Ari Kushner Dunietz Fellowship 2026

 

 

Donated by: 

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

 

Click here to apply for the award >>

 

Ari Kushner Dunietz Fellowship 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, one exceptional graduate student from the participating institutes will be awarded a prestigious fellowship of USD 10,000 to support research activities in the Galápagos Islands. The award is intended to cover travel, accommodation, and field or laboratory costs.

The award allows for a research stay of up to three months (12 weeks) in the Galápagos Islands and may be used flexibly, including more than one research visit, if scientifically justified. The research must be conducted within one year if multiple trips are required The selected fellow will conduct an original research project in the Galápagos, contributing both to scientific knowledge and to the conservation and sustainable management of this unique ecosystem.

 

Fellowship Purpose and Scope

 

This fellowship is intended for outstanding graduate students who demonstrate:

 

    *Academic excellence and scientific rigor

    *Creativity and intellectual curiosity

    *A genuine commitment to nature conservation in the Galápagos

    *Strong motivation for international collaboration and knowledge exchange between Ecuador and Israel

 

Emphasis on Collaboration and Long-Term Partnership

A clear, substantive, and well-defined collaboration with a local scientist or research institution in the Galápagos is a central component of the fellowship and a key criterion in the evaluation process.

Applicants must identify a local sponsor (institution or individual scientist) who will support the project by providing, as appropriate, logistical assistance, access to equipment, laboratory or field facilities, and scientific guidance. The involvement of a local partner is essential for the success of the research.

Applicants are required to explicitly and in detail describe the proposed collaboration, including:

 

    *The type of research activities to be conducted (e.g., fieldwork, laboratory experiments, long-term monitoring, analytical or modeling work)

    *Where the work will take place and with whom

     *How responsibilities, expertise, and scientific contributions will be shared between the fellow, the local partner in Ecuador, and the Israeli research group

 

Proposals should clearly articulate how the fellowship will strengthen long-term scientific ties between research groups in Israel and Ecuador, including the potential for continued collaboration beyond the fellowship period.

 

Reporting, Outreach, and Acknowledgment

Upon completion of the fellowship, the awardee must submit a final report within three months of returning to Israel, summarizing research activities, outcomes, and collaborative achievements. The report will be used for internal purposes and may be shared with fellowship donors.

The fellow is also expected to contribute to scientific outreach by delivering:

 

     *public lecture in Quito, Ecuador

     *seminar at their home institute upon returning to Israel.

 

All scientific products resulting from the fellowship (including publications, datasets, reports, or presentations) must acknowledge the fellowship support and ensure appropriate co-authorship and credit for all collaborators involved.

 

Additional Conditions

If none of the submitted proposals meet the fellowship’s scientific and collaborative standards, the fellowship funds will be returned to the fund and carried forward to the following year. In exceptional cases, and at the discretion of the prize committee, the fellowship may be awarded to two candidates.

 

Deadline: 1/5/2026

 

Click here to apply for the award >> 

 

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
 

2025 

 

Shira Landman is a PhD student in the New Environmental School, Tel Aviv University, researching sustainable end-of-life solutions for plastic waste under the supervision of Prof. Ines Zucker.

Her project at USFQ, in collaboration with Prof. Pieter van 't Hof of the Faculty of Biological , focuses on how plastic waste, as an anthropogenic stressor, shapes the diversity and function of microbial communities across marine and coastal environments of the Galápagos archipelago. 

By characterizing the plastisphere in one of the world's most ecologically significant ecosystems, this research can serve as an indicator of broader ecological disruption caused by plastic pollution, supporting evidence-based conservation efforts to protect the archipelago's unique biodiversity.

 

 

 

Hagai Nativ is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Haifa, under the supervision of Professor Tali Mass. His research focuses on the resilience and physiological performance of coral holobionts in extreme marine environments.

In the Galapagos, Hagai aims to address significant knowledge gaps regarding unstudied coral habitats, including deep reefs and offshore seamounts. By integrating advanced photogrammetry, genetic connectivity analysis, and cutting-edge underwater fluorescence techniques, the study will assess benthic assemblages and coral recruitment patterns. In collaboration with Prof. Inti Keith from the Charles Darwin Foundation, this research seeks to identify unique, highly tolerant genotypes in extreme habitats, providing local park managers with essential data to enforce effective conservation policies in the face of rapid climate change.

 

 

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's study in the Galapagos Island: 
Changes in marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) heart rates suggest reduced metabolism during El Nino events

https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jzo.13254?af=R

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.