Leading Ladies Making Waves

A research team from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology that included three women and one man, recently returned from a research trip in the Pacific Ocean. The team was led by Prof. Debbie Lindell from the Faculty of Biology and included Dr. Laure Arsenieff, a postdoctoral student from France; Camelia Shopen-Gochev, an Israeli doctoral student; and Dr. Sigitas Šulčius, a research associate from Lithuania.

The six Principal Investigators who led the expedition, L-R: Prof. Anitra Ingalls, University of Washington; Prof. Virginia Armbrust (the expedition’s chief scientist), University of Washington; Prof. Angelicque White, University of Hawaii; Prof. Lauren Juranek, University of Oregon; Prof. Debbie Lindell from the Technion; Prof. Randelle Bundy, University of Washington.

The expedition left San Diego, California, on January 22, sailed to and crossed the equator before heading back north to end the journey in Honolulu on February 18. According to Prof. Lindell, “This was a very special journey in the context of women in science, as 19 out of 34 research team members, including all the principal researchers on board, were women. This is very rare in the world of oceanography, and I hope it will inspire young women who aspire to enter this field.”

The group from the Technion: Dr. Laure Arsenieff, postdoctoral fellow (from France); Camelia Shopen-Gochev, Israeli doctoral student; Prof. Debbie Lindell; Dr. Sigitas Šulčius, research fellow/academic visitor (from Lithuania).

In addition to Prof. Lindell’s group, the expedition included groups from the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, the University of Hawaii, the University of Southern California and the Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The aim of the expedition was to study the biological mechanisms that dictate the structures of different biological populations at different latitudes and under different environmental conditions. The Technion team focused on the role of viruses in those places and conditions.

Group photo of the women on board

The journey was made on board the research ship Thomas G. Thompson, built in 1990 and belonging to the research unit of the US Office of Naval Research. The 84-meters-long ship is named after American chemist and oceanographer Thomas Gordon Thompson, who dedicated his life to the study of the chemistry of seawater. It is suitable for journeys of up to 35,000 kilometers, can accommodate 59 people and is equipped with advanced systems for sensing, collecting water and taking a diverse set of measurements. The voyage was financed by the Simons Foundation, which also supports the research group from the Technion, as well as by the groups from the other universities.

Photo credits: Frank Xavier Ferrer Gonzalez, the University of Washington