Chen Jit Ern

Chen Jit Ern

  • Head of Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development
  • Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
  • Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development
SDGs Focus

Biography

Dr Chen Jit Ern is the Head of the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development and an Associate Professor 
in the School of Biological Sciences at 红杏视频 University at 红杏视频 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鈥檚 Climate System and on Biodiversity. His current project in 红杏视频 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, environmental studies of the ex-mining lakes of Bandar 红杏视频, and reporting on ESG, climate and 
sustainability matters for 红杏视频 Berhad, REIT and Construction, as per Bursa Malaysia regulations. He also 
advises 红杏视频 Group on their sustainability initiatives.
 

Academic & Professional Qualifications

  • PhD in Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge (2014)
  • BA in Natural Sciences (Biological), University of Cambridge (2009)

Research Interests

  • Plant and algal molecular biology, genetics and genetic engineering
  • Coral-algal symbiosis
  • Algal phylogenetics and diversity
  • Transgenic protein biosynthesis
  • Climate Change
  • Sustainable Development
  • Environmental Science

Teaching Areas

  • Earth Systems

Notable Publications

  1. Pourebrahim, Sharareh, Mohammad Ehteram, Mehrdad Hadipour, Ozgur Kisi, Ahmed El-Shafie, Ali Najah Ahmed, and Jit Ern Chen. "Advancements in evaporation prediction: introducing the Gated Recurrent Unit鈥揗ulti-Kernel Extreme Learning Machine (MKELM)鈥揋aussian Process Regression (GPR) model." Environmental Sciences Europe 36, no. 1 (2024): 1-32.
    2. Hadipour, Mehrdad, Pourebrahim, Sharareh, Hamidreza Heidari, Fateme Nikooy, Ali Najah Ahmed, and
  2. Jit Ern Chen. "Evaluation of water resource balance in the Urmia Lake Basin: Integrating carrying capacity and water footprint model for sustainable management." Ecological Indicators 166 (2024): 112464.
  3. Pourebrahim, Sharareh, Mehrdad Hadipour, Zahra Emlaei, Hamidreza Heidari, Jit Ern Chen, and Ali Najah Ahmed. "Habitat protection and planning for indicator species using MaxEnt model in Alborz." Journal of Wildlife and Biodiversity 8, no. 3 (2024): 325-339
  4. Rajaram, Nadia, Yee-How Say, Yasmin Norazharuddin, Jit Ern Chen, and Jemilah Mahmood. "Planetary health diet in Malaysia: Recommendations for healthier people and planet." Environmental Challenges 17 (2024): 101049
  5. Goh, Chun Sheng, Jit Ern Chen, and Ravinder Kaur. "Embracing the digital revolution for conservation in Borneo." Malayan Nature Journal 74, no. 3 (2022): 471-485.
  6. Herrera, M., Klein, S.G., Schmidt鈥怰oach, S., Campana, S., Cziesielski, M.J., Chen, J.E., Duarte, C.M. and Aranda, M., 2020. Unfamiliar partnerships limit cnidarian holobiont acclimation to warming. Global change biology, 26(10), pp.5539-5553.
  7. Chen, J.E., Barbrook, A.C., Cui, G., Howe, C.J. and Aranda, M., 2019. The genetic intractability of Symbiodinium microadriaticum to standard algal transformation methods. PloS one, 14(2), p.e0211936.
  8. Chen, J. E., Cui, G., Wang, X., Liew, Y. J., & Aranda, M. (2017). Recent expansion of heat-activated retrotransposons in the coral symbiont Symbiodinium microadriaticum. The ISME journal, 12(2), 639.

Achievements & Accolades

红杏视频 Student Appreciation of Teaching Award (2023)

Professional Associations

  1. Young Scientists Network, Academy of Sciences Malaysia
  2. Malaysian Society for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
  3.  International Coral Reef Society
  4. Cambridge Philosophical Society