Prof. Kasher is interested in the development of novel membranes for water desalination and treatment. Synthetic-organic chemistry approaches are used to prepare membranes with improved surface properties and solute transport for nanofiltration and reverse-osmosis processes. The aim is to deal with obstacles associated with membrane-based water treatment such as membrane fouling, removal of organic contaminants and membrane stability, while maintaining the salt rejection and flux characteristics of existing membranes.
Establishing a new approach for surface modification of water-treatment membranes, Dr. Kasher is attempting to develop chemical methodologies to connect antimicrobial peptides to reverse-osmosis membranes without loss of peptide activity. The aim of this new approach is to deal with biofouling of reverse-osmosis membranes, which is one of the most severe problems in desalination. In this project, Dr. Kasher is taking advantage of his 10 years of experience in peptide chemistry and peptide synthesis.
Dr. Kasher is studying the mineralization and fouling phenomena of water treatment membranes using novel approach that combines the preparation of unique 'clean' surfaces that mimic RO membrane surface, and evaluating the sorption of organic foulants, with analytical instruments. In collaboration with Dr. Moshe Herzberg correlations with real RO data supply the bases for developing methods for predicting fouling.
Another filed of interest is coping with fouling by graft-polymerization of membranes to alter their physical surface properties; together with Dr. Sophia Belfer a control of surface charge was achieved by use of monomers with oppositely-charged groups, and anti-fouling grafting was performed by use of hydrophilic-PEG functionalized monomers

Scientific Publications 2015-2020
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2. A. CohenS, J. Lerner-YardeniS, D. MeridorPD, M. ZamaiC, V.R. CaiolfaC, R. KasherPI, I. NathanPI, and A. H. ParolaPI. (2015) The Mechanism of Inhibition of Necrosis by Humanin Derivatives: A Potential Treatment for Ischemia and Related Diseases. Biophysical Journal 108, 154A-154A.
3. Roni Kasher, PI* Clil Regev,S Rozalia FeinsteinT and Sophia BelferC. Fabrication of a polymeric coating layer with unique micro-spherical structure on water treatment membranes. Chemical Engineering Transactions Vol. 60 (2017). Guest Editors: L. Di Palma, E. Petrucci, and M. Stoller.
4. A. CohenS, J. Lerner-YardeniS, D. MeridorPD, R. Kasher*PI, I. Nathan*PI, and A. H. Parola*PI (2018). Humanin: A multifactorial anti-death agent. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Journal 4, No. 1:8. (DOI: 10.21767/2471-8084.100057).
5. Marina-Yamit LutskiyS, Shani Avneri-KatzS, Ni ZhuS, Mark ItskoPD, Zeev RonenC, Christopher J. ArnuschC, Roni KasherPI* (2015). A microbiology-based assay for quantification of bacterial early stage biofilm formation on reverse-osmosis and nanofiltration membranes. Separation and Purification Technology 141, 214-220. (7 citations; IF 3.927; Ranking 21/135, Q1)
6. Wang YingS, Rajender KumarPD, Moshe HerzbergPI#*, and Roni KasherPI#* (2015). Diminished swelling of cross-linked aromatic oligoamide surfaces revealed a new fouling mechanism of reverse-osmosis membranes. Environmental Science & Technology 49, 6815-6822 (9 citation; IF 5.393; Ranking 14/225, Q1).
7. Aviv CohenS, Jenny Lerner-YardeniS, David MeridorPD, Roni KasherPI,* Ilana NathanPI,* Abraham H. ParolaPI* (2015). Humanin derivatives inhibit necrotic cell death in neurons. Molecular Medicine, 21, 505-514. (3 citations; IF 3.53; Ranking 32/124, Q2).
8. D. SchwahnPI, V. PipichC, R. KasherC, and Y. OrenC (2015). Accumulation of GdCl3 in the feed of a reverse osmosis system during desalination as determined by neutron absorption. European Conference on Neutron Scattering 2015 (0 citations; No IF calculated).
9. Y.N. DahdalS, V. PipichC, H. RapaportC, Y. OrenC, R. KasherPI, D. SchwahnPI (2016). Small-Angle Neutron Scattering Studies on Alginate as Biomineralizing Agent and Scale Initiator. Polymer, 85, 77-88 (3 citations; IF 3.586; 12/85, Q1).
10. Shaked SteinS, Amos RussakS, Orit SivanPI,* Yoseph YechieliPI, Eyal RahavC, Yoram OrenC, and Roni KasherPI* (2016). Saline groundwater from coastal aquifers as a source for desalination. Environmental Science & Technology 50, 1955-1963 (5 citations; IF 5.393; Ranking 14/225, Q1).
11. Yara N. DahdalS, Yoram OrenC, Dietmar SchwahnC, Vitaliy PipichC, Moshe HerzbergC, Wang YingS, Roni KasherPI* and Hanna RapaportPI* (2016). Biopolymer-Induced Calcium Phosphate Scaling in Membrane-Based Water Treatment Systems: Langmuir Model Films Studies. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 143, 233-242 (2 citations; IF 3.902; 14/72, Q1).
12. Elias J. BodnerS, Nitzan KandiyoteS, Marina Y. LutskiyS, H. Bauke AlbadaC, Nils Metzler-NolteC, Wolfgang UhlC, Roni KasherPI*, Christopher J. ArnuschPI* (2016). Attachment of antimicrobial peptides to reverse osmosis membranes by Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar alkyne–azide cycloaddition. RSC Advances 6, 91815-91823 (3 citations; IF 3.29; Ranking 48/163, Q2).
13. Dietmar SchwahnPI*, Herbert FeilbachT, Thomas Starc,T Vitaliy PipichC, Roni KasherPI and Yoram OrenPI* (2017). Design and Test of a Reverse Osmosis Pressure Cell for in-situ Small-Angle Neutron Scattering Studies. Desalination 405, 40-50 (0 citations; IF 5.527; Ranking 2/88, Q1).
14. Dietmar SchwahnPI*, Vitaliy PipichC and Roni KasherPI (2017). Phase behavior of methacrylic acid, poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether, and poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate in aqueous solutions. Polymer 121, 111-123 (0 citations; IF 3.586; 12/85, Q1).
15. Karthik RathinamPD, Swatantra P. SinghPD, Yilun LiS, Roni KasherPI, James M. TourPI*, Christopher J. ArnuschPI* (2017). Polyimide derived laser-induced graphene as adsorbent for cationic and anionic dyes. Carbon 124, 515-524 (12 citations; IF 6.337; Ranking 23/145, Q1).
16. Antonio AmelioPD, Marco SangermanoC, Roni KasherPI, Roy BernsteinC, Alberto TiraferriPI* (2017). Fabrication of Nanofiltration Membranes via Stepwise Assembly of Oligoamide on Alumina Supports: Effect of Number of Reaction Cycles on Membrane Properties. J. Membrane Science 543, 269-276 (2 citations; IF 6.035; Ranking 8/135, Q1).
17. Mengyuan WuPI, Tianyi Ma, Yanlei Su, Hong Wu, Xinda You, Zhongyi Jiang, Roni KasherC (2017). Fabrication of composite nanofiltration membrane by incorporating attapulgite nanorods during interfacial polymerization for high water flux and antifouling property. Journal of Membrane Science 544, 79-87 (9 citations; IF 6.035; Ranking 8/135, Q1).
18. Canwei MaoS, Gunasekaran MohanrajPD, Nitzan Shtreimer KandiyoteS, Roni KasherPI, Christopher J. ArnuschPI* (2018). UV mediated attachment of short Arginine-Tryptophan antimicrobial peptides on reverse osmosis membrane surfaces inhibit Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm. Desalination, 431, 73-79 (3 citations; IF 5.527; Ranking 2/88, Q1). Online access https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2017.12.027
19. Karthik Rathinam,PD Yoram OrenC, Winfried PetryC, Dietmar SchwahnC and Roni KasherPI* (2018). Calcium phosphate scaling during wastewater desalination on oligoamide surfaces mimicking reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes. Water Research 128, 217-225 (3 citations; IF 6.942; Ranking 1/88, Q1). Online access https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2017.10.055
20. Ziv Hezi, Shaked Shpak, Mordechai Fliesher, Leonid Gillerman, Roni KasherC, Gideon OronPI (2018). Optimal managing the coastal aquifer for seawater desalination and meeting nitrates level of drinking water. Desalination 436, 63-68 (2 citations; IF 5.527; Ranking 2/88, Q1).
21. David MeridorPD, Aviv CohenS, Boris KhalfinC, Lakshminarasaiah UppalapatiC Roni KasherPI*, Ilana NathanPI*, Abraham H. ParolaPI* (2018). The Protective Effect of Humanin Derivative AGA(C8R)-HNG17 Against Acetaminophen-Induced Liver Injury in Mice. International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics, formerly "Letters in Peptide Science" pp 1-7 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10989-018-9700-2) (IF 0.904; 266/290, Q4).
22. Gunasekaran Mohanraj, Canwei Mao, Asatryan Armine, Roni Kasher* and Christopher J. Arnusch* (2018). Ink-jet printing-assisted modification on polyethersulfone membranes using a UV-reactive antimicrobial peptide for fouling resistant surfaces. ACS Omega 3, 8752–8759 (2 citations).
23. Karthik Rathinam,PD Swatantra Pratap Singh, Christopher J. Arnusch* and Roni KasherPI* (2018) An environmentally-friendly chitosan-lysozyme biocomposite for the effective removal of dyes and heavy metals from aqueous solutions. Carbohydrate Polymers 199, 506-515 (2 citations; IF 5.158; Ranking 4/72, Q1 Applied chemistry; 10/59, Q1 Organic chemistry).
24. Swatantra Pratap Singh, Karthik Rathinam, Roni Kasher*, Christopher J. Arnusch* (2018). Hexavalent chromium ion and methyl orange dye uptake via a silk protein sericin-chitosan conjugate. RSC Advances, 8, 27027-27036 (0 citations, IF 3.29; Ranking 48/163, Q2).
25. Nitzan Shtreimer Kandiyote, Gunasekaran Mohanraj, Canwei Mao, Roni Kasher* and Christopher J. Arnusch* (2018). Synergy on Surfaces: Anti-Biofouling Interfaces using Surface-Attached Antimicrobial Peptides PGLa and Magainin-2. Langmuir 34, 11147–11155 (2 citations; IF 3.993; Ranking 34/163, Q1).
26. Clil RegevS, Sophia BelferC, Marina HolenbergC, Rozalia FainsteinT, Abraham H. ParolaC and Roni KasherPI* (2019). Fabrication of poly(ethylene glycol) particles with a micro-spherical morphology on polymeric fibers and its application in high flux water filtration. Separation and Purification Technology 210, 729-736 (1 citations, IF 3.927; Ranking 21/135, Q1).
27. Aum SolankiS, Rudy Smalling, Abraham H. ParolaC, Ilana NathanC, Roni KasherC, Yashwant PathakPI, Vijaykumar SutariyaPI (2019). Humanin nanoparticles for reducing pathological factors characteristic of age-related macular degeneration. Current Drug Delivery 16, 226-232 (IF 2.078; 37/72; Q3) doi: 10.2174/1567201815666181031163111.
28. Vitaliy Pipich, Kornelia Schlenstedt, Marcel Dickmann, Roni Kasher, Jochen Meier-Haack, Christoph Hugenschmidt, Winfried Petry, Yoram Oren, Dietmar Schwahn (2019). Morphology and porous structure of standalone aromatic polyamide films as used in RO membranes – an exploration with SANS, PALS, and SEM. Journal of Membrane Science 573, 167-176 (0 citations; IF 6.035; Ranking 8/135, Q1).
29. Paramita Manna, Alberto Tiraferri, Marco Sangermano, Roy Bernstein*, and Roni Kasher* (2019). Stepwise synthesis of oligoamide coating on a porous support: Fabrication of a membrane with controllable transport properties. Separation and Purification Technology 213, 11-18 (0 citations, IF 3.927; Ranking 21/135, Q1).
30. Nitzan Shtreimer Kandiyote, Tehila Avisdris, Christopher J. Arnusch* and Roni Kasher* (2019). Grafted polymer coatings enhance fouling inhibition by an antimicrobial peptide on reverse osmosis membranes. Langmuir 35, 1935-1943 (0 citations; IF 3.993; Ranking 34/163, Q1).
31. Mengyuan Wu, Jinqiu Yuan, Hong Wu, Yanlei Su, Hao Yang, Xinda You, Runnan Zhang, Xueyi He, Niaz Ali Khan, Roni Kasher, Zhongyi Jiang (2019). Ultrathin nanofiltration membrane with polydopamine-covalent organic framework interlayer for enhanced permeability and structural stability. Journal of Membrane Science 576, 131-141 (0 citations; IF 6.035; Ranking 8/135, Q1).
32. Fei Wang, Mingrui He, Kang Gao, Yanlei Su, Runnan Zhang, Yanan Liu, Jianliang Shen, Zhongyi Jiang and Roni Kasher (2019). Constructing membrane surface with synergistic passive antifouling and active antibacterial strategies through organic-inorganic composite modifier. Journal of Membrane Science 576, 150-160 (0 citations; IF 6.035; Ranking 8/135, Q1).
33. Shaked Stein, Yoseph Yechieli, Eyal Shalev, Roni Kasher and Orit Sivan (2019). The effect of pumping saline groundwater for desalination on the fresh–saline water interface dynamics. Water Research 156, 46-57 (0 citations; IF 7.913; Ranking 1/88, Q1).
34. Karthik Rathinam, Shiju Abraham, Yoram Oren, Dietmar Schwahn, Winfried Petry, Yair Kaufman, Roni Kasher* (2019). Surface-induced silica scaling during brackish water desalination: The role of surface charge and specific chemical groups. Environmental Science and Technology 53, 5202-5211 (0 citations; IF 6.653; Ranking 14/225, Q1).
35. Niaz Ali Khan, Jinqiu Yuan, Hong Wu, Li Cao, Runnan Zhang, Yanan Liu, Lianshan Li, Ata Ur Rahman, Roni Kasher, Zhongyi Jiang* (2019). Mixed nanosheet membranes assembled from chemically grafted graphene oxide and covalent organic frameworks for ultra-high water flux. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 11, 28978-28986 (0 citations; IF 8.456; Ranking, Q1).
36. Vitaliy Pipich, Marcel Dickmann, Henrich Frielinghaus, Roni Kasher, Christoph Hugenschmidt, Winfried Petry, Yoram Oren and Dietmar Schwahn (2020). Morphology of thin film composite membranes explored by small-angle neutron scattering and positron-annihilation lifetime spectroscopy. Membranes 10, 48 (0 citations; CiteScore 3.28; Ranking Q2). https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10030048
37. Shaked Stein, Fernando Sola, Yoseph Yechieli, Eyal Shalev, Orit Sivan, Roni Kasher, Angela Vallejos (2020). The effects of long-term saline groundwater pumping for desalination on the fresh–saline water interface: Field observations and numerical modeling. Science of the Total Environment, 732, 139249 (0 citations; IF 6.551; Ranking Q1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139249
38. Shaked Stein, Orit Sivan, Yoseph Yechieli, Roni Kasher (2020). Redox condition of saline groundwater from coastal aquifers influences reverse osmosis desalination process. Manuscript accepted to Water Research, (0 citations; IF 9.13; Ranking Q1).

Postdoctoral fellowship 2000-2003 in the laboratory of Prof. Ephraim Katzir (Department of Biological Chemistry) in collaboration with Prof. Mati Fridkin (Organic Chemistry), Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel.

Research subject: Rational design and synthesis of biologically active peptides: Design and synthesis of peptides with estrogenic activity, and inhibitors of ?-bungarotoxin.


Ph.D. 1993-2000 Department of Organic Chemistry, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Supervisor: Prof. Chaim Gilon.

Thesis title: Design and synthesis of backbone cyclic peptides that mimic proteins.


M.Sc. 1990-1992 Organic Chemistry, cum laude, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Supervisor: Prof. Itamar Willner.
Research subject: Development of photocatalytic systems for electrical communication between enzymes and synthetic polymers.
B.Sc. 1986-1989 Geology and Chemistry, cum laude, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel