Table of Contents
Department of Animal Sciences
The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture,
Food & Environment
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
P.O. Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Lab members
Dr. Sharon Elizur-Schlesinger – PI
Sharon.shle@mail.huji.ac.il
In the Schlesinger lab, we study epigenetic reprogramming following fertilization. In particular, we are interested in the process leading to the formation of heterochromatin de novo and silencing of transposable elements and retroviruses. We use embryonic stem (ES) cells from mice and from farm animals to get a deeper understanding of the general characteristics of pluripotency in all mammalian cells.
Shadi Tawil - CSO & CTO of the cultured meat consortium technology pilot
The cultivated meat consortium, one of the biggest in the world, was established by the Israel Innovation Authority on June 2022. A huge collaboration between the business sector and academia, the aim of the consortium is to develop innovative production methods on an industrial and efficient scale. The focus is on developing technologies for cell growth for muscle and fat, bioreactor technologies, and scaffold technologies in order to provide Israel's cultivated meat industry, with a competitive advantage on international markets.
Ivana Ribarski-Chorev – PhD student
Ivana.Ribarski-Chorev@mail.huji.ac.il
I am working on bovine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Due to their capacity to differentiate, and their anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive abilities, they are in the focus of research related to many fields (e.g. medicine, regenerative medicine, cultured meat).
Ayellet Tal – PhD student
Embryonic stem cells (ESC) have the ability to suppress retroviral sequences and interfere with their expression. In my research, I use gene manipulations to study the role of Histone 3.3, which bears the chromatin marks for suppression, in retroviral silencing.
Gisele Schudy - MSc student
In my research, I aim to define and establish a protocol for reprogramming bovine adult cells to pluripotency (ESC-like cells, or biPSC). Derivation of bovine pluripotent cells can be applied in drug selection, human disease modeling, and agriculture‐related applications. Using pluripotent stem cells will allow us to study the effects of stress on reproduction, advance the cultured meat industry, or develop regenerative medicine in the medical and veterinary fields.
Alon Gershkoviz - MSc student
alon.gershkoviz@mail.huji.ac.il
In my research, I am working on differentiation of mesenchymal stem-cells to muscle tissue on a cellulose-collagen scaffold for cultured meat purposes. The scaffold we develop has a fibrous structure, which is important for myogenic differentiation and mimics the fibrous structure of meat. Also, the scaffold contains cellulose binding domain-growth factors that allow for increased economy and spatial specificity.
Dafna Shpatz - MSc student
In my research I attempt to adopt MSC culture to 3D conditions, in order to upscale their propagation. I will study how the geometry and composition of the culture influence growth, differentiation, growth factor requirements, gene expression and cell-cell communication.
Ilan Brajzblat - MSc student
My purpose is to develop a new kind of bioreactor suited to the cultivated meat industry. This will hopefully allow us to experiment new protocols of cells cultivation and differentiation and bring us closer to a sustainable process of meat production.
Undergrads working in the lab:
Yarden Ben Hamo
Adar Kfir
Alumni
Yaniv Alon (MSc)
Liad Margalit – (MSc)
Jose David Aguirre Aguilera – (MSc)
Dr. Myah Goldstein – (Post-Doc)
Chen Shimoni - – (MSc)
Igor Bren – (MSc)