s competitive research programs and coordinated a national inter-ministerial initiative on agrivoltaics, integrating renewable solar energy production with agricultural land use.

My career has been characterized by scientific excellence, interdisciplinary research, successful technology transfer, international leadership, and a sustained commitment to advancing agricultural science through innovative, environmentally responsible solutions.

RESEARCH AREAS

• Neurochemistry and Neuroendocrinology
• Agrochemical Research/Pesticide Science
• Crop Protection Chemistry
• Environmental and Food Chemistry
• Food Science
• Solar Renewable Energy

CV Vinnie Altstein