Daniel Chamovitz

Daniel Chamovitz
Chamovitz, the 7th President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Born (1963-04-18) April 18, 1963 (age 61)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
CitizenshipIsrael, United States
EducationYale University
(1993-1995, Postdoc)
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1993, PhD, Genetics)
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1986, B.Sc., Biology,)
Hopewell High School (Pennsylvania), Aliquippa, PA (1981)
Known forCarotenoid biosynthesis
Discovering the COP9 signalosome
What a Plant Knows (2012)
SpouseShira Yalon-Chamovitz
Scientific career
FieldsPlant Biology
Molecular genetics
Food security
InstitutionsBen Gurion University of the Negev; Tel Aviv University
Thesis Molecular Analysis of the Early Steps of Carotenoid Biosynthesis in Cyanobacteria: Phytoene Synthase and Phytoene Desaturase
Doctoral advisorJoseph Hirschberg

Daniel Chamovitz (דניאל חיימוביץ; born April 18, 1963 ) is an American-born plant geneticist and the 7th President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva, Israel.[1] On July 1, 2024, he assumed the position of head of VERA – Association of University Heads, Israel ועד_ראשי_האוניברסיטאות. [2] Previously he was Dean of the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University, Israel, and the director of the multidisciplinary Manna Center Program in Food Safety and Security.[3][4]

Biography

Daniel Chamovitz was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. He began his undergraduate studies at Columbia University in New York City, NY, and then transferred to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he studied plant science. He received his Ph.D. in Genetics in 1992. From 1993 to 1996 he carried out postdoctoral research at Yale University, before accepting a faculty position at Tel Aviv University. In 2002, Chamovitz was a visiting scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, 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 Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva, Israel, and holds the university's Miles and Lillian Cahn Chair in Food Security and Plant Science.[5]

Scientific career

During his doctoral research, in the lab of Joseph Hirschberg, Daniel Chamovitz cloned several genes involved in the biosynthesis of beta-carotene.[6][7][8] As a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Xing-Wang Deng at Yale University, he discovered the COP9 Signalosome (CSN) complex.[9][10] 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 as model systems. Using genetic, biochemical, molecular and computational 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.[11] His lab has also elucidated the role of the phytochemical indole-3-carbinol in plant development.[12][13] Chamovitz has published over 70 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals[14][15] with over 8,000 citations listed in Google Scholar.[16] He was also member of the Faculty of 1000, Biology.[17]

He is known for his popular science book What a Plant Knows,[18][19][20][21][22] 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[23] and was listed as one of the Top 10 Science books in Amazon for 2012.[24] What a Plant Knows has been translated and published in 20 countries. The book was also the base for a course[25] with the same name taught on Coursera by Chamovitz to over 100,000 students,[26][27][28] beginning in 2013.

Selected awards

References

  1. ^ "Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, President-Elect of BGU". Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  2. ^ https://vera.org.il/%D7%93%D7%91%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A8/ [bare URL]
  3. ^ "Food Safety & Security Manna Center Program in | Tel Aviv University". foodsecurity.tau.ac.il. Archived from the original on 2014-05-01.
  4. ^ "Prof. Daniel Chamovitz | The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences". en-lifesci.tau.ac.il. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  5. ^ "Ben-Gurion University of the Negev - BGU President - Prof. Daniel Chamovitz". In.bgu.ac.il. 2019-01-01. Archived from the original on 2019-06-13. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  6. ^ Chamovitz, D.; Pecker, I.; Hirschberg, J. (1991-06-01). "The molecular basis of resistance to the herbicide norflurazon". Plant Molecular Biology. 16 (6): 967–974. doi:10.1007/BF00016069. ISSN 1573-5028. PMID 1907510. S2CID 44034335.
  7. ^ Chamovitz, Daniel; Misawa, Norihiko; Sandmann, Gerhard; Hirschberg, Joseph (1992-01-27). "Molecular cloning and expression in Escherichia coli of a cyanobacterial gene coding for phytoene synthase, a carotenoid biosynthesis enzyme". FEBS Letters. 296 (3): 305–310. Bibcode:1992FEBSL.296..305C. doi:10.1016/0014-5793(92)80310-D. ISSN 0014-5793. PMID 1537409. S2CID 8674018.
  8. ^ Cunningham, Francis X.; Chamovitz, Daniel; Misawa, Norihiko; Gantt, Elisabeth; Hirschberg, Joseph (1993-08-09). "Cloning and functional expression in Escherichia coli of a cyanobacterial gene for lycopene cyclase, the enzyme that catalyzes the biosynthesis of beta-carotene". FEBS Letters. 328 (1–2): 130–138. Bibcode:1993FEBSL.328..130C. doi:10.1016/0014-5793(93)80980-9. ISSN 0014-5793. PMID 8344419. S2CID 86704801.
  9. ^ Chamovitz, Daniel A; Wei, Ning; Osterlund, Mark T; von Arnim, Albrecht G; Staub, Jeffrey M; Matsui, Minami; Deng, Xing-Wang (1996-07-12). "The COP9 Complex, a Novel Multisubunit Nuclear Regulator Involved in Light Control of a Plant Developmental Switch". Cell. 86 (1): 115–121. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(00)80082-3. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 8689678.
  10. ^ Wei, Ning; Chamovitz, Daniel A.; Deng, Xing-Wang (1994-07-15). "Arabidopsis COP9 is a component of a novel signaling complex mediating light control of development". Cell. 78 (1): 117–124. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(94)90578-9. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 8033203. S2CID 205021135.
  11. ^ Lee, Mong-Hong; Zhao, Ruiying; Phan, Liem; Yeung, Sai-Ching J. (2011-09-15). "Roles of COP9 signalosome in cancer". Cell Cycle. 10 (18): 3057–3066. doi:10.4161/cc.10.18.17320. ISSN 1538-4101. PMC 3218617. PMID 21876386.
  12. ^ Katz, Ella; et al. (2018). "Indole-3-carbinol: a plant hormone combatting cancer". F1000Research. 7: 689. doi:10.12688/f1000research.14127.1. PMC 5989150. PMID 29904587.
  13. ^ Katz, Ella; et al. (2015). "The glucosinolate breakdown product indole-3-carbinol acts as an auxin antagonist in roots of Arabidopsis thaliana". Plant Journal. 82 (4): 547–555. doi:10.1111/tpj.12824. PMID 25758811.
  14. ^ "Chamovitz, Daniel". scholars.bgu.ac.il. Archived from the original on 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  15. ^ "ORCID". orcid.org. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  16. ^ "Daniel Chamovitz - Google Scholar Citations". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  17. ^ "Daniel Chamovitz - F1000Prime". f1000.com. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  18. ^ Chamovitz, Daniel. "What a Plant Knows". Scientific American. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  19. ^ "WHAT A PLANT KNOWS". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  20. ^ "What a Plant Knows by Daniel Chamovitz « Botany One". Botany One. 2013-05-18. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  21. ^ Alun, Salt (18 May 2013). "What a Plant Knows by Daniel Chamovitz". Annals of Botany. Oxford Journals. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  22. ^ Smith, P. D. (2012-06-19). "What a Plant Knows by Daniel Chamovitz – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  23. ^ a b "2013 Silver Winners" (PDF). Nautilus Book Awards. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  24. ^ Dupuis, John. "Best Science Books 2012: Amazon". CONFESSIONS OF A SCIENCE LIBRARIAN. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  25. ^ "Understanding Plants - Part I: What a Plant Knows".
  26. ^ Cann, AJ (9 October 2013). "What a Plant Knows – MOOC Report". aobblog.com/. Oxford Journals. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  27. ^ Dichek, Bernard (5 Sep 2013). "Into Classrooms, and Beyond". BIOENTREPRENEUR:TRADE SECRETS. nature.com. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  28. ^ "Reaching the masses: true botanical evangelism « Botany One". Botany One. 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2019-07-05.