Professor Xi Chen has been chosen as a 2009-2010 Chancellor's Fellow, based on her research innovation, her contribution and leadership in chemistry and chemical biology research fields, and her dedication to education in chemistry.

Dr. Chen began her independent career in the Department of Chemistry at UC-Davis as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in 2003. Her research field at the interface of chemistry and biology focuses on developing novel and efficient chemoenzymatic approaches for synthesizing complex naturally occurring and non-natural carbohydrates; developing high-throughput screening methods for studying carbohydrate-protein interaction; and collaborative crystal structural studies of glycosyltransferases (with Professor Andrew Fisher). She has received a number of honors for her work at Davis: the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (2009), the ACS Division of Carbohydrate Chemistry Young Investigator Fellowship Award (2008), Beckman Young Investigator Award (2006), and is an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow.

Each year the University of California chooses several junior faculty for the title of Chancellor's Fellow from a large number of nomination. Each fellow will receive $25,000 to further their teaching and research activities. Funds for the fellowships come from private contributions to the UC Davis Annual Fund and the Davis Chancellor's Club. There will be a reception in the spring of 2010.