Dr. Ayelet Goldstein

Senior Lecturer, Medical laboratory Science Internship coordinator, Second year academic counselor, Head of Excellency committee, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Biotechnology

Dr. Ayelet Barenholz

Dr. Ayelet Barenholz lectures at the Neviim and Strauss campus in the departments of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology.

Dr. Ayelet Barenholz (PhD) Teaches in the field of General and Clinical Microbiology. In her teaching she integrates novel teaching methods such as flipped classroom.

"I received my bachelor’s degree in Biology at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Cum laude. I continued my studies in Prof. Bercovier’s laboratory at the Hebrew University Medical School, where I completed my MSc, Ph.D and Post Doctorate. My research is in applied science, focusing on medical microbiology, immunology and environmental science. The research I conducted has led to publications in those fields and to approved patent applications.

I started teaching at Hadassah College in 2007 as a lecturer in the departments of Biotechnology and Medical Laboratory Science."

Contact

ayeletba@hac.ac.il

Research fields of Dr. Ayelet Barenholz (PhD) focus on clinical microbiology and microbial ecology.

My research focuses on the field of applied science.

Cleaning of oil (petroleum) contaminated sands and soils using nano-liposomes:
The research focuses on improving the cleaning of oil contaminated soils and sands using nano-liposomes. Oil is one of the most common soil, sand and water contaminants. There is a need for cleaning agents that are environmentally friendly. In our work, we used Lecithin based liposomes, which are produced mostly from soy beans and thus are environmentally friendly.

Liposomes that are nano-sized can penetrate into the sand/soil and clean the oil contaminant using two methods, 1) Bioremediation and 2) Washing.

Bioremediation - A process in which the oil is naturally degraded by microorganisims. We have found that the liposomes enhance the bioremediation in oils contaminated soil (Barenholz A et al 2003).
Washing – A rapid method in which soils and sands are rinsed with surfactants. We have shown that lechitin based nano-liposomes improve washing of contaminated soils and sands (Barenholz A et al 2016).

Peptide mimics of microorganisms’ polysaccharides, immunological and protective characteristics.
The research focuses on peptides that mimic microorganisms’ polysaccharides. I have screened for a peptide that mimics mycobacterial mannosylated lipoarabinomannan (ManLAM) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This peptide showed two important properties:

The peptide binds antibodies from tuberculosis patients, thus suggested as a candidate for sera diagnosis (Barenholz A et al 2007, Bercovier H, Barenholz A., and Gershoni J. 2011)
The peptide has anti-inflammatory properties in murine models (Bercovier H. and Barenholz A. 2012).

Barenholz A., Barenholz Y., Bercovier H. Nano-liposomes of crude soy lecithin are effective for cleaning fuel-contaminated sands and soils. 2016. Expert Opin Environ Biol. View Full Article

Barenholz A. Hovav AH., Fishman Y., Rahav G., Gershoni JM., H.Bercovier. A peptide mimetic of the mycobacterial mannosylate lipoarabinomannan: characterization and potential applications. 2007. J Med Microbiol. View Full Article

Barenholz A., Fishel F, Yakir E, Gatt S, Barenholz Y, Bercovier H. Liposomes enhance bioremediation. 2003. J Liposome Res. 13:173-86. View Full Article

Proceedings of Conferences

Barenholz A., Hovav AH., Fishman Y., Rahav G., Gershoni JM., Bercovier H. A peptide mimotope of the mycobacterial mannosylated lipoarabinomannan (ManLAM) has antigenic and biological properties similar to the native Mycobacterium tuberculosis ManLAM. European Society of Mycobacteriology, 2004, Alghero-Sardinia, Italy.

Barenholz A., Munitz A., Bachelet I., Elnekave M., Levi-Schaffer F. and Bercovier H. A Peptide Mimotope of ManLAM with diagnostic applications and anti inflammatory properties. 2006. Biomed, Jerusalem, Israel.

Approved Patents

Bercovier H.,Barenholz A., and Gershoni J. 2011 Peptide mimotopes of mycobacterial mannosylated lipoglycans and uses thereof. US7,892,557 B2.

Bercovier H. and Barenholz A. 2012 Use of mycobacterial lipoglycans peptide mimotopes for treating inflammation. US8147837 B2. View Full Article