Growing up by the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, I developed a strong curiosity regarding marine lifeforms, along with a strong desire to protect them. I focused my efforts on pursuing an academic career as a marine biologist, developing my own field of expertise. As Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead once said: “It's not enough to be the best at what you do; you must be perceived to be the only one who does what you do.” Thus, upon completing my MSc studies on coral bleaching (2001–2003) I shifted my focus to ascidians (Chordata, Ascidiacea), a unique group of invertebrates that until then had been poorly studied in the Red Sea and Eastern Mediterranean. With the rapid arrival and spread of non-indigenous ascidians around the world, and the increasing use of some species as model organisms in evolution and development research, a demand has arisen to understand ascidian ecology, physiology, and taxonomy in greater depth. Following my post-doctoral training with Prof. Billie Swalla at the University of Washington, USA (2009–2011) I established my own laboratory at Tel Aviv University, School of Zoology (2012). Working with my research team at Tel Aviv University, we use the exceptional physiological features ascidians possess to find solutions to burning questions in marine environmental protection and evolution and development, along with providing recommendations for mitigation and control of nuisance species. Furthermore, as I am an expert taxonomist of this group, my team regularly monitors and actively promotes the identification of ascidian species of the region, establishing a solid database for international collaborations. I am perpetually amazed by the complexity, diversity, and beauty of the ascidian fauna along both the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts of Israel (Figure 1); the majority of species from these regions are yet to be identified and hold exciting discoveries in the fields of evolution, development, ecology, natural products, and more. To date, my research team has published over 70 papers thoroughly representing my three fields of research: (1) Marine Bioinvasion (Bereza & Shenkar, 2022; Gewing & Shenkar, 2017) (2) Ascidian ecology, phylogeny, and regeneration (Gordon et al., 2020; Gordon et al., 2021; Shenkar, 2013; Shenkar et al., 2016; Shenkar & Gordon, 2015); and (3) Ecotoxicology, in particular the use of ascidians as biological indicators of marine environments (Anderson & Shenkar, 2021; Navon et al., 2020; Tzafriri-Milo et al., 2019; Vered et al., 2019; Vered & Shenkar, 2022). I have been awarded several competitive grants and awards: Marie Curie Career Integration Grant, German-Israeli Foundation, US-Israel Binational Science Foundation, Schulich Ocean Studies, Israel Science Foundation, and the Caroline von Humboldt prize for Excellent Female Scientists. I owe these achievements to the tremendous support I received throughout the years from my mentor, Prof. Yossi Loya, and key figures in the ascidian community: Gretchen and Charley Lambert, Rosana Moreira da Rocha, Xavier Turon, and Francoise Monniot (Figure 2). Among my favorite anecdotes is that I named a beautiful ascidian species from the Red Sea Rhopolaea idoneta after two of my children, Ido and Neta (Shenkar, 2013), and discovered by mistake with my former student, Tal Gordon, the ability of the solitary ascidian Polycarpa mytiligera, to eviscerate its digestive system and re-build a new one within 12 days (Shenkar & Gordon, 2015). Last but not least, I am among the few people that hold an original copy of the book “Ascidians of Sagami Bay collected by his majesty the Emperor of Japan”.

我在地中海沿岸长大，对海洋生物产生了强烈的好奇心，也产生了保护它们的强烈愿望。我集中精力追求海洋生物学家的学术生涯，发展自己的专业领域。正如感恩而死乐队的杰里·加西亚曾经说过的那样：“仅仅在自己所做的事情上做到最好是不够的，还需要努力做到最好。” 你必须被认为是唯一一个做你所做的事情的人。” 因此，在完成关于珊瑚白化的理学硕士研究（2001-2003）后，我将注意力转向海鞘类（脊索动物、海鞘科），这是一种独特的无脊椎动物群体，在此之前，人们对红海和东地中海的研究很少。随着非本土海鞘在世界各地的迅速抵达和传播，以及在进化和发育研究中越来越多地使用某些物种作为模式生物，人们提出了更深入地了解海鞘生态学、生理学和分类学的需求。在美国华盛顿大学 Billie Swalla 教授的指导下（2009-2011 年）接受博士后培训后，我在特拉维夫大学动物学院建立了自己的实验室（2012 年）。我们与特拉维夫大学的研究团队合作，利用海鞘所具有的特殊生理特征来寻找海洋环境保护、进化和发展中紧迫问题的解决方案，并为缓解和控制有害物种提供建议。此外，由于我是该群体的专家分类学家，我的团队定期监测并积极推动该地区海鞘物种的鉴定，为国际合作建立了坚实的数据库。我一直对以色列地中海和红海沿岸海鞘动物群的复杂性、多样性和美丽感到惊讶（图 1）；这些地区的大多数物种尚未被识别，并且在进化、发展、生态、天然产物等领域拥有令人兴奋的发现。迄今为止，我的研究团队已发表了 70 多篇论文，全面代表了我的三个研究领域：(1) 海洋生物入侵（Bereza & Shenkar，  2022；Gewing & Shenkar，  2017）(2) 海鞘生态学、系统发育和再生（Gordon 等人）等人，  2020；戈登等人，  2021；Shenkar，  2013；Shenkar 等人，  2016；Shenkar 和 Gordon，  2015）；(3) 生态毒理学，特别是使用海鞘作为海洋环境的生物指标（Anderson & Shenkar，  2021；Navon 等，  2020；Tzafriri-Milo 等，  2019；Vered 等，  2019；Vered &申卡，  2022）。我获得过多项竞争性资助和奖项：居里夫人职业融合资助​​、德国-以色列基金会、美国-以色列两国科学基金会、舒利克海洋研究、以色列科学基金会和卡罗琳·冯·洪堡杰出女科学家奖。我将这些成就归功于我的导师 Yossi Loya 教授以及海鞘界关键人物多年来的大力支持：Gretchen 和 Charley Lambert、Rosana Moreira da Rocha、Xavier Turon 和 Francoise Monniot（图 2） 。我最喜欢的轶事之一是，我以我的两个孩子 Ido 和 Neta 的 名字命名了一种来自红海的美丽海鞘品种Rhopolaea idoneta （Shenkar， 2013），并与我以前的学生 Tal Gordon 错误地发现了孤独的能力。海鞘Polycarpa mytiligera，在 12 天内取出其消化系统并重建一个新的消化系统（Shenkar & Gordon，  2015）。最后但并非最不重要的一点是，我是少数拥有《日本天皇陛下收藏的相模湾海鞘》一书原版的人之一。