Host: ​Prof. Itamar Giladi
Current Position: Research Professor, Wuhan Botanic Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences

My name is Si-Chong Chen, and I am an ecologist working on macroecological patterns in plant ecology, with a focus on seeds. Although I was born and grew up in the biggest metropolitan city in central China, I was fascinated by nature and desired to examine it closely. After my BSc study at Wuhan University, I moved to a remote area in southwestern China and studied tropical rainforests at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. I received my PhD in 2016 from the University of New South Wales in Australia. In the summer of 2016, I arrived in the gorgeous Negev Desert and started my postdoctoral research with the prestigious BCSC Postdoctoral Fellowship. After I left BGU, I was appointed as a Research Fellow at the Millennium Seed Bank of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, UK. Recently, I made my journey back to my home city and became a Research Professor at the Wuhan Botanic Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Through these geographically diverse appointments and associated travels, I have continuously developed my interests and strengthened my career in macroecology and relevant disciplines. My two years in Israel is a memorable experience that I will treasure all my life. This experience not only gave me the precious opportunity to know this beautiful and culturally rich country, but it also led me to work with creative researchers and extended my research scope. This was a critical episode in my career development. I had a very kind supervisor, Dr. Itamar Giladi, and I made many lively, interesting friends in the desert. I miss them all, and I believe we may reunite after moments or lifetimes.​