Associate Professor
Organization: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Department of Entomology - Israel
Contact information: shai.morin@mail.huji.ac.il | T: 972 8 9489365 (office) | T: 972 8 9489271 (lab) | T: 972 54 6445882 (cellular) | F: 972 8 9466768

My research interests are in ecological and evolutionary genomics, as they relate specifically to insect-plant and insect-environment interactions. My long-term goal is to combine ecological and genomic tools in order to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying insect adaptation to biotic and a-biotic environmental constrains. My Ph.D. (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1995-2000) focused on characterization of insect factors involved in transmission of a plant pathogens. In my post-doctoral studies (University of Arizona, Tucson, 2000 – 2003), I used molecular biology, experimental genetics and ecology to study the evolution of resistance to the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-toxins in pink bollworm, and to characterize the mutations involved. Since I took the position at the Hebrew University (2003), my research has focused on adaptation of insect pests to environmental stresses: synthetic insecticides, plant defensive chemistry and more recently, climate changes. As part of my long term vision, I have established a multi-disciplinary research team that combines plant genetic engineering with insect ecology, chemistry, behavior and genomics. http://departments.agri.huji.ac.il/entomology/shai_morin/WhiteflyLab/