Scholarship in honor of Ari Kushner Dunietz

 

Donated by: 

Helen Deller
Adriel Deller  
Alexis Deller-Kushner
Joseph, Robert and Simon Kushner Deller  

 

 

The Ari Kushner prize for graduate students seeks to promote a vibrant exchange of knowledge between Israeli scientists and their peers from the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, as a means of solving burning issues in the conservation and protection of this unique, endangered area.

 

The Galápagos Islands have experienced growing threats and challenges, in particular the degradation of the local ecosystem due to anthropogenic changes and the introduction of invasive species. If we are to efficiently safeguard these culturally rich pristine islands, it is crucial to find alternative ways to understand—and ultimately mitigate—these challenges. Scientists from Israeli universities have the knowledge, expertise, and strong motivation to contribute significantly to the global efforts to protect the Galápagos Islands from diverse perspectives. 

 

Ari Kushner z'l was a lion. Strong in his convictions, fierce in loving his family and friends, and voracious in his appetite for leaning. He fell in love with Ecuador after visiting it with his future wife, Alexis. After traveling the country extensively he appreciated its natural beauty and rich flora and fauna. A Zionist, he was fiercely proud of his heritage and of his beloved Israel. Ari found great joy in the technological and scientific prowess that helped define modern Israel. He consumed as much of the research that was produced as he could, loving learning along the way and engaging in the subject matter at depth. Ari passed away after a courageous battle against cancer. He leaves behind his wife Alexis, his children Joseph, Robert and Simon. 

 

May Ari’s legacy endure in others’ learning, research and discoveries.
 

 

Prize details

Each year two talented graduate students from participating institutes will be awarded up to $3500 to cover their travel, accommodation and research expenses in the Galápagos Islands. Students are expected to stay up to 12 weeks and conduct a research project in collaboration with a local scientist.  Upon their return, fellowship participants will need to submit a report of their activities, which will be used for research purposes in addition to being shared with fellowship donors. All products that result from the collaboration will ensure that the appropriate co-authorship is given to those who participate in the study.

 

The prize will be awarded for five years with the possibility of extension depending on successful projects

 

 

 

 

Areas of research
 

Fellowship recipients will conduct research in one or more of the following main themes:
 

Biodiversity and conservation (marine or terrestrial)
Threats and challenges of island ecosystems
Sustainability and innovation for the Galápagos Islands

For any further information please contact Prof. Noa Shenkar shenkarn@tauex.tau.ac.il

 

 

Selection committee

 

Tel Aviv University

PROF. NOA SHENKAR

Committee Chair; School of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Israel National Center for Biodiversity Studies
 

PROF. DROR AVISAR

Head of the Water Research Center & Head of the Hydrochemistry Research Group, School of Environment & Earth Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences

 

Hebrew University

PROF. ALIZA FLEISCHER

Vice Dean for International Affairs & Head of The International School of Agricultural Sciences, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food & Environment
 

PROF. BOAZ YUVAL

Morris and Helen Mauerberger Chair in Agricultural Entomology, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food & Environment

 

Ben-Gurion University

PROF. SIGAL  ABRAMOVICH

Chair-Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the 

Former President of the Geological Society of Israel 

 

Award recipients
 

2024-2025

 

Shachaf Ben Ezra is a Ph.D. candidate at The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar Ilan University, under the supervision of Professors Oren Levy and Lior Appelbaum. Her research focuses on the ecological impacts of artificial light at night on coral reef ecosystems.
 

In the Galapagos, Shachaf aims to integrate satellite imagery, underwater light measurements, and ecological field surveys, in collaboration with local researchers, to establish a baseline for future studies on the effects of light pollution on both terrestrial and marine ecosystems in the remote islands. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dana Goldwasser is an M.Sc. student in the School of Zoology at Tel Aviv University. She is researching the richness and diversity of the sponge community in the Galapagos Islands under the supervision of Prof. Micha Ilan. Her research in the Galapagos began prior to receiving this grant and, in addition to ecological studies, also involves taxonomy due to the limited knowledge of species in the Galapagos. Preliminary results show that there are new species that await discovery and description. Receiving this grant will allow expanding the surveys of Galapagos' sponge communities and deepen our understanding of their ecology.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2023-2024 

 

Shahar Dubiner is a PhD student in the School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, researching the ecological drivers of physiological changes in reptiles under the supervision of Prof. Shai Meiri and Prof. Eran Levin.

His project in the Galapagos Science Center focus on how the endemic marine iguana Amblyrhynchus cristatus shifts its metabolism and thermoregulation during El Niño events to cope with sea warming-induced food shortage.

 

 

Shahar Dubiner 

 

Omri Nahor is a Ph.D. candidate from the University of Haifa, conducting his research under the guidance of Dr. Tal Luzzatto Knaan the head of the Metabolomic lab, and Dr. Alvaro Israel from the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research (IOLR) Institute.

Omri is investigating the invasive red marine macroalgae, Asparagopsis taxiformis, in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. His study encompasses various aspects, including the algae's origin and cryptogenic status, as well as its microbiome and metabolomics, conducted through a two-year survey. In the Galapagos, Omri aims to determine the local invasive Asparagopsis sp. origin and cryptogenic status and to establish a molecular seaweed monitoring program.