Profile
PhD in Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge; BA in Natural Sciences (Biological), University of Cambridge
Dr. Chen Jit Ern is a Research Fellow at the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development and a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at Sunway University. His primary research interest is in the development and utilization of genetic engineering techniques and molecular tools on various microalgae, to study the underlying mechanisms for physiological traits such as lipid accumulation and heat tolerance. His previous Post-Doctoral position was in KAUST, Saudi Arabia, studying the potential for increased heat-tolerance in Zooxanthellae (Symbiodinium microadriaticum), the photosynthetic coral endosymbiont, native to the Red Sea. In the Master in Sustainability Development Management program (MSDM), Dr Chen teaches courses on Earth’s Climate System and on Biodiversity.
His current project in Sunway University is a continuation of this work, with a particular emphasis on the study of heat-activated Zooxanthellae retrotransposons retrotransposons and on experimental evolution of heat-tolerance in microalgae. His other projects include genetic engineering of the model green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii for protein production, the effects of algae auxins on the growth profile of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, and monitoring the biodiversity of plants and algae in Bandar Sunway.
Affiliations
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Current Projects
- Experimental evolution and retrotransposon-mediated genetic engineering of the coral endosymbiont alga Symbiodinium to develop increased tolerance to higher water temperatures.
- Chloroplast transformation of the model green algae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
- ASEAN Green Future
Selected Publications
- Leong, Y. Y., Platts, M. J., Amran, S., Fun, W. P., Teh, A. K., Fan, A., Low, W. S., Agamutu, P., Chen, J. E., Gopalasamy, R. C. (2021). Options for Decarbonizing Malaysia. United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
- Tan, CY., Dodd, I.C., Chen, J.E. et al. Regulation of algal and cyanobacterial auxin production, physiology, and application in agriculture: an overview. J Appl Phycol 33, 2995–3023 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-021-02475-3
- Marcela Herrera, Shannon G Klein, Sara Campana, Jit Ern Chen, Arun Prasanna, Carlos M Duarte, and Manuel Aranda, (2021). ‘Temperature transcends partner specificity in the symbiosis establishment of a cnidarian’, The ISME Journal, 15 : 141–153.
- Marcela Herrera, Shannon G Klein, Sebastian Schmidt‐Roach, Sara Campana, Maha J Cziesielski, Jit Ern Chen, Carlos M Duarte, and Manuel Aranda, (2020). ‘Unfamiliar partnerships limit cnidarian holobiont acclimation to warming’, Global Change Biology, 26.10 .
- Jit Ern Chen, Adrian C. Barbrook, Guoxin Cui, Christopher J. Howe, Manuel Aranda, (2019)The genetic intractability of Symbiodinium microadriaticum to standard algal transformation methods“, PLoS ONE 14(2): e0211936.
- Isabel C Nimmo, Adrian C Barbrook, Imen Lassadi, Jit Ern Chen, Katrin Geisler, Alison G Smith, Manuel Aranda, Saul Purton, Ross F Waller, R Ellen R Nisbet and Christopher J Howe, (2019). ‘Genetic transformation of the dinoflagellate chloroplast‘, eLife 2019;8:e45292.
- Nils Rädecker, Jit Ern Chen, Claudia Pogoreutz, Marcela Herrera, Manuel Aranda & Christian R. Voolstra, (2019). ‘Nutrient stress arrests tentacle growth in the coral model Aiptasia‘, Symbiosis 78, pp. 61–64.
- Jit Ern Chen, Guoxin Cui, Xin Wang, Yi Jin Liew, Manuel Aranda, (2018). ‘Recent expansion of heat-activated retrotransposons in the coral symbiont Symbiodinium microadriaticum‘, The ISME Journal, Feb;12(2), pp. 639-643.
JCI Events
The one-day event provides a platform and practical framework for ministers, policymakers, industry practitioners, civil society activists and experts to address shared challenges to sustainable development in the region and to discuss feasible and effective implementation strategies and solutions.
External Talks and Presentations
- 27 January 2021: ‘Turning Up the Heat on Reefs and Retrotransposons’, IMMB Journal Club Talk.
- 19-22 Aug 2019: Heat-activated retrotransposons in the algal symbiont of corals, Symbiodinium microadriaticum, 27th FAOBMB & 44th MSBMB Conference, IUBMB Special Symposia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, MSBMB
- 18 Nov 2019: The Environment and Responsible Corporate Action, ASEAN Sustainable Development Summit, ASLI & JSC