Zhen Chen

Zhen Chen is an Assistant Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He holds a B.Sc. from Peking University (2009), M.A. from Rice University (2012), and Ph.D. from Rockefeller University (2019). Prior to his current role, he served as a Visiting Associate at Caltech (2023). His research focuses on biophysical principles of cilia biology, cellular cryo-electron tomography (cryoET), and AlphaFold2-assisted modeling to study protein dynamics and cellular structures.

Education:

• B.Sc., Peking University, 2009
• M.A., Rice University, 2012
• Ph.D., Rockefeller University, 2019
• Visiting Associate, Caltech, 2023

Research interests include:

• Ciliary motion mechanisms and assembly
• In situ cryoET for cellular imaging
• AlphaFold2 integration for structural biology
• Reproductive biology at atomic resolution
• Development of knockout mouse models

Recent funding and recognitions include grants from the Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation (2024), Caltech Center for Evolutionary Science (2024), and Merkin Institute (2024). His lab collaborates on advancing cryoET and AI-driven structural analysis tools.

Labs/Teams: Zhen Chen’s lab at Caltech focuses on structural cell biology, combining cryoET, chemical biology, and computational modeling to address fundamental biological questions. The team recently developed the AreTomo software for cryoET data processing.