Daniel Chamovitz (דניאל חיימוביץ; born April 18, 1963 ) is an American-born

plant geneticist A plant geneticist is a scientist involved with the study of genetics in botany. Typical work is done with genes in order to isolate and then develop certain plant traits. Once a certain trait, such as plant height, fruit sweetness, or tolerance to ...

and the 7th President of

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...

in Beer-Sheva,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Previously he was Dean of the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

, Israel, and the director of the multidisciplinary Manna Center Program in Food Safety and Security.

Biography

Daniel Chamovitz was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, and grew up in

Aliquippa, Pennsylvania Aliquippa is the largest city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, located on the Ohio River about northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 9,238 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Formerly the loc ...

. He began his undergraduate studies at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, NY, and then transferred to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he studied

plant science Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

. He received his Ph.D. in

Genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

in 1992. From 1993 to 1996 he carried out

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, before accepting a faculty position at

. In 2002, Chamovitz was a visiting scientist at the

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, formerly known as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and also known as Fred Hutch or The Hutch, is a cancer research institute established in 1975 in Seattle, Washington. History The center grew out o ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, and he has also been a Visiting Professor at the School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences at Peking University. He founded the interdisciplinary Manna Center Program in Food Safety and Security at Tel Aviv University in 2013, and was Dean of the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University from 2014 to 2018. Since January 1, 2019, Chamovitz serves as the 7th President of

in Beer-Sheva,

, and holds the university's Miles and Lillian Cahn Chair in Food Security and Plant Science.

Scientific career

During his doctoral research, in the lab of Joseph Hirschberg, Daniel Chamovitz

cloned Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. In the field of biotechnology, ...

several

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

s involved in the biosynthesis of beta-carotene. As a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Xing-Wang Deng at Yale University, he discovered the

COP9 Signalosome COP9 (Constitutive photomorphogenesis 9) signalosome (CSN) is a protein complex with isopeptidase activity. It catalyses the hydrolysis of NEDD8 protein from the cullin subunit of Cullin-RING ubiquitin ligases (CRL). Therefore, it is responsible f ...

(CSN) complex. At Tel Aviv University he continued to work on this protein complex to understand its role in regulating plant responses to the environment with both Arabidopsis and

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many speci ...

as model systems. Using genetic, biochemical, molecular and

computational Computation is any type of arithmetic or non-arithmetic calculation that follows a well-defined model (e.g., an algorithm). Mechanical or electronic devices (or, historically, people) that perform computations are known as ''computers''. An espe ...

approaches, he has shown that CSN is essential for development in both plants and animals and is likely also involved in a number of human diseases, including

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. His lab has also elucidated the role of the phytochemical

indole-3-carbinol Indole-3-carbinol ( C9 H9 N O), sometimes referred to as I3C, is produced by the breakdown of the glucosinolate glucobrassicin, which can be found at relatively high levels in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brusse ...

in plant development. Chamovitz has published over 70 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals with over 6,000 citations listed in Google Scholar. He was also member of the

Faculty of 1000 F1000 (formerly "Faculty of 1000") is an open research publisher for scientists, scholars, and clinical researchers. F1000 offers a different research evaluation service from standard academic journals by offering peer-review after, rather than b ...

, Biology. He is known for his popular science book '' What a Plant Knows'', which was first published in 2012, with an updated and revised edition appearing in 2017. The book won a silver medal from the Nautilus Book Awards and was listed as one of the Top 10 Science books in Amazon for 2012. ''What a Plant Knows'' has been translated and published in 20 countries. The book was also the base for a course with the same name taught on

Coursera Coursera Inc. () is a U.S.-based massive open online course provider founded in 2012 by Stanford University computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. Coursera works with universities and other organizations to offer online courses ...

by Chamovitz to over 100,000 students, beginning in 2013.

Selected Awards

* 1993

European Molecular Biology Organization The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 1,800 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...

Long-term fellowship * 1994

Human Frontier Science Program } The International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO) is a non-profit organization, based in Strasbourg, France, that funds basic research in life sciences. The organization implements the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) and ...

Postdoctoral fellowship * 1996 Alon Fellowship מלגת אלון for the Integration of Outstanding Faculty, by the Israel Council for Higher Education * 2002

Union for International Cancer Control The Union for International Cancer Control (previously named International Union Against Cancer) or UICC is a non-governmental organisation with some 1,180 member organisations in more than 170 countries. UICC was founded in 1933 and is based i ...

ICC-American Cancer Society Beginning Investigator Award * 2013 Nautilus Book Awards silver medal * 2021

Bonei Zion Prize The Sylvan Adams Bonei Zion Prize ( he, פרס בוני ציון; Translation: ''Builders of Zion Prize'') is awarded annually by the Nefesh B'Nefesh organization to formally recognize the achievements of outstanding Anglo immigrants and their con ...

in the field of education

References

External links

Interview with Daniel Chamovitz upon assuming office of President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

President's Report 2019

Personal website and blog

Losing our Humanities blogpost

Do Plants Think?

Plants are intelligent; now what?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamovitz, Daniel Living people Ben-Gurion University of the Negev faculty Scientists from Pittsburgh Tel Aviv University faculty 1963 births Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Columbia University alumni American geneticists 21st-century American biologists Israeli biologists Presidents of universities in Israel Israeli Jews Plant geneticists