Nutrition, Health Behavior and Obesity Research Lab

Haya Subhi, RN, MPH, is a PhD student at the School of Public Health, University of Haifa. She holds a BSc in Nursing and a MPH from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her doctoral research focuses on the development and evaluation of a theory-based behavioral intervention, called the STEP-UP study (Supporting Theory-Based Engagement to Promote Uptake of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Following Metabolic Bariatric Surgery), designed to enhance engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviors following the surgery, with an emphasis on culturally adapted and patient-centered care.

Mor Ben Melech, RD, is a Master’s student at the School of Public Health, University of Haifa, pursuing an MPH with a specialization in Epidemiology. She holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Nutrition from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and she is a registered clinical dietitian with approximately nine years of clinical experience in both community and hospital settings. She is currently conducting a large-scale retrospective study using real-world (big) data among patients treated with GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), investigating the optimal components of nutritional and behavioral support adjunct to the medications to improve the weight-loss and cardiometabolic health outcomes.

Yaara Sitbon, RD, is a Master’s student in Nutrition and Behavior (M.A.N) at the School of Public Health of the University of Haifa, and a clinical dietitian specializing in sport nutrition and eating disorders & behaviors. Her research project focuses on childhood and adolescent eating patterns, behavioral determinants of weight gain, and the integration of incretin-based therapies (GLP-1 RAs) within comprehensive, lifestyle-oriented treatment models.

Shir Atia, RD, is a clinical dietitian and a Master’s student in Nutrition and Behavior (M.A.N) at the School of Public Health of the University of Haifa. Her research project examines healthcare professionals’ preferences regarding components of behavioral support during treatment of incretin-based obesity management medications (OMMs), using a national  cross-sectional survey design.

Yael Issan, RD, is a clinical dietitian at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), specializing in pediatric nutrition and adolescent care, within the Institute of Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism. Her professional expertise includes the management of diabetes and obesity, pharmacological obesity treatments, and gender-affirming nutritional care. Yael is currently a Master’s student in Nutrition and Behavior (M.A.N) at the School of Public Health of the University of Haifa, and her research project examines nutritional status and bone health of treatment-naïve adolescents with gender dysphoria.

Odeya Cohen, RD, is a clinical dietitian specializing in pediatric and adolescent nutrition at Meuhedet Health Services, and a Master Thesis student in the Nutrition, Health, and Behavior program at the University of Haifa (M.A.N). Her research thesis examines patient needs, preferences, and experiences related to lifestyle interventions adjunct to incretin-based OMMs, using a cross-sectional survey design.

Gal Peleg-Ziv, RD, is a clinical dietitian at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot, specializing in the nutritional care of patients with cancer, and a Masters thesis student in Nutrition, Health and Behavior (M.A.N) at the University of Haifa. Her project focuses on patients’ experiences, barriers, and facilitators related to the adoption and maintenance of behavioral lifestyle modifications, particularly in diet and physical activity patterns, among individuals with overweight and obesity treated with incretin-based OMMs, using qualitative research methods.

Moria Uziel, RD, is the Head of the Nutrition Department at Maayanei Hayeshua Medical Center, and a clinical dietitian specializing in eating disorders within multidisciplinary clinical settings. Moria is a Masters thesis student in Nutrition, Health and Behavior (M.A.N) at the University of Haifa, and her research project focuses on the development, validation, and application of nutritional assessment instrument. 

Merav David-Zigdon, PT, RD, is an M.A.N student in Nutrition and Behavior at the University of Haifa. She is a specialized pelvic floor physiotherapist and clinic manager at Clalit Health Services, as well as a clinical dietitian focusing on health promotion and weight management. Her research thesis explores the impact of incretin-based OMMs therapy on pathological eating patterns, including ‘food noise’, a persistent, intrusive food-related thoughts, that occur independently of physiological hunger.

Jiska Sukkot, M.A. (Psychology), is a psychologist and a student in the International Master of Public Health (IMPH) program at the University of Haifa. Her main areas of expertise and research include body image, eating disorders, and self-regulation. She is involved in research projects around clinicians perspectives on the care of patients treated with incretin-based OMMs, as well as the relationship between adverse childhood experience and obesity treatments (i.e., OMMs and metabolic bariatric surgery) outcomes.

Jessica Burdick is a PhD student in Health and Exercise Science at Concordia University and at the Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre (Montreal, QC, Canada). Her research focuses on dietary patterns and gut microbiome changes following metabolic bariatric surgery. Under the co-supervision of Dr. Ben-Porat, she is involved in the EMBRACE project, examining diet–microbiome clustering over the first 12 months following metabolic bariatric surgery and its associations with weight loss and cardiometabolic health outcomes.

Patricia Acosta, RD,  is a PhD/MND Student in Human Nutrition at the University of the British Columbia (Vancouver, BC, Canada) co-supervised by Prof. Tamara Cohen and Dr. Ben-Borat. Patricia’s doctoral work examines changes in dietary patterns and eating behaviours from pre- to post-metabolic bariatric surgery, and how these changes influence nutritional status, metabolic outcomes, and quality of life parameters. In addition, she is co-developing, in collaboration with patients and clinicians, a nutrition-education tool to enhance adherence to protein intake recommendations following the surgery.

Shiran Bandler, RD, M.A.N, is an obesity-management dietitian. She runs a private practice and works as part of a multidisciplinary obesity-care team at an HMO. She is a PhD candidate in Nutrition Sciences at Ariel University (Israel), co-supervised by Drs. Sherf-Dagan, Ben-Porat, and Buch. Her doctoral research focuses on the nutritional impact of protein supplementation and resistance training on nutritional and metabolic outcomes in adults aged ≥45 years with overweight or obesity receiving incretin-based OMMs, within the PRIME study.  

Amir Rubin, RD, is a clinical and sports dietitian and a lecturer in the undergraduate program in Nutritional Sciences at the Ashkelon Academic College and the Peres Academic Center. He is currently a PhD candidate at Ariel University (israel). His doctoral research examines whether protein supplementation combined with resistance training can attenuate lean body mass loss and preserve functional performance among adults aged 45 years and older with overweight or obesity treated with incretin-based OMMs, through the PRIME study, co-supervised by Drs. Sherf-Dagan, Ben-Porat, and Buch. 

Reut Lavi-Isaschar, RD,  is a clinical dietitian specializing in diabetes care, obesity management, and women’s health, and serves as Regional Lead for Diabetes Nutrition at Clalit Health Services. She is currently an MSc student in Nutritional Sciences at Ariel University. Her master’s research examines the relationship between key dietary dimensions, including quantity, quality, and timing of eating, and obesity severity among adults eligible for incretin-based OMMs.

Anael Sayada is a fifth-year medical student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her final research thesis focuses on the effects of one-anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) on pregnancy outcomes and neonatal birth weight. One of the objectives of the research is to improve clinical management and prenatal follow-up for patients who have undergone OAGB surgery and subsequently plan pregnancy.

Tamar Avshalom is a six-year medical student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her final research project focuses on long-term bone health following sleeve gastrectomy surgery, with particular emphasis on changes in bone mineral density and bone turnover markers over time. Her project also examines patient-related and lifestyle factors associated with long-term bone loss after the surgery.

Hamzy Sirhan is a fifth-year medical student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is conducting his final research project investigating the long-term (>10 years) weight-loss outcomes and lifestyle patterns following sleeve gastrectomy.

Cherie Miner, MPH, B.A. (psychology) is a data analyst and a graduate of the International Master of Public Health (IMPH) program at the University of Haifa. She holds a BA in Psychology and previously worked as a statistical programmer at the School of Medicine, University of Virginia (USA), as well as a data analyst in the fields of behavioral health and psychiatry. She is currently pursuing her research thesis in Neuroscience at the Technion, Haifa. Her research with Dr. Ben-Porat focused on patient experiences and behavioral challenges among individuals treated with OMMs.

Dr. Lior Mashin, MD, earned his medical degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is currently serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). His primary research focused on long-term outcomes of sleeve gastrectomy surgery, with particular emphasis on weight recurrence trajectories, lifestyle habits following surgery, and predictors of weight recurrence five years post-operation.

Dr. Shiraz Peretz, MD, earned her medical degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is currently serving as a medical doctor in the IDF. Her primary research focused on the effects of metabolic bariatric surgery, specifically sleeve gastrectomy (SG), on bone mineral density and nutritional outcomes. 

Prof. Ram Weiss, MD, PhD is Full Professor of Pediatrics at the Technion School of Medicine and Head of the Department of Pediatrics at Ruth Children’s Hospital, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University School of Medicine in Jerusalem and completed his PhD at Yale School of Medicine. His research focuses on the pathophysiology of altered glucose metabolism in children and adolescents with obesity, as well as diabetes technologies and the management of type 1 diabetes. He currently serves as Chief Medical Officer of the Israeli Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and previously led the Childhood Obesity Task Force of the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO).

Prof. Ram Elazary, MD is a senior general and bariatric surgeon at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center and Professor of Surgery at the Faculty of Medicine, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A graduate of the Hebrew University-Hadassah Faculty of Medicine, he completed his residency in general surgery at Hadassah Ein Kerem and advanced fellowship training in laparoscopic and bariatric surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. Since 2010, he has led the Bariatric Surgery Service at Hadassah Ein Kerem, and currently serves as Director of the Bariatric Surgery Unit. 

Prof. Simon L. Bacon, PhD is a Full Professor at Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada, and a behavioural scientist. His work spans interventions targeting individuals through to policy-level approaches, with a primary focus on health behaviours such as physical activity, diet, weight management, and medication adherence, and their impact on health-related outcomes. Prof. Bacon currently serves as the FRQS co-Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Digital Health for Health Behaviour Change, and the CIHR-SPOR Chair in Innovative, Patient-Oriented Behavioural Clinical Trials. He is the Co-Director of the Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, QC, Canada (https://mbmc-cmcm.ca/mbmc/study/ ).

Prof. Amihai Rottenstreich, MD, is the Head of MFM Outpatient Center, Wolfson Medical Center, and an Associate Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tel Aviv University. Dr. Rottenstreich has extensive experience in conducting clinical and translational investigations in maternal and fetal medicine, with 200 publications, with a particular interest in reproductive health after metabolic and bariatric surgery

Prof. Tamara R. Cohen, PhD, RD is an Associate Professor and researcher specializing in behavioural nutrition and intervention design, at the University of British Colombia (UBC, BC, Canada). Her work focuses on understanding eating behaviours across diverse populations and developing practical, theory‑driven tools to support dietary change. She has particular expertise in developing nutrition education tools and in studying appetite, food-related decision making, and body composition outcomes. Dr. Cohen’s research bridges rigorous science with real‑world application to improve nutrition guidance and health outcomes (https://nutritioneatingbehaviour.landfood.ubc.ca/).

Prof. Marie-Claude Audet, PhD is an Associate Professor at the School of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Ottawa (ON, Canada), with cross-appointments in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, and an adjunct scientist appointment at the Institute of Mental Health Research. Using multidisciplinary and translational approaches, including animal models, Prof. Audet examines how gut-brain communication under stressful conditions influences behaviour and mental health, as well as the potential of lifestyle interventions-such as dietary and physical activity modifications-to prevent or attenuate stress-related mental health outcomes (https://www.audetlab.com/).

Dr. Sherf-Dagan, PhD, RD,  is a clinical dietitian and epidemiologist, a Senior Lecturer, and Head of the Department of Nutrition Sciences at Ariel University. She leads the NEO Lab, a research laboratory based at Assuta Medical Center Tel Aviv. Her primary research areas include the nutritional aspects of metabolic bariatric surgery, nutritional considerations in obesity pharmacotherapy, weight bias in healthcare, and the development and cultural adaptation of research tools in nutrition and obesity research.

Dr. Buch, PhD, RD, is a Senior Lecturer and researcher specializing in clinical nutrition, epidemiology, and metabolism. He holds a dual affiliation with Ariel University, Department of Nutrition Sciences, and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, within the Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Hypertension. His research focuses on clinical and observational studies in nutrition, sarcopenia, obesity, and diabetes, with a particular emphasis on aging populations.

Dr. Marilou Côté, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and an Assistant Professor in Psychoeducation at Université Laval (QC, Canada). Her research focuses on weight stigma and its psychosocial consequences, eating behaviors, and the social and psychological impacts of weight-related interventions. She is particularly interested in how stigma, body image, and eating-related experiences are shaped within interpersonal and sociocultural contexts. Her work adopts an interdisciplinary and clinically informed perspective aimed at supporting nuanced, person-centered approaches to research and practice.

Dr. Abu Gazala, MD,  is a colorectal and bariatric surgeon in the General Surgery Department at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center and a Senior Lecturer at the Hebrew University Medical School. His research focuses on bariatric surgery and its effects on patient physiology and surgical outcomes, as well as clinical and surgical aspects of colorectal surgery. 

Dr. Jenny Cina, PhD,  is a clinical and health psychologist and serves as Head Psychologist at the Obesity Treatment Center at Sheba Medical Center. Her professional and research interests focus on the interplay between psychological, behavioral, and physical aspects of obesity. Dr. Sina is committed to providing evidence-based, compassionate, and humanistic care to patients attending the Obesity Treatment Center.

Dr. Rana Hijazi, PhD, MPH, BPharm, is a pharmacist at Clalit Health Services. She holds a BSc in Pharmacy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, an MPH in Health Promotion, and a PhD in Public Health from the University of Haifa. She is a lecturer at Levinsky-Wingate Academic College and a researcher at the Health and Risk Communication Lab at the University of Haifa, led by Prof. Anat Gesser-Edelsburg. At the Nutrition, Health Behavior and Obesity Research Lab, she co-leads the qualitative phase of a project that focuses on the co-development of a behavioral intervention adjunct to OMMs.

Dr. Lidia Miller, MD is a family medicine specialist with expertise in diabetes and obesity management. She serves as the lead physician of the multidisciplinary obesity clinics at Clalit Health Services, Dan-Petah Tikva District. Dr. Miller is a Lecture at the Department of Family Medicine at Tel Aviv University. Her clinical work focuses on evidence-based, long-term management of obesity and metabolic disease within community settings, integrating multidisciplinary care to support sustainable patient outcomes.

Ronit Kess Toaff, MPH, RD is a clinical dietitian and public health specialist. She serves as Manager of the Multidisciplinary Obesity Clinics at Clalit Health Services of the Dan-Petah Tikva District. Ronit has extensive clinical experience in delivering nutritional therapy across diverse populations and clinical settings. Her primary areas of expertise include the management of multidisciplinary obesity treatment programs, the promotion of healthy lifestyles at the system level, and the development of evidence-based clinical interventions. In her current role at Clalit, she leads professional standards in obesity care and works to create comprehensive, patient-centered treatment environments.

Ms. Liya Mashiah, is an ECPO Patient Representative in Israel, and shares the real-life perspective of people living with obesity. Her goal is to improve the way patients and healthcare providers communicate and work together. She is dedicated to ending the stigma and bias that often come with this disease. By using People-First Language, she helps ensure seeing the person first, not just their medical condition. Her mission is to change the conversation so every patient receives the respect and support they deserve.