Project partner #6

NAME OF THE ORGANIZATION: University of Haifa, Israel

MAIN CONTACT FOR GoJELLY: Dr. Dror Angel, dangel@univ.haifa.ac.il

ADDRESS:
The Leon Recanati Institute of Maritime Studies
Multi-Purpose Building, Room 005
199 Aba Khoushy Ave.
Mount Carmel, Haifa
Israel Zip code: 3498838

WEBSITE: TBA

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANIZATION:
The University of Haifa (UoH) provides academic and research facilities to all sectors of Israeli society. The research at UoH is carried out in forty research institutes and centers which enable ample interdisciplinary work. UoH was chosen by the State of Israel to lead the Mediterranean Sea Research Center of Israel (MERCI), a consortium of seven universities, a college and two governmental research institutes.

The Applied Marine Biology and Ecology Research (AMBER) laboratory is the only research group in Israel and one of very few in the world conducting interdisciplinary research on natural and human dimensions of marine ecosystems, in particular those related to marine ecology and environmental economics. Under the direction of Dr. Dror Angel, the group has participated in numerous consortia as well as collaborations with industry. Besides, the AMBER group is heavily involved in citizen science and science communication projects, where its students and faculty members participate in educational initiatives on an ongoing basis. The lab members work with public and are frequently approached by both national and international radio and television stations with respect to jellyfish and microplastics pollution.

COMPETENCES AND INVOLVEMENT in GoJelly
The University of Haifa has access to the sea, a research vessel, a maritime workshop with diving facilities, access to standard and state of the art oceanographic sampling gear, dry and wet laboratories for chemical, geological and biological analyses. The university has facilities and dormitories to host seminars, research project meetings and larger conferences.

The AMBER group has strong ties with commercial fishermen to facilitate fishing and harvesting of jellyfish.

Within the GoJelly Project, the AMBER Lab at UoH will participate in the following Work Packages (WP’s):

  • WP2: Driving mechanisms and predictions of jellyfish blooms
  • WP3:  Sustainable harvesting & aquaculture of jellyfish
  • WP4: Developing protocols for handling and processing of jellyfish
  • WP5: Development of microplastic pollutant filter using jellyfish mucus
  • WP6: Development of products from jellyfish biomass
  • WP7: Socio-ecological analyses of jellyfish blooms and of microplastic pollution
  • WP8: Marketing und Exploitation of Jellyfish Goods
  • WP9: Dissemination of project’s results and communication with local stakeholders

Team members

Dror Angel, PhD, Principal Investigator


Dror Angel is a marine ecologist with considerable experience in plankton and benthic studies, focusing mainly on invertebrates and on marine microbes. He has a passion for gelatinous zooplankton and an interest in what enables many of these taxa to form blooms. He has been involved in many aquaculture projects, especially in the context of environmental interactions with and sustainable aspects of mariculture.

Philip Nemoy, PhD, marine ecologist
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Philip_Nemoy

The manager of AMBER Laboratory since 2016, providing technical support, experimental design, data management and outreach activities.

Dori Edelist, PhD
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dor_Edelist2

A marine biologist from the University of Haifa, Israel, with a keen interest in jellyfish. Dori’s expertise are Fisheries and Non-Indigenous Species. Dori specializes in the Eastern Mediterranean ecosystem – a biome that have shown to be the most invaded marine area on the planet.

Zafrir Kuplik, PhD
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zafrir_Kuplik

Zafrir Kuplik obtained his PhD in 2017 from the University of Haifa, Israel. His research interests include various ecological aspects of the notorious nomadic scyphomedusa, Rhopilema nomadica, mainly its diet, metabolic demands and life cycle in the Israeli coastal waters.

Shirra Freeman, PhD
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shirra_Freeman

Shirra’s research spans economics, decision science and risk assessment related to environmental health.   She has worked in the areas of sustainable aquaculture, plastic pollution and chemical exposures and is especially interested in evidence-based policy and decision making.  She joins GoJelly as part of the University of Haifa’s team where her primary role is in environmental economic assessments of water treatment technologies to prevent the discharge of micro plastics into aquatic ecosystems.

Noam van der Hal, MSc
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Noam_Van_Der_Hal

PhD student, studying the effects of microplastics on marine biota.

Launched the first study on the distribution of microplastics in the Eastern Mediterranean. Focuses on the accumulation of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP’s) in marine species through the digestion of microplastics. Noam dedicates his life in achieving a more sustainable society.

Hila Dror, Msc


Hila is a mother of 3, and she focuses on keeping the oceans alive and functioning for the next generations. She is interested in all forms of marine life and the human impact on the marine environment. From 2018 Hila joins the AMBER lab as a PhD student.