Highlights from the 11th Annual Retreat of the Department of Marine Biology

The Department of Marine Biology held its 11th annual retreat, attended by approximately 90 participants, including MSc and PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, principal investigators, lab managers, research associates, and representatives from six sponsoring companies.
The event opened with greetings from the University of Haifa Rector, Prof. Mouna Maroun, and the Dean of Research, Prof. Oren Gazal Ayal.
Throughout the retreat, participants presented high-quality oral and poster sessions, highlighting the department’s multidisciplinary research and its contribution to advancing marine science and promoting ocean conservation.

Award Recipients:
Best Talk:
1st Place – Aman Prakash
2nd Place – Lina Ratinskaia
3rd Place – Efrat Beck

Best Poster:
1st Place – Prashant Tewari
2nd Place – Noga Barak
3rd Place – Chiara Conti

Acknowledgments:
We extend our sincere thanks to all who contributed to the success of the retreat:

• The organizing team: Prof. Smadar Ben-Tabou de-Leon (Head of Department), Prof. Tamar Lotan, Prof. Laura Steindler, Prof. Daniel Sher, Dr. Tal Luzzatto Knaan, Prof. Tali Mass, Nadine Awwad, Anat Overlander, and Daniela Zak
• Our researchers and students for their excellent presentations
• Chiara Conti for designing the retreat logo
• Prashant Tewari, Miri Morgulis, Alhan Abu Hamoud, Mukaila Alhassan, and Aman Prakash for organizing a social activity that fostered community and engagement

We are also grateful to our sponsors for their generous support. Getter Group and Rhenium Group presented recent innovations in microscopy and molecular biology. Additional thanks to Aquazone, Tivan Biotech, Biological Industries/Sartorius, and Bioanalytics for their valuable contributions.

Photographer Dar Golomb documented the retreat’s highlights. View the photo gallery.

We look forward to next year’s retreat.