Dr. Xianfeng (Jeff) Chen is a world leading Bioinformatics and Computational Systems Biologist. Dr. Chen's scientific strengths include genome annotation, network analysis, functional and comparative genomics, proteomics profiling, micro-array transcription profiling, biological databases and data integration, biological system simulation and modeling. During the course of his academic and industrial careers, Jeff was personally responsible for assembly and analysis of over 170 microbial and 5 plant genomes, mouse and human genomes, and also assembled human genome-scale protein-protein interaction networks, as well as conducted research in target discovery for treatment of colon cancer. Dr. Chen has authored over 30 publications in scholarly and professional journals and over 20 US and world patents. Dr. Chen was Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Research Investigator and Project Manager of Proteomics Cyber-infrastructure in the NIH/NIAID National Biodefense Program on Human Pathogens, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, and also a Bioinformatics Program Consultant to Battelle Memorial Institute. Prior to his academic career, Jeff worked for Prolexys Pharmaceuticals and Monsanto Companies. Jeff holds a Doctorate in Genetics and a Master (equivalent) in Computer Science, both from Iowa State University, and a Master's degree in Biochemistry from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Selected Latest Relevant Publications and Patents (Out of over 30 Publications and over 20 Patents) :
  1. Deena Rushton, Prateek Tripathi, Roel Rabara, Lin Jun, Patricia Ringler, Ashley Boken, Tanner Langum, Lucas Smidt, Darius Boomsma, Nicholas Emme, Xianfeng Chen, John Finer, Qingxi She, Paul Rushton, 2011. WRKY transcription factors: key components in abscisic acid signaling. Plant Biotechnology Journal, 2011, pp. 1-10 (doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2011.00634.x).
  2. Xianfeng Chen, Kurt A. Gust, Mitchell S. Wilbanks, Edward J. Perkins, Natalie D. Baker, Don Pham, Leona Scanlan, and Chris Vulpe, 2010. Supercomputer Assembly and Annotation of Transcriptomes for Assessing Impact of Army Stressors on Ecological Receptors. 27th Army Science Conference Proceedings, 2010, Paper No.: LP-013.
  3. Carlos M. Hernandez-Garcia, Robert A. Bouchard, Paul J. Rushton, Michelle L. Jones, Xianfeng Chen, Michael P. Timko, and John J. Finer, 2010. Rapid validation of 20 different soybean (Glycine max) promoters in transiently- and stably-transformed tissues. BMC Plant Biology, 2010, 10:237.
  4. Michael P. Timko, Paul J. Rushton, Thomas W. Laudeman, Marta T. Bokoviec, Edmond Chipumuro, Foo Cheung, Christopher D. Town, and Xianfeng Chen, 2008. Sequencing and Analysis of the Gene-Rich Space of Cowpea. BMC Genomics, 2008, 9:103.
  5. Paul J. Rushton, Marta T. Bokowiec, Thomas W. Laudeman, Jennifer F. Brannock, Xianfeng Chen, and Michael P. Timko, 2008. TOBFAC: The Database of Tobacco Transcription Factors. BMC Bioinformatics, 2008, 9:53.
  6. Paul J. Rushton, Marta T. Bokowiec, Shengcheng Han, Hongbo Zhang , Jennifer F. Brannock, Thomas W. Laudeman, Xianfeng Chen, and Michael P. Timko, 2008. Bioinformatics Analysis on Tobacco Transcription Factors: Novel Insights into Transcriptional Regulation in the Solanaceae. Plant Physiology, 2008, 147:280-295.
  7. Xianfeng Chen, Thomas W. Laudeman, Paul J. Rushton, Thomas A. Spraggins, and Michael P. Timko, 2007. CGKB: An Annotation Knowledge Base for Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) Methylation Filtered Genomic Genespace Sequences. BMC Bioinformatics, 2007, 8:129.
  8. Guoqing Lu, Liying Jiang, Resa M. Kotalik, Thaine W. Rowley, Luwen Zhang, Xianfeng Chen, and Etsuko N. Moriyama, 2006. GenomeBlast: A Web Tool for Small Genome Comparison. BMC Bioinformatics, 2006, 7 (Suppl 4):S18.
  9. Xianfeng Chen et al. (co-authored with about 5 co-inventors), 2008. Expression of microbial proteins in plants for production of plants with improved properties. United States Patent in Bioinformatics and Biotechnology. Publication Number: 10369493 (US 2003/0233675 A1).
  10. Xianfeng Chen et al (co-authored with about 10 inventors), 2008. Transgenic Plants with Enhanced Agronomic Traits. International Patent in Bioinformatics and Biotechnology. Publication Number: WO/2008/021543.