Debbie Lindell

Debbie Lindell
Debbie Lindell in culture room
Born
Melbourne, Australia
Alma materHebrew University of Jerusalem
AwardsG. Evelyn Hutchinson Award Elected member of EMBO
Scientific career
WorkplacesTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology
ThesisAssessing the nitrogen status of marine prokaryotic phytoplankton using molecular methods (2000)

Debbie Lindell (Hebrew: דבי לינדל) is the Dresner Chair in Life Sciences and Medicine Professor at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in the Faculty of Biology. She is known for her work on the interactions between viruses and their hosts in marine environments.

Education

Lindell was born in Australia and grew up loving the ocean.[1] Lindell earned her B.Sc. from Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[2] She then worked as a technician on a project involving coral reef and fish and decided she wanted to pursue research in marine science.[1] She went on to earn an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, followed by postdoctoral research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology[2] with Sallie W. Chisholm.

Research

Lindell's early research was on the succession of phytoplankton in the Gulf of Aqaba[3] and nitrogen-related gene expression by the cyanobacterium Synechococcus.[4][5] to assess their nitrogen physiology in the ocean.[4][6] Her subsequent work examined the transfer of genes between phytoplankton and marine viruses,[7][8] and the evolution of host-virus interactions as evident from the analysis of gene expression in bacteria infected by a virus.[9][10] Her research also investigates the genetic factors leading to resistance and long-term coexistence of phytoplankton and viruses.[11][12][13][14] In more recent work Lindell’s team developed a genetic system for cyanophages[15] to investigate the functional benefit of viral genes, including those horizontally acquired from cellular organisms.[16] Lindell’s team also developed single-virus and single-cell methods[17][18][19] to measure cyanophage abundance and infection patterns to assess their impact on cyanobacterial communities in the ocean.[20][21][22] In response to the COVID-19 disease, Lindell was part of a team who filed a patent for a reusable mask that is designed to prevent infection by viruses.[23] As of 2026, Lindell has an h-index of 38 with over 9000 citations to her published works.[24]

Selected publications

Awards and honors

In 2007 Lindell was awarded the Yigal Alon Fellowship by the Israel Council for Higher Education.[25] In 2009 Lindell received the Krill Prize for scientific excellence from the Wolf Foundation.[26] In 2022 Lindell received the “Morton and Beverley Rechler” Prize for Excellence in Research.[27] Lindell received the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award[28] from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography in 2026.[29] Lindell is an elected fellow of both the European[30] and American[31]  Academies of Microbiology (EAM and AAM) and an elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).[32]

References

  1. 1 2 Neistat, Aimee (15 February 2008). "Scientist from down under makes waves". Jerusalem Post. p. 16.
  2. 1 2 "Debbie Lindell". Simons Foundation. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  3. ↑ Lindell, Debbie; Post, Anton F. (1995). "Ultraphytoplankton succession is triggered by deep winter mixing in the Gulf of Aqaba (Eilat), Red Sea". Limnology and Oceanography. 40 (6): 1130–1141. Bibcode:1995LimOc..40.1130L. doi:10.4319/lo.1995.40.6.1130. ISSN 0024-3590.
  4. 1 2 Lindell, Debbie; Post, Anton F. (2001). "Ecological Aspects of ntcA Gene Expression and Its Use as an Indicator of the Nitrogen Status of Marine Synechococcus spp". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 67 (8): 3340–3349. Bibcode:2001ApEnM..67.3340L. doi:10.1128/aem.67.8.3340-3349.2001. ISSN 0099-2240. PMC 93026. PMID 11472902.
  5. ↑ Lindell, Debbie; Padan, Etana; Post, Anton F. (1998). "Regulation of ntcA Expression and Nitrite Uptake in the Marine Synechococcus sp. Strain WH 7803". Journal of Bacteriology. 180 (7): 1878–1886. Bibcode:1998JBact.180.1878L. doi:10.1128/jb.180.7.1878-1886.1998. ISSN 0021-9193. PMC 107103. PMID 9537388.
  6. ↑ Lindell, Debbie; Penno, Sigrid; Al-Qutob, Mutaz; David, Efrat; Rivlin, Tanya; Lazar, Boaz; Post, Anton F. (2005). "Expression of the nitrogen stress response gene ntcA reveals nitrogen-sufficient Synechococcus populations in the oligotrophic northern Red Sea". Limnology and Oceanography. 50 (6): 1932–1944. Bibcode:2005LimOc..50.1932L. doi:10.4319/lo.2005.50.6.1932. ISSN 1939-5590.
  7. ↑ Lindell, Debbie; Jaffe, Jacob D.; Johnson, Zackary I.; Church, George M.; Chisholm, Sallie W. (2005). "Photosynthesis genes in marine viruses yield proteins during host infection". Nature. 438 (7064): 86–89. Bibcode:2005Natur.438...86L. doi:10.1038/nature04111. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 16222247. S2CID 4347406.
  8. ↑ Lindell, Debbie; Sullivan, Matthew B.; Johnson, Zackary I.; Tolonen, Andrew C.; Rohwer, Forest; Chisholm, Sallie W. (2004). "Transfer of photosynthesis genes to and from Prochlorococcus viruses". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 101 (30): 11013–11018. Bibcode:2004PNAS..10111013L. doi:10.1073/pnas.0401526101. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 503735. PMID 15256601.
  9. ↑ Lindell, Debbie; Jaffe, Jacob D.; Coleman, Maureen L.; Futschik, Matthias E.; Axmann, Ilka M.; Rector, Trent; Kettler, Gregory; Sullivan, Matthew B.; Steen, Robert; Hess, Wolfgang R.; Church, George M. (2007). "Genome-wide expression dynamics of a marine virus and host reveal features of co-evolution". Nature. 449 (7158): 83–86. Bibcode:2007Natur.449...83L. doi:10.1038/nature06130. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 17805294. S2CID 4412265.
  10. ↑ Siegel-Itzkovich, Judy (14 October 2007). "Host-virus relations can be a win-win situation". Jerusalem Post. p. 6.
  11. ↑ Avrani, Sarit; Wurtzel, Omri; Sharon, Itai; Sorek, Rotem; Lindell, Debbie (2011). "Genomic island variability facilitates Prochlorococcus–virus coexistence". Nature. 474 (7353): 604–608. Bibcode:2011Natur.474..604A. doi:10.1038/nature10172. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 21720364. S2CID 205225328.
  12. ↑ Zborowsky, Sophia; Lindell, Debbie (5 August 2019). "Resistance in marine cyanobacteria differs against specialist and generalist cyanophages". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 116 (34): 16899–16908. Bibcode:2019PNAS..11616899Z. doi:10.1073/pnas.1906897116. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 6708340. PMID 31383764.
  13. ↑ Avrani, Sarit; Lindell, Debbie (28 April 2015). "Convergent evolution toward an improved growth rate and a reduced resistance range in Prochlorococcus strains resistant to phage". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (17): E2191–E2200. Bibcode:2015PNAS..112E2191A. doi:10.1073/pnas.1420347112. PMC 4418883. PMID 25922520.
  14. ↑ Zborowsky, Sophia; Tahan, Ran; Lindell, Debbie (3 January 2025). "Adaptive loss of tRNA gene expression leads to phage resistance in a marine Synechococcus cyanobacterium". Nature Microbiology. 10 (1): 66–76. doi:10.1038/s41564-024-01877-6. ISSN 2058-5276. PMC 11726456. PMID 39753669.
  15. ↑ Shitrit, Dror; Hackl, Thomas; Laurenceau, Raphael; Raho, Nicolas; Carlson, Michael C G; Sabehi, Gazalah; Schwartz, Daniel A; Chisholm, Sallie W; Lindell, Debbie (1 February 2022). "Genetic engineering of marine cyanophages reveals integration but not lysogeny in T7-like cyanophages". The ISME Journal. 16 (2): 488–499. Bibcode:2022ISMEJ..16..488S. doi:10.1038/s41396-021-01085-8. ISSN 1751-7362. PMC 8776855. PMID 34429521.
  16. ↑ Nadel, Omer; Hanna, Rawad; Rozenberg, Andrey; Shitrit, Dror; Tahan, Ran; Pekarsky, Irena; Béjà, Oded; Kleifeld, Oded; Lindell, Debbie (12 November 2025). "Viral NblA proteins negatively affect oceanic cyanobacterial photosynthesis". Nature. 648 (8093): 434–442. Bibcode:2025Natur.648..434N. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09656-x. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 12695635. PMID 41224996.
  17. ↑ Baran, Nava; Goldin, Svetlana; Maidanik, Ilia; Lindell, Debbie (2018). "Quantification of diverse virus populations in the environment using the polony method". Nature Microbiology. 3 (1): 62–72. doi:10.1038/s41564-017-0045-y. ISSN 2058-5276. PMC 5739286. PMID 29085077.
  18. ↑ Goldin, Svetlana; Hulata, Yotam; Baran, Nava; Lindell, Debbie (16 June 2020). "Quantification of T4-Like and T7-Like Cyanophages Using the Polony Method Show They Are Significant Members of the Virioplankton in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre". Frontiers in Microbiology. 11 1210. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2020.01210. ISSN 1664-302X. PMC 7308941. PMID 32612586.
  19. ↑ Mruwat, Noor; Carlson, Michael C G; Goldin, Svetlana; Ribalet, François; Kirzner, Shay; Hulata, Yotam; Beckett, Stephen J; Shitrit, Dror; Weitz, Joshua S; Armbrust, E Virginia; Lindell, Debbie (1 January 2021). "A single-cell polony method reveals low levels of infected Prochlorococcus in oligotrophic waters despite high cyanophage abundances". The ISME Journal. 15 (1): 41–54. Bibcode:2021ISMEJ..15...41M. doi:10.1038/s41396-020-00752-6. ISSN 1751-7362. PMC 7853090. PMID 32918065.
  20. ↑ Carlson, Michael C. G.; Ribalet, François; Maidanik, Ilia; Durham, Bryndan P.; Hulata, Yotam; Ferrón, Sara; Weissenbach, Julia; Shamir, Nitzan; Goldin, Svetlana; Baran, Nava; Cael, B. B.; Karl, David M.; White, Angelicque E.; Armbrust, E. Virginia; Lindell, Debbie (2022). "Viruses affect picocyanobacterial abundance and biogeography in the North Pacific Ocean". Nature Microbiology. 7 (4): 570–580. Bibcode:2022NatMb...7..570C. doi:10.1038/s41564-022-01088-x. ISSN 2058-5276. PMC 8975747. PMID 35365792.
  21. ↑ Maidanik, Ilia; Kirzner, Shay; Pekarski, Irena; Arsenieff, Laure; Tahan, Ran; Carlson, Michael C. G.; Shitrit, Dror; Baran, Nava; Goldin, Svetlana; Weitz, Joshua S.; Lindell, Debbie (2022). "Cyanophages from a less virulent clade dominate over their sister clade in global oceans". The ISME Journal. 16 (9): 2169–2180. Bibcode:2022ISMEJ..16.2169M. doi:10.1038/s41396-022-01259-y. ISSN 1751-7370. PMC 9381782. PMID 35726021.
  22. ↑ Shopen Gochev, Camelia; Demory, David; Lopes dos Santos, Adriana; Carlson, Michael C. G.; Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, Andrés; Weitz, Joshua S.; Lindell, Debbie (2025). "Cold Surface Waters of the Sub-Antarctic Pacific Ocean Support High Cyanophage Abundances and Infection Levels". Environmental Microbiology. 27 (1) e70031. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.70031. ISSN 1462-2912. PMC 11724200. PMID 39797436.
  23. ↑ "Israeli Scientists Submit Patent For Self-Disinfecting, Reusable Mask". NoCamels. 25 May 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  24. ↑ "Debbie Lindell". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  25. ↑ "Lindell - Biology Faculty". 27 May 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  26. ↑ "Debbie Lindell". Wolf Foundation. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  27. ↑ "Prof. Debbie Lindell won the 2022 "Morton and Beverley Rechler" Prize for Excellence in Research". 24 May 2022.
  28. ↑ Barnet, Shannon (12 February 2026). "ASLO honors Debbie Lindell with the 2026 G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award". ASLO. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  29. ↑ "ASLO honors Debbie Lindell with the 2026 G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award". Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography. 12 February 2026.
  30. ↑ Roux, Candice Le (19 March 2026). "European Academy of Microbiology welcomes 95 new Fellows". FEMS. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  31. ↑ "63 Fellows Elected to the American Academy of Microbiology". ASM.org. Archived from the original on 20 June 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  32. ↑ "Seventy-one leading scientists elected to the EMBO Membership – Press releases – EMBO". 30 June 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
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