Daniel A Chamovitz International Plant Molecular Biology Conference 2024

Daniel A Chamovitz

Prof. Daniel Chamovitz is the 7th President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where he holds the Miles and Lillian Cahn Chair in Food Security and Plant Science. Previously he was a professor of plant biology at Tel Aviv University, where he served as Dean of the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, and founder of the Program in Food Safety and Security. Chamovitz studied at both Columbia University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he received his Ph.D. in Genetics. He carried out postdoctoral research at Yale University under fellowships from the European Molecular Biology Organization and the Human Frontiers Science Research Program. He returned to Israel on the prestigious Alon Fellowship by the Council for Higher Education in Israel for outstanding young researchers. Chamovitz has also held positions as a visiting scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, and a visiting Professor at Peking University. His scientific career has been characterized by novel and field-defining research on plant biology, biochemistry, developmental biology and systems biology. Chamovitz is a sought-after speaker and science commentator. He has lectured worldwide on issues of global food security. He represented the Israel Academy of Sciences to the Association of Academies and Scientific Societies of Asia (AASSA), Food and Nutritional Security and Agriculture Program, and the Inter-Academy Partnership. His 2012 book What a Plant Knows has been translated into 19 languages, and was featured in the world press and media. While serving as President of Ben-Gurion of the Negev, Chamovitz retains his passion for teaching and lectures to groups about the role of plant biology in feeding a growing world. His on-line MOOC class has been attended by more than 200,000 students from all over the world.