Alon Chen

Alon Chen (; born 1970) is an Israeli neuroscientist and the 11th President of the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Biography

Chen was born in Israel. He is a neuroscientist. 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 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. In 2012, he became an associate professor, and in 2017 a full professor. He heads the Neurobiology Department at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and is an adjunct professor at LMU Munich's Faculty of Medicine. 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 and anxiety.

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.