Faculty of Natural Sciences

It’s our honor that many of our students and colleagues took part in the Israeli Society of Physiology & Pharmacology (ISPP) Annual meeting that took place last Tuesday the 20th of September on University of Haifa campus, featuring many great scientists from academia, industry, and medicine who are actively engaged in research, teaching and application of the disciplines of physiology and pharmacology. Giving young promising students the opportunity to present their work. ... See MoreSee Less

+6

🧬בואו להכיר את הסטודנטית לדוקטורט מריאנה אנדראויס, ממעבדת פרופ' גיל עצמון בחוג ביולוגיה של האדם, אוניברסיטת חיפה.
🧬هيا بنا نتعرف على باحثة الدكتوراه مريانا اندراوس من مختبر البروفيسور غيل عتسمون لعلم الوراثة والابيجينتيكا للشيخوخة من برنامج بيولوجيا الانسان, جامعة حيفا.

"My name is Mariana Andrawus, I’m a Ph.D. student in Prof. Gil Atzmon's lab in the department of human biology at the University of Haifa. Our lab research focuses on the genetics and epigenetics of aging and longevity.
I received my bachelor's degree in laboratory medical science at Hadassah College, Jerusalem. After graduation, I worked in a chemistry lab at Poriah hospital for almost a year. Then, I moved to Haifa city and started my current job at a chemistry lab in Bnai Zion Hospital Center.
I wanted to continue my education so I started to check out opportunities, starting with my master's and then Ph.D. degree.
My Ph.D. research is focusing on the similarities between aging and pregnancy.
From my journey in Prof. Atzmon’s lab, I have learned a lot and acquired opportunities and experiences. I have to apply the knowledge that I gained in the lab and my passion for doing research while continuing to work in tangible ways. Along my educational journey, I learned how to use science research skills and apply them in order to conduct information research.
Publications
doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2020.101093
PMID: 32344118, DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2020.110952
IJMS: Epigenetics and Pregnancy: Conditional Snapshot or Rolling Event- Awaiting publication.
#epigeneticscience #ageing #ageing #epigeneticsresearch #biologylab #reasercher #phdjourney #phdlife #phd #studentlife #biology #students #research ... See MoreSee Less

🧬let's meet our PhD candidate Mariana Andrawus from Prof. Gil Azmon laboratory of genetics, aging and longevity lab, the Department of Human Biology.
🧬בואו להכיר את הסטודנטית לדוקטורט מריאנה אנדראויס, ממעבדת פרופ' גיל עצמון בחוג ביולוגיה של האדם, אוניברסיטת חיפה.
🧬هيا بنا نتعرف على باحثة الدكتوراه مريانا اندراوس من مختبر البروفيسور غيل عتسمون لعلم الوراثة والابيجينتيكا للشيخوخة من برنامج بيولوجيا الانسان, جامعة حيفا.

"My name is Mariana Andrawus, I’m a Ph.D. student in Prof. Gil Atzmon's lab in the department of human biology at the University of Haifa. Our lab research focuses on the genetics and epigenetics of aging and longevity.
I received my bachelor's degree in laboratory medical science at Hadassah College, Jerusalem. After graduation, I worked in a chemistry lab at Poriah hospital for almost a year. Then, I moved to Haifa city and started my current job at a chemistry lab in Bnai Zion Hospital Center.
I wanted to continue my education so I started to check out opportunities, starting with my master's and then Ph.D. degree.
My Master's Research\study focused on genetics and epigenetics of aging. The main topic of the study was “The effect of environmental stressors on candidate aging-associated genes” and it was published as an article.

My Ph.D. research is focusing on the similarities between aging and pregnancy. During pregnancy, pregnant women undergo significant physiological and pathological changes as well as an aging process like cardiovascular and endocrine changes, altered metabolic levels, and skeletal and bone density changes. We intend to systematically assess the contribution of epigenetic as well as epigenomic changes (methylation pattern) across pregnancy (1st trimester, 2nd trimester, and 3rd trimester), aiming to identify and examine causes of reversible changes that occur in pregnancy that are irreversible in aging.
From my journey in Prof. Atzmon’s lab, I have learned a lot and acquired opportunities and experiences. I have to apply the knowledge that I gained in the lab and my passion for doing research while continuing to work in tangible ways. Along my educational journey, I learned how to use science research skills and apply them in order to conduct information research.
Furthermore, to enrich my horizons, I have kept up to date with related industries and learned to use relevant software tools, even if they weren’t directly relevant to my PhD. I have engaged in side-projects which gave me an opportunity to learn new and interesting things."

Publications
doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2020.101093
PMID: 32344118, DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2020.110952
IJMS: Epigenetics and Pregnancy: Conditional Snapshot or Rolling Event- Awaiting publication.
#universtyofhaifa #מדעיהטבע #epigenetics #epigeneticscience #ageing #ageing #epigeneticsresearch #biologylab #reasercher #phdjourney #phdlife #phd #studentlife #biology #students #campus #research #researcher #researchlife #epigeneticscience #epigenetics #מדעיהטבע ... See MoreSee Less

🧠 Let's meet our Master's student from Prof. Gal Richter Levin lab, Amir Benhos.
🧠 הכירו את המסטרנט אמיר פנחוס במעבדת פרופ' גל ריכטר לוין, מהחוג סגול לנוירוביולוגיה, אוניברסיטת חיפה
🧠 هيا بنا نتعرف على باحث القب الثاني من مختبر بروفيسور غال ريختر لافين, الباحث امير بينحوس من برنامج سغول لعلوم البيولوجيا العصبية.

📢Let's hear Amir Benhos experience in Prof. Gal Richter Levin lab, during his master studies:
"I am currently at my second year of my Master's degree at “The laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience”, which is part of “The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center” (IBBRC) headed by Prof. Gal Richter-Levin from Sagol Department of Neurobiology .
My journey began nearly a year ago in the lab. Since then, I've been learning the behavioral, electrophysiological, and molecular methods we use to understand the neurobiology of stress-vulnerability vs stress-resilience.
As I gain more practical experience and theoretical knowledge about the phenomenon of stress, I am even more fascinated by the field. Despite being at a relatively early stage in my studies, my experience in the lab has inspired me to consider researching the complex phenomenon that is stress as a career path."
Amir added and explained About his research:
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disabling neuropsychiatric disease, manifested by heterogenous symptoms affecting the functioning of most domains in life. Human and rodent studies have consistently documented that highly interconnected corticolimbic structures, such as the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex, are critical in PTSD development. However, it is important to note that most individuals exposed to trauma will not develop PTSD, indicating that resilience is the norm, and vulnerability to trauma and stress is the exception.
In spite of the lack of an in-depth understanding of the neurobiological networks underlying vulnerability to stress and trauma and how they are deregulated in anxiety disorders, studies have identified profound alterations in the pathways of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in this core circuitry. These include receptors for neuropeptides and neurotransmitters, decreased brain and blood levels, modified functions of interneurons and abnormal GABAergic neurosteroids levels. Animal models further indicate a bidirectional relationship between stress and the GABAergic system, as stress and trauma have been shown to alter GABAergic activity and plasticity; and vice-versa, specific changes in GABAergic function have been shown to have profound impact in determining the outcome of stress exposure, in terms of vulnerability vs resilience.
Bioenergetics and dietary restriction (DR)
Another salient aspect of stress relates to its impact on metabolism and energy balance. Owing to stress, animals are able to respond and survive in a threatening environment by activating various neural and endocrine systems. Stress, however, can cause a range of pathologies if it persists, including metabolic, inflammatory and oxidative stress alterations, which can compromise the neuronal excitation\inhibition balance, by impairing plasticity and cellular homeostatic-regulating mechanisms.
According to the "endangerment hypothesis", abnormal exposure to glucocorticoids leads to compromised bioenergetics, making neurons more vulnerable to the necrotic processes of low-grade oxidative-inflammatory-excitotoxic cascades occurring during stress. Indeed, a review of the literature of overfeeding protocols in animal models, demonstrates that metabolic disturbances elicit low-grade neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, which disrupt the excitation\inhibition balance. The behavioral and cognitive deficits in these models resembles the behavioral phenotype of stress related disorders. This suggest that compromised bioenergetics are not only associated with stress but might also contribute to stress-vulnerability. Indeed, research has shown that overfeeding coupled with psychogenic stress, intensifies behavioral, functional, and structural abnormalities caused by stress and metabolic disturbances via common mechanisms. We have reasons to believe, based on preliminary results, that the standard feeding protocol of rodents, (i.e., Ad libituim) is a low-grade/mild state of overfeeding.
Dietary restriction (DR-i.e., intermitted fasting and\or caloric restriction), on the other hand, tends to forestall the cascades discussed above, by enhancing bioenergetic pathways, and stimulating metabolic adaptation. Therefore, DR has gained much attention in the scientific literature because of its neuroprotective and cognitive enhancing effects. Moreover, DR has been shown to stabilize the excitation\inhibition balance by enhancing plasticity and augmenting GABAergic tone. In that sense, the enhanced bioenergetics of DR, can be thought of as a factor contributing to stress-resilience; yet, very few studies have assessed the stress-resistance related to DR outside the context of age-related cognitive decline, and models of neurodegeneration. The few studies that examined DR in a psychogenic context (elevated plus maze and open field tests), reported anxiolytic effects. However, since a stress induction protocol was not applied there, they cannot be regarded as models of stress-induced psychopathologies. Therefore my research thesis attempts first to assess the potential efficacy of DR in mitigating stress-induced emotional and cognitive behaviors in an animal model of PTSD. Secondly, to identify the neural alterations underlying the potential therapeutic efficacy of DR in this model.
Because in real life only some individuals exposed to a trauma will develop psychopathology, a critical point in animal studies is to move away from analyzing the averages of the exposed and non-exposed groups. Thus, a more individual characterization of each animal as being pathologically ‘affected’ or not is performed in the present study. Towards that end, a “Behavioral Profiling” tool is applied where animals are examined over batteries of tests that cover several behavioral faculties, in order to achieve a more reliable profiling of each individual. Individual profiling is thus translated into being ‘affected’ or ‘non-affected’ within the stress-exposed population, in a similar way to diagnosis in humans.
With that type of analysis, we will then differentiate between animals that recovered and those that did not recover following the DR intervention. This will support our second aim: to identify those neural alterations connected to an ‘affected’ or ‘unaffected’ behavioral phenotype, and correlate these newly detected ‘biomarkers’ with a potential therapeutic efficacy of DR."

#neurobiology # #neurobiology ##universityuniversity #haifa #biology #biology #research #ResearchMatters #Biologist #neurobiology #biologystudent #ביולוגיה #anxiety #anxietyisreal #anxietyresearch #PTSD #ptsdtherapy #ptsdresearch #ptsdresearchstudy #behaivor #behaivoralhealth ... See MoreSee Less

📢Prof. Nir Sapir's lab members from the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, participated in the 3rd International Radar Aeroecology Conference (IRAC 2022) in Davos, Switzerland.
📢 החוקרים במעבדה של פרופ' ניר ספיר בחוג לביולוגיה אבולוציונית וסביבתית, השתתפו והציגו פרויקטי מחקר שלהם במסגרת הכנס השלישי של IRAC 2022 שהציג את נושא המחקר אקולוגי באמצעות מכ"ם אשר התקיים בדאבוס שבשווייץ.
החברים שהרצו בכנס מהמעבדה היו: פרופ' ניר ספיר, ענבל שקלר (דוקטורנטית), יובל ורבר (דוקטורנט) וצפרא אברה שהציגה פוסטר בכנס (מאסטרנטית).
📢 افراد مختبر البروفيسور نير سبير شاركوا وقدموا مشاريعهم البحثية بالمؤتمر الثالث لعلم الطيران بالرادار الدولي الذي انعقد في دافوس ، سويسرا
#students #student #studentproject #poster #sciencefiction #scienceposter #PhD #undergradstudents #biology #biologystudent #biologynotes #מדעיהטבעוהחיים #ביולוגיהזההחיים ##universtyofhaifa #university #environmentfriendly #PHD #phdlife #phdcandidate #conference #RAC2022 #rac2022 #conference2022 #conferencespeaker ... See MoreSee Less

+