Moses V. Chao

Moses V. Chao (born May 16, 1952) is a neuroscientist and university professor at NYU Langone Health Medical Center. He studies the mechanisms of neuronal growth factor and teaches courses in cell biology, neuroscience, and physiology. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was President of the Society for Neuroscience in 2012.

Early life and education In 1972, Chao earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in biochemistry at Pomona College in Claremont, California. In 1980, he earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry at University of California, Los Angeles. He researched chromatin structure at the Molecular Biology Institute at UCLA. After earning his doctorate, Chao worked as a research fellow at Columbia University from 1980 to 1983, where he carried out his postdoctoral research with molecular biologist Richard Axel. Neutrophins act in the nervous system to assist cells in differentiation, as well as survival mechanisms and higher-order functions, including addiction, pain, neurodegenerative conditions, anxiety, and depression.

Faculty positions As of 2019, Chao has worked as a professor in the departments of Cell Biology, Neuroscience and Physiology, and Psychiatry at NYU Langone Health Medical Center. In addition, he is also the coordinator of the Molecular Biology Program.

Awards and honors Chao was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2008. Chao was also a recipient of a Zenith Award from the Alzheimer's Association in 1991 – 1994, Jacob Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from 1996 – 2003, the Julius Axelrod Award from the Society for Neuroscience in 2017, and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1994.