Dr. Ayelet Barenholz

Dr. Ayelet Barenholz

Senior Lecturer, Medical laboratory Science Internship coordinator, Second year academic counselor, Head of Excellency committee, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Biotechnology

Dr. Ayelet Barenholz lectures at the Neviim and Strauss campus in the departments of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology.

Dr. Ayelet Barenholz (PhD) is a senior lecturer specializing in General and Clinical Microbiology. In her teaching, she integrates innovative methods such as the flipped classroom, aiming to foster active student engagement and deeper learning. She serves as head of the internship program in the Department of Medical Laboratory Science, where she has developed and implemented a structured preparatory and guidance process. This program includes workshops on soft skills, self-assessment practices, and structured feedback from laboratory directors.

Her research interests span Medical Education and applied science, with a particular focus on clinical microbiology, immunology, and environmental science. She is also chair of the College Teaching Excellency Committee.

Dr. Barenholz earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology cum laude from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She then pursued her MSc, PhD, and postdoctoral training in Prof. Bercovier’s laboratory at the Hebrew University Medical School. Her applied science research has contributed to peer-reviewed publications and patent applications in medical microbiology, immunology, and environmental science.

Since 2007, she has been a faculty member at Hadassah College (now Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College, JMC), where she lectures in the Departments of Biotechnology and Medical Laboratory Science.

Contact: ayeletba@edu.jmc.ac.i

Research fields of Dr. Ayelet Barenholz (PhD) focus on Medical Education, clinical microbiology and microbial ecology.

My research focuses on the field of Medical Education and applied science.

My research in medical education focuses on bridging the gap between academic learning and clinical practice, with a special emphasis on soft-skills development, reflective practice, and professional identity formation among medical laboratory science students. By integrating both student reflections and laboratory manager feedback, I examine how structured internship programs that combine reflection, feedback, and academic reporting can enhance students’ workplace readiness, employability, and long-term professional engagement.

Cleaning of oil (petroleum) contaminated sands and soils using nano-liposomes:
The research focuses on improving the cleaning of oil contaminated soils and sands using nano-liposomes. Oil is one of the most common soil, sand and water contaminants. There is a need for cleaning agents that are environmentally friendly. In our work, we used Lecithin based liposomes, which are produced mostly from soy beans and thus are environmentally friendly.

Liposomes that are nano-sized can penetrate into the sand/soil and clean the oil contaminant using two methods, 1) Bioremediation and 2) Washing.

  • Bioremediation - A process in which the oil is naturally degraded by microorganisims. We have found that the liposomes enhance the bioremediation in oils contaminated soil (Barenholz A et al 2003).
  • Washing – A rapid method in which soils and sands are rinsed with surfactants. We have shown that lechitin based nano-liposomes improve washing of contaminated soils and sands (Barenholz A et al 2016).

Peptide mimics of microorganisms’ polysaccharides, immunological and protective characteristics.
The research focuses on peptides that mimic microorganisms’ polysaccharides. I have screened for a peptide that mimics mycobacterial mannosylated lipoarabinomannan (ManLAM) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This peptide showed two important properties:

  • The peptide binds antibodies from tuberculosis patients, thus suggested as a candidate for sera diagnosis (Barenholz A et al 2007, Bercovier H, Barenholz A., and Gershoni J. 2011)
  • The peptide has anti-inflammatory properties in murine models (Bercovier H. and Barenholz A. 2012).

Barenholz A., Barenholz Y., Bercovier H. Nano-liposomes of crude soy lecithin are effective for cleaning fuel-contaminated sands and soils. 2016. Expert Opin Environ Biol. View Full Article

Barenholz A.  Hovav AH., Fishman Y., Rahav G., Gershoni JM., H.Bercovier. A peptide mimetic of the mycobacterial mannosylate lipoarabinomannan: characterization and potential applications. 2007. J Med Microbiol. View Full Article

Barenholz A., Fishel F, Yakir E, Gatt S, Barenholz Y, Bercovier H. Liposomes enhance bioremediation. 2003. J Liposome Res. 13:173-86. View Full Article

Proceedings of Conferences

Barenholz A., Nathan D., Analysis of students’ perspectives on clinical internship: development of professional identity in Medical Laboratory Science studies. 2024. The Eighth annual conference of the Israeli Society for Medical Education. Ramat Gan. Israel. View full conference program

Nathan D., Barenholz A. Mid and Endpoint supervisor feedback and self-evaluation for improving outcome of Medical laboratory Science student Internship. 2023. The annual conference Israel Society for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (ISCLS). Rishon LeZion. Israel  View full poster

Barenholz A., Hovav AH., Fishman Y., Rahav G., Gershoni JM., Bercovier H. A peptide mimotope of the mycobacterial mannosylated lipoarabinomannan (ManLAM) has antigenic and biological properties similar to the native Mycobacterium tuberculosis ManLAM. European Society of Mycobacteriology, 2004, Alghero-Sardinia, Italy.

Barenholz A., Munitz A., Bachelet I., Elnekave M., Levi-Schaffer F. and Bercovier H. A Peptide Mimotope of ManLAM with diagnostic applications and anti inflammatory properties. 2006. Biomed, Jerusalem, Israel.

Approved Patents

Bercovier H.,Barenholz A., and Gershoni J. 2011 Peptide mimotopes of mycobacterial mannosylated lipoglycans and uses thereof.  US7,892,557 B2.

Bercovier H. and Barenholz A. 2012 Use of mycobacterial lipoglycans peptide mimotopes for treating inflammation. US8147837 B2. View Full Article