ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2024-2025

PUBLICATIONS 2025

Amanda
A chaperonin complex regulates organelle proteostasis in malaria parasites. Amanda Tissawak, et al and Anat Florentin. bioRxiv (2024) doi: 10.1101/2024.11.13.623364.

Diaa
New insights on the organic fouling mechanism of ultrafiltration membranes using hybrid QCM-D–LSPR. Diaa AbuKhadra, Yoram Oren, Moshe Herzberg. Journal of Membrane Science (2025) doi: 10.1016/j.memsci.2025.124044.

Keren
Nuclear roles of spliceosome-associated microRNAs in neuronal cancer cells. Shelly Mahlab-Aviv, Keren Or Swissa, Maram Arafat, Keren Zohar, Ayelet Rachel Peretz, Michal Linial, Ruth Sperling. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2025) 26(17):8349. doi: 10.3390/ijms26178349.

Aya
Identification of RNA binding proteins that mediate a quality control mechanism of splicing. Maram Arafat, Valer Gotea, M. I. Umar, Aya Muharram, Eyal Kamhi, Reuven Agami, J. Sperling, Markus Hafner, L. Elnitski, R. Sperling. bioRxiv (2025) doi:10.1101/2025.07.20.665773

Manar
Founder homozygous nonsense CREB3 variant and variable-onset retinal degeneration. M Salameh, et al JAMA Ophthalmol (2025) 143(8):692-701. 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2025.2187.

PRESENTATIONS 2025

Ahd

Immunocompetent Human Midbrain Organoids to Study Neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s Disease. January 2025. Israel Society for Neuroscience (ISFN), Eilat, Israel.

Arielle

Subsidizing Control: Governing Cattle Grazing, Rewilding, and Trespassing in Annexed Borderlands.  February 2025. Israeli Sociology Conference.

Diaa

Biofouling Mechanisms of Ultrafiltration Membranes: Generalizing Physical and Microbial Effects. Tennessee, 2025. North American Membrane Society Conference 

Hosniyah 

 The Different Functions of RTEL1 Variants in Telomere Maintenance. 2025. Annual Meeting of the Genetics Society of Israel, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel 

Noa

 HHS patient cells carrying RTEL1 bi-allelic mutations exhibit accelerated telomere shortening and cytoplasmic localization of nuclear factors. February 2025.

Annual Meeting of the Genetics Society, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. 

Shirly
Regulation of Metabolic Flow in the Apicoplast. August 27, 2025. PhDs & PostDocs Forum, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

Regulation of Metabolic Flow in the Apicoplast. September 8, 2025. MMG Departmental Retreat, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.

Shadi

  • Roundtable with Columbia University Delegation. My experience as a Palestinian researcher and how STEP supports my academic and personal journey. May 29, 2025

  • Meeting with LEAD Fellows (AFHU Leadership Program): Engaged with young Jewish-American professionals to discuss academia’s role in connection and leadership.

  • Meeting with Dutch Ambassador, Her Excellency Mariet Schuurman: Spoke about being an Arab student at HUJI and highlighted STEP as a model for meaningful coexistence.

PUBLICATIONS 2024

Manar

Genetic Analysis of 252 Index Cases with Inherited Retinal Diseases Using a Panel of 351 Retinal Genes. … M Salameh et al… Genes (Basel), 2024 Jul 16;15(7):926

Nina 

A pipeline for identifying guide RNA sequences that promote RNA editing of nonsense mutations that cause inherited retinal diseases. Schneider, N., et al, S. Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids (2024) Jan, 35(1). doi: 10.1016/j.omtn.2024.102130

Sara & Diala 

Protocol for mapping physiological dsbs using in-suspension break labeling in situ and sequencing.” …Oster, S., Shatleh, D…Aqeilan, R. I. STAR Protocols (2024) June, 5(2), 103059. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xpro.2024.103059 

PRESENTATIONS 2024

Amanda 

Regulation of proteostasis in the apicoplast of malaria parasite. 2024. Molecular Parasitology Meeting hosted by the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA.

Diala 

Studying DNA double strand breaks patterns in cancer cells under replication stress at the different stages of the cell cycle. July, 2024. Cancer Genome Structure and Dynamics Conference, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel.

Hoson and Noa

Telomere function and evolution in health and disease. 2024, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), Rome, Italy. 

SCOPUS Magazine, Vol. 69, 2024-2025. Featured in article, “A STEP in the Right Direction”. 

Diaa

LSPR-QCMD Study of UF Membrane Fouling Mechanisms. 2024. EuroMembrane Conference, Czech Republic. 

Manar

A founder homozygous nonsense mutation in CREB3 causes a variable retinal dystrophy in three North-African Jewish families. July, 2024. Oral presentation.The Israeli Society for Eye and Vision Research (ISVER) Israel. 

A homozygous nonsense variant in CREB3 causes a variable retinal dystrophy in four families. May, 2024. Oral presentation. Israeli Inherited Retinal Dystrophy Consortium (IIRDC), Israel. 

An intronic REEP6 variant affecting the splicing of a retina-specific exon causes autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa in Palestinian patients. May, 2024.

Poster presentation. The Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology (ARVO) Seattle, WA, USA. 

Nina 

The Interplay between ADAR-based RNA Editing and Splicing-related Variants in ABCA4. The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting (ARVO) Nina Schneider…, Dror Sharon. May, 2024. The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting (ARVO).. Seattle, WA, USA. Poster.

 ADAR-based RNA editing and splice-region variants in ABCA4. Israeli Society for Vision and Eye Research Conference (ISVER). Nina Schneider…Dror Sharon. Israeli Society for Vision and Eye Research (ISVER) meeting. Tel Aviv, Israel.