Debbie Lindell

Lindell was born in Australia and grew up loving the ocean.^[1] Lindell earned her B.A. from Hebrew University of Jerusalem.^[2] She then worked as a technician on a project involving coral reef and fish and decided she wanted to pursue research in marine science.^[1] She went on to earn an M.S. and a Ph.D. from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, followed by postdoctoral research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[2]

Lindell's early research was on the succession of phytoplankton in the Gulf of Aqaba^[3] and gene expression by the cyanobacterium Synechococcus.^[4][5] Her subsequent work examined the transfer of genes between phytoplankton and marine viruses,^[6][7] and the evolution of host-virus interactions as evident from the analysis of gene expression in bacteria infected by a virus.^[8][9] Her research also investigates the genetic factors leading to long-term coexistence of phytoplankton and viruses.^[10][11] In response to the COVID-19 disease, Lindell was part of a team who filed a patent for a reusable mask that is designed to prevent infection by viruses.^[12] As of 2022, Lindell has an h-index of 31 with over 6300 citations to her published works.^[13]

• Rocap, Gabrielle; Larimer, Frank W.; Lamerdin, Jane; Malfatti, Stephanie; Chain, Patrick; Ahlgren, Nathan A.; Arellano, Andrae; Coleman, Maureen; Hauser, Loren; Hess, Wolfgang R.; Johnson, Zackary I.; Land, Miriam; Lindell, Debbie; Post, Anton F.; Regala, Warren; Shah, Manesh; Shaw, Stephanie L.; Steglich, Claudia; Sullivan, Matthew B.; Ting, Claire S.; Tolonen, Andrew; Webb, Eric A.; Zinser, Erik R.; Chisholm, Sallie W. (August 2003). "Genome divergence in two Prochlorococcus ecotypes reflects oceanic niche differentiation". Nature. 424 (6952): 1042–1047. Bibcode:2003Natur.424.1042R. doi:10.1038/nature01947. PMID 12917642. S2CID 4344597.
• Lindell, Debbie; Sullivan, Matthew B.; Johnson, Zackary I.; Tolonen, Andrew C.; Rohwer, Forest; Chisholm, Sallie W. (15 July 2004). "Transfer of photosynthesis genes to and from Prochlorococcus viruses". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 101 (30): 11013–11018. Bibcode:2004PNAS..10111013L. doi:10.1073/pnas.0401526101. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 503735. PMID 15256601.
• Lindell, Debbie; Jaffe, Jacob D.; Johnson, Zackary I.; Church, George M.; Chisholm, Sallie W. (November 2005). "Photosynthesis genes in marine viruses yield proteins during host infection". Nature. 438 (7064): 86–89. Bibcode:2005Natur.438...86L. doi:10.1038/nature04111. PMID 16222247. S2CID 4347406.
• Lindell, Debbie; Post, Anton F. (September 1995). "Ultraphytoplankton succession is triggered by deep winter mixing in the Gulf of Aqaba (Eilat), Red Sea". Limnology and Oceanography. 40 (6): 1130–1141. Bibcode:1995LimOc..40.1130L. doi:10.4319/lo.1995.40.6.1130. ISSN 0024-3590.
• Lindell, Debbie; Jaffe, Jacob D.; Coleman, Maureen L.; Futschik, Matthias E.; Axmann, Ilka M.; Rector, Trent; Kettler, Gregory; Sullivan, Matthew B.; Steen, Robert; Hess, Wolfgang R.; Church, George M.; Chisholm, Sallie W. (September 2007). "Genome-wide expression dynamics of a marine virus and host reveal features of co-evolution". Nature. 449 (7158): 83–86. Bibcode:2007Natur.449...83L. doi:10.1038/nature06130. PMID 17805294. S2CID 4412265.

In 2009 Lindell received the Krill Prize for scientific excellence from the Wolf Foundation.^[14] In 2022 Lindell received the “Morton and Beverley Rechler” Prize for Excellence in Research.^[15] Lindell received the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography in 2026.^[16]