{"id":23,"date":"2026-06-08T12:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T12:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/home\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T07:28:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T07:28:50","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"vf-grid vf-grid__col-3 | vf-u-margin__bottom--800\">\n      <div class=\"vf-grid__col--span-2\">\n      <div class=\"vf-content-hub-html\">\n  <!-- Generated by: http:\/\/content.embl.org\/api\/v1\/pattern.html?filter-content-type=profiles&amp;filter-uuid=6ef04be1-3c5d-4696-a1a8-6f136bc171a0&amp;pattern=node-teaser -->\n      <div data-embl-js-conditional-edit=\"2044929\">\n              <h1 class=\"vf-lede\">The Chen group investigates the genetic control and evolution of innate animal behavior using high-throughput omics and computational approaches.<\/p>\n            <a class=\"vf-text vf-text--body-r vf-link embl-conditional-edit\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"\/node\/2044929\" target=\"_blank\">Edit<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n      <div >\n\n<!-- <style>\n  .vf-content-hub-html {\n    --vf-stack-margin--custom: unset !important;\n  }\n<\/style> -->\n\n    <div class=\"vf-content-hub-html vf-stack vf-stack--600\" data-cache=\"d5d7e8b3\">\n      <!-- Generated by: http:\/\/content.embl.org\/api\/v1\/pattern.html?filter-content-type=person&amp;filter-field-value%5Bfield_person_positions.entity.field_position_membership%5D=leader&amp;filter-field-value%5Bfield_person_positions.entity.field_position_team.entity.field_foreignid%5D=616&amp;filter-ref-entity%5Bfield_person_positions%5D%5Btitle%5D=&amp;filter-ref-entity%5Bfield_person_positions%5D%5Bfield_position_primary%5D=1&amp;hide%5Bteam%2Cmobile%2Cphones%5D=1&amp;limit=5&amp;pattern=vf-profile-inline&amp;sort-field-value%5Bchanged%5D=DESC -->\n                \n                            <article class=\"vf-profile vf-profile--very-easy vf-profile--medium vf-profile--inline\" data-embl-js-conditional-edit=\"1894245\">\n              <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"vf-profile__image\" src=\"https:\/\/content.embl.org\/\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/medium\/public\/persons\/CP-60101222.jpg?itok=jztj-Nao\" alt=\"image of Jennifer Chen\" \/>\n      \n              <h3 class=\"vf-profile__title\">\n                      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/people\/person\/jennifer-chen\" class=\"vf-profile__link\">Jennifer Chen<\/a>\n                  <\/h3>\n      \n              <p class=\"vf-profile__job-title\">\n          Group Leader (incoming)\n        <\/p>\n      \n      \n      \n      \n      \n      \n              <p class=\"vf-profile__uuid\">\n          <span>ORCID:<\/span>\n          <a class=\"vf-profile__link vf-profile__link--secondary\" href=\"https:\/\/europepmc.org\/authors\/0000-0002-6664-2597\">\n            0000-0002-6664-2597\n          <\/a>\n        <\/p>\n            <a class=\"vf-text vf-text--body-r vf-link embl-conditional-edit\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"\/node\/1894245\/1894245\" target=\"_blank\">\n        Edit\n      <\/a>\n    <\/article>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"vf-grid | vf-grid__col-3\"><div class=\"vf-grid__col--span-2\"><!--[vf\/content]-->\n<div class=\"vf-content\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Previous and current research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The existence of innate animal behaviors that are heritable and don&#8217;t require learning suggests that behavior can be controlled, in part, by genes. However, only a handful of behavior-modifying genes are known, and even less is known about the mechanisms by which they act. The Chen group combines natural behavioral variation with high-throughput genomics, single-cell transcriptomics, and computational biology to identify the genes, cell types, and molecular pathways that govern innate behavior. By integrating evolutionary and mechanistic approaches, we aim to understand how genetic variation gives rise to behavioral diversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Future projects and goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One major goal of our lab is to identify the genetic mechanisms underlying the evolution of monogamy and monogamy-related behaviors. We leverage the independent evolution of monogamy in multiple rodent species, including <em>Peromyscus polionotus<\/em> (beach mice), <em>Peromyscus californicus<\/em> (California mice), and <em>Microtus <\/em><em>ochrogaster<\/em> (prarie voles), to identify shared and species-specific mechanisms underlying social behavior. Using these systems, we aim to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Combine genetic crosses, behavioral assays, and single-cell transcriptomics to map genetic loci that influence neuronal cell-type composition and behavior<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use comparative multi-omics across species to identify convergently evolved genes and regulatory programs associated with monogamy<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Functionally test candidate behavior-modifying genes using neurogenetic and genome-editing approaches&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A second major goal of our lab is to develop computational approaches to discover novel peptide hormones that play important roles in physiology and behavior. To achieve this, we aim to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Develop protein language model-based approaches for peptide discovery and prediction<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Integrate genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data to infer peptide function<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Experimentally characterize novel peptide functions <em>in vitro<\/em> and in mouse models<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div><!--[vf\/content]-->\n<div class=\"vf-content\">\n\n<figure class=\"vf-figure wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/chen-group-fig.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"500\" class=\"vf-figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/chen-group-fig-1024x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-85\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/chen-group-fig-1024x500.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/chen-group-fig-300x146.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/chen-group-fig-768x375.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/chen-group-fig.jpg 1211w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"vf-figure__caption\">Immunoreactive staining of arginine vasopressin (AVP)\u00a0showing the large reduction of AVP+ neurons in the monogamous<em>\u00a0Peromyscus polionotus<\/em>\u00a0compared to the promiscuous\u00a0<em>Peromyscus maniculatus<\/em>. This change in cellular abundance may underlie evolutionary differences\u00a0in innate parental care behaviors.\u00a0<br><br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"embl_taxonomy":[],"class_list":["post-23","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"embl_taxonomy_terms":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23\/revisions\/96"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"embl_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/chen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/embl_taxonomy?post=23"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}