People

Prof. Smadar Ben-Tabou de-Leon obtained her PhD degree at the Racah Institute of Physics, at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, on the optical properties of thin layers of semiconductors. She then did her first post-doctorate fellowship on the use of porous silicon surfaces for the detection of neural activity, under the supervision of Prof. Amir Sa’ar at the Hebrew University. In her second post-doctorate at the lab of Prof. Eric Davidson at Caltech, she made the transition to developmental and evolutionary biology and investigated the regulatory networks that drive the development of the sea urchin embryo. In 2012 she started her own laboratory at the University of Haifa, where she studies the biological regulation of biomineralization in the sea urchin larva. Her lab discovered that the molecular control of the sea urchin larval skeleton is similar to the regulation of blood vessel formations in vertebrates and humans. This illuminates how biomineralization evolved rapidly by co-opting ancestral developmental programs for organic scaffolds. Prof. Ben-Tabou de-Leon is currently the head of the Department of Marine Biology at the Charney School of Marine Sciences. She has published more than 30 peer-reviewed papers in theoretical and applied physics and biological sciences. Her work significantly contributed to the understanding of the genetic and cellular regulation of developmental processes and to the evolution of biomineralization. She is an associate editor of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution and Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. She is married, has four kids, and two cats and in her spare time she likes playing Pokemon Go, jogging and hiking. 

Dr. Tsvia Gildor graduated from the Biology department at the Technion with a Master's degree in Leishmaniasis. In her PhD, she studied the recognition of proteins by the ubiquitin degradation system under the supervision of Prof. Daniel Kornitzer at the Medicine faculty of the Technion. She then continued to study liver cirrhosis in mice and returned to Kornitzer's lab for a postdoctoral fellowship to build and study a Candida Albicans phosphatase/kinases overexpression library. In 2012, she joined Smadar Ben-Tabou de-Leon's lab, and they have been working together ever since.

She loves microscopy, molecular biology, sea urchins, and teaching students how to do their best science. She enjoys outreach to anyone interested in the Mediterranean Sea, science, or nature. She likes to hike with her family: her husband, three children, and two dogs. In her free time, she practices theater, Pilates, and participates in various social activities.

My name is Majed Layous, and I am a final-year PhD student in the lab. Development biology has always fascinated me. How does a single cell become a multicellular organism? How does the genetic code drive morphogenesis? My curiosity about these questions led me to join the laboratory of Prof. Smadar Ben Tabou de-Leon, where I investigate the molecular mechanisms that control developmental processes. I joined the lab in 2017 as a master's student and then stayed to continue my PhD. In the lab, I study how gene regulatory networks and cytoskeletal remodeling dynamics control sea urchin skeletogenesis. Specifically, I focus on how the key cytoskeletal remodeling protein, Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK), and environmental stiffness regulate skeletal growth and morphology in vitro, in skeletogenic cell culture. In my research, I use high-resolution and live-imaging microscopy to study the dynamics of skeletal elongation. My studies show that both ROCK and substrate stiffness play important roles in skeletal elongation and morphology in vitro. I hope that my work will illuminate the molecular mechanisms that sense environmental stiffness and translate it into the modulation of skeletal morphology and skeletogenic gene regulatory network.

My name is Aleksei Tabachnik, I am Ole Hadash born in Moscow in 1997 and a 1st year PhD student in the lab. I graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University with a Bachelor's in Invertebrate Zoology in 2018 and a Master's in Biophysics in 2020. My work is focused on the role of Erk signalling in controlling biomineral growth and morphology during larval skeletogenesis of the Mediterranean sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus. My hobbies include science fiction and skiing (although the last one is not very accessible).

My name is Prashant Tewari, and I am from India. I have a bachelor's degree in biotechnology. In my bachelor's thesis, I gained experience in plant tissue culture and cryopreservation, and I worked on the genetic stability analysis of cryopreserved Fragaria species. After that, I moved to the RED lab at Haifa University to pursue my master's degree. I am currently in the second year of my master's degree in marine biology. I am fascinated by how a single cell can develop into a multicellular organism. How is cell fate determined? What kind of regulation is taking place? My current work focuses on identifying actomyosin remodelling genes that play a key role in sea urchin skeletogenesis. My project aims to understand how common actomyosin remodelling proteins such as Cdc42 and Pak regulate biomineral growth and morphology in invertebrates. I get to use cool techniques like immunohistochemistry and gene cloning to study different genes! In the lab, you can find me humming Taylor Swift songs (even outside the lab). When I am not in the lab, I am either travelling to explore this beautiful country or dancing away at a party! Occasionally, you can find me with a book (I enjoy reading), or in the kitchen, as I love to show off my culinary skills by mastering scrumptious recipes.

My name is Daniel Goloe, and I am from Ghana. I did my bachelor's in agriculture biotechnology. For my bachelor's research project, I work on the somatic embryogenesis of Irvingia gabonensis. Then I moved to Israel for my masters' studies. Currently, I am in the second year of my master’s degree in Marine Biology. My research in the lab focuses on Transforming growth factor Beta (TGF-β), and its role in sea urchin’s larval skeletogenesis. The Transforming Growth Factor Beta signalling plays a crucial role in bone formation in vertebrates. The TGF-β pathway is highly conserved in the animal kingdom, which makes it intriguing to study its role in biomineralization in invertebrates’ model systems. When not in the lab I like to spend time listening to African music and catching up with my friends.  

My name is Areen Qassem and I am a second year Master student. My project is focused on the role of microtubules in skeletal growth. I'm very cool and I need to fill my details here.  Too busy taking fabulous images in the confocal, sorry!

My name is Tovah Nehrer and I am a first-year master student in the lab.  My project is focused on Erk role as a trasducer of growth factors and mechanical signals into gene expression. I'm too busy catching shiny snorlax, I'll update soon.

My name is Shanduo Chen and I am a first year Master student in the lab. I'm the only one that has a really good reason not to update my information here: my first son was just born!