use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place = , burial_coordinates = , monuments = , nationality = Israeli , other_names = , siglum = , citizenship = , education =

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) (, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public university, public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Named after Israeli List of national founders, national founder David Ben-Gurion, the unive ...

( BSc,

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

)

Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( ''Machon Weizmann LeMada'') is a Public university, public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, fourteen years before the State of Israel was founded. Unlike other List of Israeli uni ...

(

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

) , occupation =

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...

, years_active = , era = , employer =

, organization = , agent = , known_for = , notable_works = , style = , height = , television = , title = President , term = , predecessor = Daniel Zajfman , successor = , party = , movement = , opponents = , boards = , spouse = , partner = , children = , parents = , mother = , father = , relatives = , family = , callsign = , awards = , website = , module = , module2 = , module3 = , module4 = , module5 = , module6 = , signature = , signature_size = , signature_alt = , footnotes = Alon Chen (; born 1970) is an Israeli

and the 11th President of the

Biography

Chen was born in Israel. He is a

. He attended

(BSc in

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, ...

, magna cum laude, 1995, and MBA, 2001), and the

(PhD, magna cum laude, 2001). On a Rothschild scholarship and a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

, Chen conducted

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). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

at the

Salk Institute for Biological Studies The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a scientific research institute in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California. The independent, non-profit institute was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; among th ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, from 2001 to 2005. In 2005 Chen returned to the Weizmann Institute of Science as a senior scientist in the Neurobiology Department and received an Alon Fellowship from the

Israel Council for Higher Education The Council for Higher Education in Israel (, ''HaMo'atza LeHaskala Gevoha'') is a supervisory body for universities and colleges in Israel. It is the only organization with the authority to award academic educational accreditation. The head of th ...

. In 2012, he became an associate professor, and in 2017 a full professor. In 2013, Chen was appointed a director in the

Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry The Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry () is a research institute based in the city of Munich in Germany specializing in psychiatry. Currently directed by Elisabeth Binder and Alon Chen, it is one of the 81 institutes in the Max Planck Society. ...

, and head of the joint Weizmann-Max Planck Laboratory for experimental

neuropsychiatry Neuropsychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with psychiatry as it relates to neurology, in an effort to understand and attribute behavior to the interaction of neurobiology and social psychology factors. Within neuropsychiatry, the mind i ...

and

behavioral neurogenetics Neurogenetics studies the role of genetics in the development and function of the nervous system. It considers neural characteristics as phenotypes (i.e. manifestations, measurable or not, of the genetic make-up of an individual), and is mainly ba ...

. He heads the Neurobiology Department at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and is an adjunct professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University Faculty of Medicine in Munich. Chen is the 11th President of the

."Prof. Alon Chen; President, Weizmann Institute of Science"
berkeley.edu. He took office in December 2019, succeeding Daniel Zajfman. His research includes an investigation of the biological brain processes that regulate and are activated by

mental stress In psychology, stress is a feeling of emotional strain and pressure. Stress is a form of psychological pain, psychological and mental discomfort. Small amounts of stress may be beneficial, as it can improve athletic performance, motivation and ...

and anxiety. This includes an investigation by Chen of brain mechanisms that are connected to anxiety, depression,

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's health, physical or mental health, mental health. These behaviors may include eating too much food or too little food. Types of eatin ...

s, and

metabolic syndrome Metabolic syndrome is a clustering of at least three of the following five medical conditions: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high serum triglycerides, and low serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Metabolic syndro ...

s. Chen is a member of the Executive Advisory Board of the World.Minds Foundation, engaging with leaders on topics at the intersection of science, health, and society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Alon Living people Academic staff of Weizmann Institute of Science Presidents of universities in Israel Ben-Gurion University of the Negev alumni 1970 births Israeli neuroscientists Presidents of Weizmann Institute of Science Weizmann Institute of Science alumni Behavior geneticists Max Planck Institute directors