The Lab For neurobiology of social behavior
Prof. Shlomo Wagner
Head of laboratory
Dr. Shai Netser
Lab manager
Renad Jabarin
Ph.D. student
Rishika Tiwari
Ph.D. student
Shanah Rachel John
Ph.D. student
Adele Phalip
Ph.D. Student
Shelly Pal
Ph.D. student
Yizhaq Goussha
Ph.D. student
Using machine learning and deep learning tools to model and predict rodent vocal communications and behavioral patterns
Paritosh Jaiswal
Ph.D. student
I am originally from India. After obtaining a master's degree from Banaras Hindu University in Molecular and Human Genetics in my home country, I decided to challenge myself in a completely new research environment. Hence I decided to move to Israel. I am currently doing my Ph.D. under the joined guidance of Prof' Shlomo Wagner and Dr. Liza Barki-Harrington trying to answer the question of how acute social isolation causes social memory loss using rat as a model system. In my spare time, I enjoy doing sports and I try to travel whenever I have the chance.
Dr. Konstantinos Lygdas
Post-Doctoral fellow
I am a neurobiologist with a wide span of interests, some of which I have investigated in two different vertebrate models, zebrafish and mice. I had the opportunity to study sensory processing, sensorimotor adaptation, synaptic plasticity and simple learning using zebrafish in France and United Kingdom (German Sumbre and Anton Nikolaev labs). I transitioned to mammalian systems neuroscience while doing my first postdoc in Budapest, Hungary in the lab of Balazs Hangya. There I studied previously uncharacterized modulatory basal forebrain neurons using optrode electrophysiological recordings and behavioral measurements in the mouse during associative learning. I joined the Wagner lab at the University of Haifa fascinated by the idea of studying neuromodulatory circuits during various forms of social interactions. I aim to establish in vivo imaging (miniscope) and electro-physiological (optrode) recordings during social behaviors in order to get insights into real time computations of modulatory neurons contributing to social cognition.
Natalia Kopachev
Lab technician
Shorook Amara
Lab technician
David Peles
Ph.D. Student (Joint with Prof. Shani Stern)
My research is focused on finding potential food supplements that may ameliorate the neurologic symptoms of 7q11.23 Duplication Syndrome (Dup7) which is associated with Autism and social anxiety. I use both mouse models and patient-induced neurons which are derived from iPSCs.
Sarah Sheihk
M.Sc. Student
Tagreed suliman
M.Sc. Student
Bayan Hijazi
M.Sc. student
Having completed my degree in Biotechnology & Medical Science at the Tel-Hai Academic College. I am now advancing my academic pursuits with a master’s degree in Neurobiology. I chose this field out of a deep fascination for understanding the complexities of the brain and its role in social behavior and disorders, and its underlying genetic basis. Utilizing innovative techniques for neuronal cells immunolabeling in my project, we aim to identify and observe active cells in the brain. This approach allows us to map the complex neural networks that underlie social behaviors, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of social behavior and autism. By identifying these patterns of activation, we hope to shed light on the cellular basis of social behavior and offer new avenues for therapeutic strategies.
Claudio Jose Mendes Junior
Ph.D. Student
Born and raised in the northeast of Brazil, I hold a bachelor's degree in Biomedicine and a master's degree in Neuroengineering. Currently, my research focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms and behavioral responses of rats during social interaction after affiliative or aversive heterospecific interaction induced by tickling or poking. For this work, I utilize behavioral paradigms such as tickling, social preference, and fear conditioning, along with fiber photometry and analysis of ultrasonic vocalizations and behavior.
Alumni
Dr. Alok Nath Mohapatra – Ph.D. student
Dr. Shani Heskel – Post-Doctoral fellow
Dr. Michal Sheleg – Post-Doctoral fellow
Dr. Hala Harony – Post-Doctoral fellow
Dr. Hadar Shachar-Gold – Ph.D. student
Dr. Guy Shpak – Ph.D. student
Dr. Lilach Porat-Kuperstein – Ph.D. student
Dr. Rotem Gur – Ph.D. student
Dr. Alex Tendler – Ph.D. student
Shimrat Mamrut – M.Sc. student
Sharon Rustami – M.Sc. student
Dana Iron – M.Sc. student
Maya Kay – M.Sc. student
Noa Zor – M.Sc. student
Noam Leser – M.Sc. student
Mayan Levy – M.Sc. student
Tal Madjar – M.Sc. student
Linoy Frankiensztajn – M.Sc. student
Wael Dagash – M.Sc.
Diana Shehtman – M.Sc.
Danit Levenda – M.Sc.
