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Department of Food Science
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| Integrating circadian clocks to the study of pest control |
Almost all organisms on earth are adapted to anticipate daily environmental cycles and synchronize with these approximately 24-h rhythms by a circadian clock system. Given its importance to organismal success, the field of chronobiology is rapidly expanding unraveling the complex and integral role circadian clocks play. In the current project, the researcher will study the various clock-driven behavioural, physiological and genomic processes that might be considered as sensitive targets for agro-chronobiology control, i.e. (2) treating the vulnerable phases of the circadian clock, and 2) distorting the circadian clock system.
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| Education requirements |
| Ph.D |
| Scientific experience |
| Publications and conferences |
| Skills |
| behavioral experiment design, statistics- mainly in circadian clocks, proved writing experience |
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| Investigating role of biofilm formation in developing probiotic and synbiotic food |
The probiotic Bacilli obtained together with prebiotic food substances can help stimulate healthiness in humans. Nonetheless, preserving the efficacy of probiotic Bacilli exhibits challenges that need to be addressed towards developing novel probiotics and synbiotic products. In this regard, the biofilm-inspired encapsulation could be applied to protect probiotic Bacilli coping with different environmental stresses. Besides, biofilm-forming Bacilli may mitigate pathogenic species, including their removal from the intestinal tract. Thus, we develop how certain dietary fibers may preserve the probiotic efficacy by serving as the scaffold for probiotic Bacilli to colonize them through forming symbiotic interactions. The fibers can essentially promote protection by encapsulating probiotic Bacilli against various environmental and physical stresses that might kill the free-living bacterial cells. Besides, these fibers serve as prebiotic substances that would eventually be utilized for the p
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| Education requirements |
| PhD from prestigious and highly ranked university |
| Scientific experience |
| Food or/and Molecular Microbiology techniques; experience in genomic and bioinformatics analyses |
| Skills |
| English language proficiency, capability to develop new experimental systems |
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| Development of advances materials and nanomaterials based on nature-sourced raw materials for use in food, agriculture, medicine and cosmetics |
Our primary research expertise is nature-sourced materials that serve as a platform for advanced delivery systems Biocompatible systems for gene delivery and transformation in plants Omniniphilic systems for delivery via biological barriers for foliar delivery of active agents in plants and transdermal delivery of medicines and cosmetics Advanced systems for food protection based on edible composites
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in chemistry/material science/polymer science/nanotechnology/delivery systems |
| Scientific experience |
| Experience in material science, polymers preferable natural polymers or experience in formation of COF or MOF systems or nanotechnology and formation of delivery systems |
| Skills |
| strong material science background |
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| Mechanisms of mycotoxin biosynthesis regulation |
We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher for research on fungal contaminants and mycotoxins in agricultural products and food – prevention and control of fungal infections; mechanisms of accumulation and degradation of mycotoxins.
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| Education requirements |
| PhD |
| Scientific experience |
| Molecular biology and analytical chemistry |
| Skills |
| Proven experience in general microbiology and molecular biology is required |
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| Highly tunable Pickering emulsion/polymer systems: from colloids to functional surfaces |
Pickering emulsions are stabilized by nanoparticles (NPs) that are self-assembled at the oil-water interface and act as physical barriers. Pickering emulsions come in the form of oil-in-water (o/w) or inverse emulsions. Inorganic NPs such as silica, titania, and NPs from natural origin such as protein nanoparticles, can act as Pickering stabilizers. Our study presents a novel highly tunable platform, based on incorporated polymers in Pickering emulsions. The platform is utilized for the development of superhydrophobic and anti-biofouling surfaces, polymer compatibilization technologies for recycling, single-cell encapsulation techniques, formulations for biopesticides, targeting technologies for cancer therapy, vaccine technology and synthetic biology.
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in chemistry/ material science/ biochemistry/ polymer science/ nanotechnology/ emulsion science etc. |
| Scientific experience |
| Prior experience in colloid, polymer and emulsion science. Experience in microscopy and spectroscopy methods. More than ten scientific publications. |
| Skills |
| SEM, confocal microscopy, FTIR, particles synthesis and modification, emulsions preparation, lumisizer, DLS, plate reader. |
Department of Postharvest Science
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| Termosensing of plants and postharvest organs |
In our research group, we use targeted genomics to study the response of potato plants to extreme temperatures. We are interested in the temperature sensing mechanism and metabolism response of the plant and tuber to extreme temperatures during growth and postharvest. In this context, we study mainly sugar metabolism, dormancy release, and apical dominance. We use genome editing tools for research and for developing new cultivars which are abiotic stress-tolerant.
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| Education requirements |
| PhD in biology or agriculture |
| Scientific experience |
| Plant molecular physiology |
| Skills |
| Molecular biology, tissue culture, bioinformatics |
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| ALKAN NOAM |
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Team:Dr. Michal Oren Shamir, Prof. Yigal Elad. |
| Studying fruits defense response to biotic and abiotic stress using omics tools. |
We found that preharvest and postharvest application of phenylalanine induce fruit resistance to postharvest fungal pathogens and chilling. The proposed project aim to study the fruit-fungal pathogens interaction and tolerance mechanism of induction fruit secondary metabolism, defense response to both pathogens and chilling using transcriptomic and metabolomic tools.
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| Education requirements |
| Ph.D. in biology |
| Scientific experience |
| knowledge in biotechnology and phytopathology, knowledge in host-pathogen interaction, biotic and abiotic stress. |
| Skills |
| Transcriptomics and matabolomics analysis, GC-MS, qPCR. |
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| Development of a whole-cell biosensor for real-time detection and monitoring of crops quality |
This project aims to develop a sensor that will integrate whole-cell genetically modified bioreporters with commercially available active pixel sensor probes to provide a simple, portable and cost-efficient solution and provide real-time, localized, and continuous monitoring of crop quality during all post-harvest stages.
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| Education requirements |
| Finished PhD |
| Scientific experience |
| Preference will be given to those with experience in one or more of the following requirements: PhD degree in natural sciences / engineering / biotechnology / chemistry, experience in diagnostics, experience of working with molecular biology methods, basic experience in microbiology |
| Skills |
| Bio/sensors, microbiology, Molecular biology |
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| Role of Autophagy in Postharvest Fruit Ripening and Chilling Tolerance |
The research will include molecular, biochemical and cellular analysis of autophagy activity during ripening and chilling tolerance in tomato and banana fruits. furthermore, we will apply natural, eco-friendly, autophagy-inducing compounds and genome editing tools to test whether autophagy is able to prolong fruit shelf-life and improve fruit quality.
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| Education requirements |
| Ph.D. in biology |
| Scientific experience |
| Biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology |
| Skills |
| Special experience and knowledge in confocal imaging is required. |
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| Study the role of monoterpene in fruit postharvest |
Monoterpenes are a secondary metabolites subgroup from the terpenes family responsible for the aroma, flavor, and plant interaction with the environment. This project will focus on the role of monoterpenes in fruit postharvest including molecular characterization and metabolic profiling in different fruit tissue (cuticle, skin, flesh, seeds). The research will try to elucidate the limiting factors governing the accumulation of monoterpenes to develop enriched-monoterpene fruits.
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| Education requirements |
| PhD |
| Scientific experience |
| Molecular biology, GC/MS and VOCs analysis, terpene biosynthesis and regulation |
| Skills |
| English level - professional, writing papers and statistical software (e.g., JMP) |
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| Utilization of groundnut processing waste as a source of active natural compounds for controlling disease agents in agriculture and food |
The internal skins of groundnuts are underutilized byproducts of the processing industry. At the same time, they are very rich in biologically active natural substances, primarily phenolics. In the previous work, we demonstrated the inhibitory activity of the groundnut waste ingredients against several microbial species. In the present project, our team will optimize the extraction of the active compounds, characterize them, and prepare the active fraction in amount sufficient for activity tests run by the partners. We will also test the effect of the active fraction(s) on postharvest quality of fruits and vegetables.
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| Education requirements |
| Ph.D. in biology, chemistry, biochemistry or food science |
| Scientific experience |
| Extraction and characterization of plant products, preferably phenolic compounds, in particular tannins |
| Skills |
| Extraction methods, fractioning and isolation of plant materials, chromatography in particular HPLC (required), spectroscopic analytical techniques. |
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| Updated on: 17/05/22 12:07 |
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