Rector since October 2024, Prof. Maroun is a faculty member in the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Haifa. She researches the neural and molecular basis of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), examining, among other things, the possibility of "erasing" fear memories by silencing the neural mechanisms responsible for consolidating fear memories in the brain.

She completed all three of her degrees at the University of Haifa and conducted her post-doctoral research at Paris-Sud University (Paris XI) in France, in the laboratory for learning and memory research.

Throughout her academic career, Prof. Maroun has been a trailblazer and pioneer, driving the integration and advancement of women—particularly in the natural and life sciences—and of the Arab population in key academic roles in general. She is the first woman from her village of Isfiya to earn a Ph.D., and the first female Arab Professor of Neuroscience in Israel.

She has previously served as the Chair of the Sagol Department of Neurobiology at the University of Haifa and as the University’s Vice President for Research and Development. Additionally, she was a member of the Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC) of the Council for Higher Education, where she chaired the PBC steering committee for making higher education accessible to Arab society.

"As Rector of the University of Haifa, I pledge to continue investing my entire being into my academic home, to prioritize and promote outstanding research above all else, and to remain a beacon of science and excellence in the heart of the North and within Israeli society as a whole."