Biography:Daniel Chamovitz

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Short description: American-born Israeli biologist
Daniel Chamovitz
Chamovitz 14082018 042.jpg
Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, the 7th President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Born (1963-04-18) April 18, 1963 (age 61)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
CitizenshipIsrael, United States
Alma materYale 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)
Spouse(s)Shira Yalon-Chamovitz
Scientific career
FieldsPlant Biology
Molecular genetics
Food security
InstitutionsBen Gurion University of the Negev
ThesisMolecular 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] 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.[2][3]

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.[4]

Scientific career

During his doctoral research, in the lab of Joseph Hirschberg, Daniel Chamovitz cloned several genes involved in the biosynthesis of beta-carotene.[5][6][7] As a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Xing-Wang Deng at Yale University, he discovered the COP9 Signalosome (CSN) complex.[8][9] 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.[10] His lab has also elucidated the role of the phytochemical indole-3-carbinol in plant development.[11][12] Chamovitz has published over 70 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals[13][14] with over 6,000 citations listed in Google Scholar.[15] He was also member of the Faculty of 1000, Biology.[16]

He is known for his popular science book What a Plant Knows,[17][18][19][20][21] 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[22] and was listed as one of the Top 10 Science books in Amazon for 2012.[23] What a Plant Knows has been translated and published in 20 countries. The book was also the base for a course[24] with the same name taught on Coursera by Chamovitz to over 100,000 students,[25][26][27] beginning in 2013.

Selected awards

  • 1993 European Molecular Biology Organization Long-term fellowship
  • 1994 Human Frontier Science Program 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 ICC-American Cancer Society Beginning Investigator Award
  • 2013 Nautilus Book Awards silver medal [22]
  • 2021 Bonei Zion Prize in the field of education
  • 2023 Named among the 50 Influential Jews by The Jerusalem Post

References

  1. "Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, President-Elect of BGU". http://in.bgu.ac.il/en/Pages/news/daniel_chamovitz.aspx. 
  2. "Food Safety & Security Manna Center Program in | Tel Aviv University". http://foodsecurity.tau.ac.il. 
  3. "Prof. Daniel Chamovitz | The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences" (in en-US). https://en-lifesci.tau.ac.il/profile/dannyc. 
  4. "Ben-Gurion University of the Negev - BGU President - Prof. Daniel Chamovitz". In.bgu.ac.il. 2019-01-01. https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/Pages/management/president.aspx. 
  5. Chamovitz, D.; Pecker, I.; Hirschberg, J. (1991-06-01). "The molecular basis of resistance to the herbicide norflurazon" (in en). Plant Molecular Biology 16 (6): 967–974. doi:10.1007/BF00016069. ISSN 1573-5028. PMID 1907510. 
  6. 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. doi:10.1016/0014-5793(92)80310-D. ISSN 0014-5793. PMID 1537409. 
  7. 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. doi:10.1016/0014-5793(93)80980-9. ISSN 0014-5793. PMID 8344419. 
  8. 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. 
  9. 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. 
  10. 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. PMID 21876386. 
  11. Katz, Ella (2018). "Indole-3-carbinol: a plant hormone combatting cancer". F1000Research 7: 689. doi:10.12688/f1000research.14127.1. PMID 29904587. 
  12. Katz, Ella (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. 
  13. "Chamovitz, Daniel". https://scholars.bgu.ac.il/display/dchamovitz. 
  14. "ORCID". https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2815-2909. 
  15. "Daniel Chamovitz - Google Scholar Citations". https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uT68qnAAAAAJ&hl=en. 
  16. "Daniel Chamovitz - F1000Prime" (in en). https://f1000.com/prime/thefaculty/member/1050499375451220. 
  17. Chamovitz, Daniel. "What a Plant Knows" (in en). https://www.scientificamerican.com/store/books/what-a-plant-knows/. 
  18. "WHAT A PLANT KNOWS". https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/daniel-chamovitz/what-plant-knows/. 
  19. "What a Plant Knows by Daniel Chamovitz « Botany One" (in en-US). 2013-05-18. https://www.botany.one/2013/05/what-a-plant-knows-by-daniel-chamovitz/. 
  20. Alun, Salt (18 May 2013). "What a Plant Knows by Daniel Chamovitz". Oxford Journals. http://aobblog.com/2013/05/what-a-plant-knows-by-daniel-chamovitz/. 
  21. Smith, P. D. (2012-06-19). "What a Plant Knows by Daniel Chamovitz – review" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jun/19/what-plant-knows-daniel-chamovitz-review. 
  22. 22.0 22.1 "2013 Silver Winners". http://nautilusbookawards.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2013Silver.pdf. 
  23. Dupuis, John. "Best Science Books 2012: Amazon". https://confessions.scientopia.org/2012/11/19/best-science-books-2012-amazon/. 
  24. "Understanding Plants - Part I: What a Plant Knows". https://www.coursera.org/learn/plantknows. 
  25. Cann, AJ (9 October 2013). "What a Plant Knows – MOOC Report". Oxford Journals. http://aobblog.com/2013/10/plant-knows-mooc-report/. 
  26. Dichek, Bernard (5 Sep 2013). "Into Classrooms, and Beyond". nature.com. http://blogs.nature.com/tradesecrets/2013/09/05/into-classrooms-and-beyond. 
  27. "Reaching the masses: true botanical evangelism « Botany One" (in en-US). 2013-10-04. https://www.botany.one/2013/10/reaching-masses-true-botanical-evangelism/. 

External links