At the beginning of August, Volcani Center's Dr. Maya Kleiman joined BPI to do research with Johan Foster's group for her sabbatical year. We wanted to get better acquainted with Dr. Kleiman, so we asked her to give us an introduction of herself!
What is your background?
I started my academic career as an undergrad in the Technion – A university in Haifa, Israel, studying biochemistry. After a semester, I decided I am really interested in math as well and started taking courses towards a BA in math, ending with a BA in both biochemistry and math. During my undergrad I started working in a biochemistry lab where I later did my master's research, looking into the ubiquitin system, using yeast as my model organism. For my Ph.D., I wanted to combine my love for biology and math, and I moved to Ben-Gurion university in the southern part of Israel (the desert was so close, we could go there at night and see the stars) where I performed research in mathematical biology, studying the evolution of sexual reproduction using population dynamics simulations.
During my Ph.D., I also had two girls. I then moved to do my postdoctoral research in the chemistry department at the University of California, Irvine where I worked on bioinspired materials, building materials that change their microstructure based on environmental cues. This is where I learned I enjoy going into new fields and how an experienced researcher doing research in a field completely different from their previous expertise, could initiate new approaches in this field. During my postdoctoral research, I also had my third daughter.
What are you currently working on?
After my postdoc, I started my position in the Agricultural Research Organization (Volcani Center) in the center of Israel. I work at the plant sciences institute and I did not know anything about agriculture or plants. But that was the whole fun challenge of it! In my lab we are building synthetic systems, mimicking plant properties (our current focus is on surface microstructure) to isolate these properties in the understanding of plant-environment interaction. For example, we are looking at different leaves, some resistant to a specific bacterium and some susceptible to it and study the response of the bacteria to synthetic surfaces mimicking the leaf surface microstructure to learn what part this property play in the resistance of the plant to this bacterium.
Our end goal is to build a “synthetic plant” where we have full control over the different parameters and see how each one of them influences plant behaviour. After six years of leading an excellent team at Volcani Center, I felt the urge to learn something new that can be incorporated into my research. I joined Johan Foster’s group at CHBE in UBC for my sabbatical year to learn how to work with cellulose which can then be used as an excellent base material for our synthetic systems. Hopefully, this year can also initiate a fruitful collaboration between UBC and Volcani institute.
To get to know Dr. Maya Kleiman better, we asked her some personal trivia questions:
- I was born... I grew up in Haifa – a city in the northern part of Israel.
- When I was a kid... I started playing volleyball and am doing so up until this day.
- At school... I really loved math. Sports and math.
- I enjoy... a quiet night at home or a gathering with many friends. Really depends on the current mood.
- The best meal... is pizza, of course, with corn and pineapple as toppings.
- My favourite beverage... is actually water.
- Friends know me... as a very talkative person.
- I’m reading... my favourite childhood books with my kids. This comes highly recommended.
- Important words... “All crimes, all hatreds, all wars can be reduced to unhappiness”, A.S. Neill
- I’m at my best... during a heated discussion with someone I disagree with. Especially if they make me think of something I never thought about before.
- I’m at my worst... early in the morning. I am NOT a morning person.
- The best gift I ever received... was when I left for my postdoc a friend of mine made memory game cards which were photographs she took of our lives over the years. It was very well made and heartwarming.
- My favourite music... Israeli rock. Usually nothing later than 2000…
- My hero... I don’t really believe in heroes. I find inspiration in many people, and I think we are all heroes of our own lives and are best in doing just that, living our lives.
- On my days off... we always look for a new place to explore in Vancouver and the surroundings.
- If I wasn’t working at UBC... I’d be back in the agricultural research organization working on exciting science with my excellent team.
- In this position I’m excited... about learning new things in a new stimulating environment, this is very different from doing so by reading papers in my office back home. I am also excited about making all these new connections with people from all over the world, as UBC is such a multi-cultural environment.
- I’ll know we are successful when... people will really listen to each other, trying to understand the other person’s perspective.
- Someday... we will learn how to work together, the whole world, to advance every individual and human society.
Welcome to BPI, Dr. Kleiman!