Alon Chen

Chen was born in Israel.[1][2] He is a neuroscientist.[2]

He attended Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BSc in life sciences, magna cum laude, 1995, and MBA, 2001), and the Weizmann Institute of Science (PhD, magna cum laude, 2001).[2][3] On a Rothschild scholarship and a Fulbright scholarship, Chen conducted postdoctoral research at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, California, from 2001–05.[2][4][5]

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.[2][6] In 2012, he became an associate professor, and in 2017 a full professor.[2]

In 2013, Chen was appointed a director in the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, and head of the joint Weizmann-Max Planck Laboratory for experimental neuropsychiatry and behavioral neurogenetics.[7][2][8] 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.[2]

Chen is the 11th President of the Weizmann Institute of Science.[9][10] He took office in December 2019, succeeding Daniel Zajfman.[9][10][11]

His research includes an investigation of the biological brain processes that regulate and are activated by mental stress and anxiety.[2][1] This includes an investigation by Chen of brain mechanisms that are connected to anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and metabolic syndromes.[2][1][12][13][14]