Ashraf Al Ashhab Ph.D

Research Area:
Microbiology
ashraf@adssc.org
972-8-9448732
972-052-6764006
Google Scholar
Researchgate
Publons
MICROBIAL METAGENOMICS DIVISION
Current research:
Dr. Al Ashhab’s work included a wide range of microbial community analysis in different environmental systems. Al Ashhab has completed his PhD in tertiary treated wastewater effluents using wastewater MBR-RO system for treating municipal wastewater (see publication list). Recently funded project by Al Ashhab concerned on integrating unique microbial species in the environmental system such as agriculture and aquaculture and proved to enhance microbial community resistance to different pathogens and increased fish survival.
Lab member
2016-current MSc. Rivka Shani- Alexander (Lab manager)
2018-current MSc. Yosef Avrahami (bioinformatician)
2017-2019 Miss. Hana Dimerets (Lab technician)
STUDENTS
2021-2023 Dr. Reut S. Abramovich, postdoctoral research with Dr. Yehoshua Y. (Bar-Illan). Thesis in symbiotic autonomous life support system for distant space colonies
2018-2020 Dr. Sagar Nayak, postdoctoral research with Dr. Dina Zilberg (BGU). Thesis in fish diet and their immunity
2018 – 2020 MSc Danit Parker, master student with Dr. Osnat Gillor (BGU) and Dr. Yael Bar-Lavan (DSASC). Thesis in desert plant microbiomes.
Patents
- 2020, US Patent No. 62/885,386. Entitled: “BACTERIA AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF”
- 2020, US Patent No. 62/891,437. Entitled: “FISH SKIN MICROBIOME”
Funded projects
2016-2019 ICA Foundation. “The use of Acacia microbiome phyllosphere as a biological control in arid agriculture”. Partners: Al Ashhab A (DSASC), Bar-lavan Y (DSASC) and Winters G (DSASC). Budget: 160,00$.
2017-2019 ICA Foundation. “Microbiome of disease and sick fish aquaculture, tools toward fish immunity enhancement in aquaculture and using microbial probiotics”. Partners: Al Ashhab A (DSASC) and Sharon G (ILOR). Budget: 70,000$.
2019-2020 ICA Foundation. “The Skin Microbiome as a Diagnostic and Therapeutic Tool in Fish Farming”. Partners: Al Ashhab A (DSASC) and Sharon G (ILOR). Budget: 80,000$.
2019-2020 UTI. “Biocontrol of agricultural fungal pathogens using newly isolated microbial antifungal properties”. Partners: Al Ashhab A. (DSASC), Bar-lavan Y. (DSASC) and Carmeli S. (TAU). Budget is 33,000$.
2019-2020 ICA Foundation. “Engineering of camel microbiome and utilization for UV radiation protection”. Partners: Al Ashhab A. (DSASC) Szitenberg A. (DSASC). Budget: 50,000$.
2020-2023 MOST. “Symbiotic Autonomous Life Support System for distant Space Colonies”. Partners: Al Ashhab A. (DSASC), Yehoshua Y. (Bar-Illan). Budget: 303,000$.
2020-2023 IIA. “New desert bacteria with potential biotechnological / agricultural values“. Partners: Bar-Lavan Y. (DSASC), Al Ashhab A. (DSACS), Carmeli S. (TAU), ADAMA. Budget: 200,000$
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
- Bachar A., Al-Ashhab A., Soares M.I.M., Sklarz M.Y, Angel R., Unger E.D., Gillor O.2010. Soil microbial abundance and diversity along a low precipitation gradient. Microbial Ecology, 60(2):453-461. doi: 10.1007/s00248-010-9727-1.
- Pasternak Z.*, Al-Ashhab A.*, Gatica J., Roni Gafny R., Frenk S., Minz D., Gillor O., Jurkevitch E. 2012. Optimization of molecular methods and statistical procedures for forensic fingerprinting of microbial soil communities. International Research Journal of Microbiology, 3(11):363-3727. (*these authors contributed equally to the paper)
- Pasternak Z.*, Al-Ashhab A.*, Gatica J., Gafny R., Avraham S., Minz D., Gillor O., Jurkevitch E. 2013. Spatial and temporal biogeography of soil microbial communities in arid and semiarid regions. PLoS One, 8(7):e69705. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069705. (*these authors contributed equally to the paper)
- Al Ashhab A., Gillor O., Herzberg M. 2013. Biofouling of reverse-osmosis membranes during tertiary wastewater desalination: microbial community composition. Water research, 50:341-9. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2013.10.044.
- Lusine Ghazaryan L., Tonoyan L. Al-Ashhab A. Ines M.I,M.., Gillor O. The role of stress in colicin regulation. Archives of microbiology, 196(11):753-64. doi: 10.1007/s00203-014-1017-8.
- Al-Ashhab A. Gillor O., Herzberg M. 2014. Biofouling of reverse-osmosis membranes under different shear rates during tertiary wastewater desalination: microbial community composition. Water Research, 67:86-95. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2014.09.007.
- Al-Ashhab A., Sweity A. Bayramoglu B., Herzberg M.,Gillor O. 2017. Biofouling of reverse osmosis membranes: effects of cleaning on biofilm microbial communities, membrane performance, and adherence of extracellular polymeric substances. Biofouling, 33(5):397-409. doi: 10.1080/08927014.2017.1318382.
- Brandwein M., Fuks G. Israel A., Al-Ashhab A., Nejman D., Straussman R., Hodak E., Harari M., Steinberg D., Bentwich Z., Shental N., Meshner S. 2018. Temporal stability of the healthy human skin microbiome following Dead Sea climatotherapy. Acta Dermato Venereologica, 98(2):256-261. doi: 10.2340/00015555-2769.
- Stavi I., Rozenberg T., Al-Ashhab A., Argaman E., Groner E. 2018. Single session of chiseling tillage for soil and vegetation restoration in severely degraded shrublands. Water, 10(6):775. doi: 10.3390/w10060755.
- Stavi I., Rozenberg T., Al-Ashhab A. Argaman E., Groner E. 2018. Failure and collapse of ancient agricultural stone terraces: On-Site effects on soil and vegetation. Water, 10(10), 1400; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10101400.
- Marmen S., Al-Ashhab A., Aharonovich D., Blank L, Sher D. 2020. The role of land use types and water chemical properties in structuring the microbiomes of a connected lake system. Frontiers in Microbiology.
- Nayak S., Ashhab A., Zilberg D., Khozin-Goldberg I. 2020. Dietary Supplementation with Omega-6 LC-PUFA-Rich Microalgae Regulates Mucosal Immune Response and Promotes Microbial Diversity in the Zebrafish Gut. Biology, 9(6), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology9060119
- Patil H., Gatica J., Zolti A., Benet-Perelberg A., Naor A., Dror B, Al Ashhab A., Marman S., Hasan N., Colwell R., Sher D., Minz D., Cytryn E. 2020. Temporal Resistome and Microbial Community Dynamics in an Intensive Aquaculture Facility with Prophylactic Antimicrobial Treatment. Microorganisms, 8(12), 1984; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8121984
- Rosenberg D.,Haber M., Goldford J., Lalzar M., Aharoonovich D., Al Ashhab A., Lehahn Y., Segrè D., Steindler L., Sher D. 2021. Particle-associated and free-living bacterial communities in an oligotrophic sea are affected by different environmental factors”. Environmental Microbiology.