
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. His current project in Sunway University is a continuation of this work, with a particular emphasis on the study of heat-activated Zooxanthellae retrotransposons.
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.
Selected Publications
- The genetic intractability of Symbiodinium microadriaticum to standard algal transformation methods
- Genetic transformation of the dinoflagellate chloroplast
- Nutrient stress arrests tentacle growth in the coral model Aiptasia
- Recent expansion of heat-activated retrotransposons in the coral symbiont Symbiodinium microadriaticum
JCI Events
External Talks and Presentations
- 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