Gene David Block (born August 17, 1948) is an American biologist who has served as the current and 6th chancellor of the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

since August 2007. Block has served as provost and professor of biology at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. While at the University of Virginia, Block interacted with

Randy Pausch Randolph Frederick Pausch (October 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008) was an American educator, a professor of computer science, human–computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pausch learn ...

and is mentioned in his memoir, ''

The Last Lecture ''The Last Lecture'' is a 2008 ''New York Times'' best-selling book co-authored by Randy Pausch —a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—and Jeffrey ...

''. He has been widely criticized for the 2022 suspension of highly-awarded professor of ecology

Priyanga Amarasekare Priyanga Amarasekare is a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and distinguished Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA). Her research is in the fields of mathematical biology a ...

without documentation, viewed as retaliation for her calls for reform of a culture of discrimination at UCLA. Before becoming chancellor of UCLA, Block had an extensive scientific career. His early work with mollusks investigated the structure and function of basal retinal neurons (BRN) in circadian photoentrainment. He was the first to discover a cell-autonomous circadian pacemaker and concluded that BRNs are both necessary and sufficient for photoentrainment. Later in his career, Block explored the molecular basis of

circadian rhythm A circadian rhythm (), or circadian cycle, is a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep–wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours. It can refer to any process that originates within an organism (i.e., Endogeny (biology), endogeno ...

s in mammals, and found that calcium flux was necessary for circadian rhythmicity. His most recent research, which he is still working on today, is largely focused on the effect that aging has on the

circadian clock A circadian clock, or circadian oscillator, is a biochemical oscillator that cycles with a stable phase (waves), phase and is synchronized with solar time. Such a clock's ''in vivo'' period is necessarily almost exactly 24 hours (the earth's curre ...

Early life

Block was born in

Monticello, New York Monticello ( ) is a village located in Thompson, Sullivan County, within the Catskills region of New York, United States. The population was 7,173 at the 2020 census. It is the seat for the Town of Thompson and the county seat of Sullivan Count ...

, the grandson of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. His father and uncle owned Mountain Dairies, a retail/wholesale distributor that served many of the hotels and camps that populated Catskill region of New York. During summers, he worked at the dairy as a truck driver, starting his days at 4 am for early morning deliveries to summer camps and hotels. He also played piano in a trio that provided dance music for Saturday evening parties at several bungalow colonies within the "

Borscht Belt The Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster counties in the U.S. state of New York, straddling both Upstate New York and the north ...

". His hobbies included electronics and shortwave radio. He played varsity tennis at Monticello High School.

Education

Block received a BA from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1970, followed by his MS and PhD in 1972 and 1975, respectively, from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

; all in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

. From 1975 to 1978, he returned to Stanford for postdoctoral work with

Donald Kennedy Donald Kennedy (August 18, 1931 – April 21, 2020) was an American scientist, public administrator, and academic. He served as Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (1977–1979), President of Stanford University (1980– ...

, who later became president of Stanford, and

Colin Pittendrigh Colin Stephenson Pittendrigh (October 13, 1918 – March 19, 1996)
"Colin Pittendrigh, 'Father of biological clock,' ...

, who is known as the “father of biological timing." During this time Block studied how voluntary movements inhibit sensory feedback in the crayfish working in the Kennedy lab while studying issues of circadian biology with Colin Pittendrigh.

Career

University of Virginia

In 1978, Block became a member of the faculty in the Department of Biology of

. Here, Block served as the vice provost for research from 1993 to 1998, vice president for research and public service from 1998 to 2001, and then in 2001 he was appointed as

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

and provost. Furthermore, during this time from 1991 to 2002, Block also served as the founding director of the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

Science and Technology Center in Biological Timing. According to Block, “The center raised the national visibility of the University in biological and medical research, and gave us reputational

leverage Leverage or leveraged may refer to: *Leverage (mechanics), mechanical advantage achieved by using a lever * ''Leverage'' (album), a 2012 album by Lyriel *Leverage (dance), a type of dance connection *Leverage (finance), using given resources to ...

in the U.S. as well as in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

...Most importantly, the center’s scientific accomplishments have been spectacular. We’ve done some high-risk research that has paid off greatly; some of it has fundamentally changed our understanding of

biological processes Biological processes are those processes that are vital for an organism to live, and that shape its capacities for interacting with its environment. Biological processes are made of many chemical reactions or other events that are involved in the ...

.” One of the center's biggest advances, largely by

Joseph Takahashi Joseph S. Takahashi is a Japanese American neurobiologist and geneticist. Takahashi is a professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center as well as an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Takahashi's research group di ...

, was the development of a

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

mouse that allowed for the identification and

cloning Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. In the field of biotechnology, cl ...

of the “Clock” gene for the biological clock in a

mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

in 1997. This was the first such gene to be identified at the molecular level in a

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

. This groundbreaking discovery was a result of the Clock Genome Project, which uses "

forward genetics Forward genetics is a molecular genetics approach of determining the genetic basis responsible for a phenotype. Forward genetics provides an unbiased approach because it relies heavily on identifying the genes or genetic factors that cause a partic ...

" to discover the

genes In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

regulating circadian clocks in mice,

fruit flies Fruit fly may refer to: Organisms * Drosophilidae, a family of small flies, including: ** ''Drosophila'', the genus of small fruit flies and vinegar flies ** ''Drosophila melanogaster'' or common fruit fly ** ''Drosophila suzukii'' or Asian fruit ...

, and plants. In addition, this work also led to the discovery of many other genes that regulate the biological clock. In 1997 and 1998, the reputable journal ''Science'' ranked the findings of the NSF Center in Biological Timings among the top 10 in biological research breakthroughs. Three of the NSF Center investigators, Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young, received the 2017

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

“for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm.”

UCLA

Block was appointed Chancellor of UCLA in 2007. His selection was announced on 21 December 2006, succeeding interim office holder

Norman Abrams Norman Abrams (born July 7, 1933) is an American academic, and Professor Emeritus at the UCLA School of Law. He succeeded Albert Carnesale on 30 June 2006 as interim-chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles The University of ...

on 1 August 2007. In his inaugural address at UCLA, Block shared that his top priorities are to advance academic excellence, financial stability, diversity and civic engagement. He has called for UCLA to deepen its engagement with Los Angeles and to increase access for students from underrepresented populations. Under Block's leadership, UCLA has seen an increase in student diversity on campus thanks to innovative efforts to recruit in diverse communities, and in 2015, UCLA reached pre- Prop. 209 levels, enrolling 279 African American freshmen, on par with the African American share of California public high school graduates. UCLA has also increased the number of low- to middle-income students enrolled. In 2019, UCLA was named the number one public university in the nation for the third consecutive year and is consistently the most applied-to university, with more than 113,000 freshman applications for fall 2018. Block's push for entrepreneurship on campus has fostered innovation and resulted in UCLA as the top university for creating startups based on campus research. Additionally, to foster a deeper commitment to Los Angeles among UCLA students, Block oversaw the formation of the annual Volunteer Day event, in which thousands of students volunteer in schools, parks, food banks, veterans’ clinics and elsewhere at the beginning of each academic year. Block also implemented UCLA's two Grand Challenges, which are aimed at understanding, treating and preventing depression worldwide, and moving Los Angeles toward 100 percent renewable energy, 100 percent locally sourced water and enhanced ecosystem health by 2050. During his tenure, Block has faced the challenge of steering UCLA through a severe budget crisis and tuition increases. To address reductions in state funding and advance his priorities, Block is leading the largest fundraising campaign by a public university, aiming to raise $4.2 billion to support student scholarships and fellowships, research projects and new construction on campus in honor of UCLA's centennial in 2019. Block holds UCLA faculty appointments in

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psych ...

and bio-behavioral sciences in the David Geffen School of Medicine and in integrative biology and physiology in the College of Letters and Science. On February 24, 2014, Block published an open letter to the campus community, expressing his opposition to

Proposition 209 Proposition 209 (also known as the California Civil Rights Initiative or CCRI) is a California ballot proposition which, upon approval in November 1996, amended the state constitution to prohibit state governmental institutions from considering r ...

, stating that the proposed merit-based selection system would damage diversity on campus.

Scientific achievements

Cell-autonomous circadian pacemakers

While at the University of Virginia, Block worked extensively with his graduate student, Dr. Douglas G. McMahon, the 1986 winner of the

Society for Neuroscience The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a professional society, headquartered in Washington, DC, for basic scientists and physicians around the world whose research is focused on the study of the brain and nervous system. It is especially well kn ...

's Donald B. Lindsley Prize in Behavioral Neuroscience, on the functioning of the circadian pacemaker system at the cellular level in ''

Bulla Bulla (Latin, 'bubble') may refer to: Science and medicine * Bulla (dermatology), a bulla * Bulla, a focal lung pneumatosis, an air pocket in the lung * Auditory bulla, a hollow bony structure on the skull enclosing the ear * Ethmoid bulla, pa ...

gouldiana''. In 1984, Block's students conducted a continuous 74-hour intracellular recording in constant darkness that demonstrated that basal retinal

neurons A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. N ...

(BRN) in the ''Bulla''

eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

exhibit clear circadian rhythms. These rhythms were also shown to be correlated one-for-one with compound

action potentials An action potential occurs when the membrane potential of a specific cell location rapidly rises and falls. This depolarization then causes adjacent locations to similarly depolarize. Action potentials occur in several types of animal cells, c ...

produced by the

optic nerve In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual system, visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve i ...

. The change in

membrane potential Membrane potential (also transmembrane potential or membrane voltage) is the difference in electric potential between the interior and the exterior of a biological cell. That is, there is a difference in the energy required for electric charges ...

of the BRNs, which are electrically coupled, were shown to precede or occur simultaneously with the increased compound action potential

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

. An increase in firing frequency, and

depolarization In biology, depolarization or hypopolarization is a change within a cell, during which the cell undergoes a shift in electric charge distribution, resulting in less negative charge inside the cell compared to the outside. Depolarization is esse ...

of the BRNs, was seen during the day, and the reverse at night. These results demonstrated that the BRNs were at minimum an output for the pacemaker pathway and provided evidence that they were good candidates for being circadian pacemaker neurons. This research was expanded several years later by a breakthrough study published in ''Science'' in which Dr. Stephan Michel, and others working in Block's laboratory, demonstrated that circadian rhythms in BRN membrane conductance could persist spontaneously in isolated BRNs. These spontaneous circadian rhythms were shown for BRNs in isolation from other retinal cells and in isolation from each other. They showed that these circadian rhythms in membrane conductance were caused primarily by a

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...

ion current. BRNs in isolation demonstrated the same patterns shown in Block's previous work in which membrane conductance decreased at dawn and increased at dusk. That similar patterns were seen in isolated cells as in previous multiple cell cultures provided the first strong evidence that individual neurons possessed the capacity to generate circadian rhythms. This research definitively concluded that BRNs are both necessary and sufficient for photoentrainment in ''Bulla''.

Necessity of calcium flux for rhythmicity

Block and colleagues hypothesized that ion movement across

cell membranes The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane (PM) or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of all cells from the outside environment ( ...

plays a role in the generation of circadian rhythms. In 2005, his lab measured rhythms in rat

suprachiasmatic nuclei The suprachiasmatic nucleus or nuclei (SCN) is a tiny region of the brain in the hypothalamus, situated directly above the optic chiasm. It is responsible for controlling circadian rhythms. The neuronal and hormonal activities it generates regula ...

(SCN) in various concentrations of calcium ions. Block found that as

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

concentration decreased, thus lowering the transmembrane ion movement, the amplitude of circadian rhythmicity also decreased. With no calcium added, there was no circadian rhythm at all. Block's lab repeated the experiment with rat

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

tissue and mouse SCN tissue and found the same results in each case. This demonstrated that across species and tissues, transmembrane calcium flux is necessary for the generation of circadian rhythms. However, there are still some questions about the function of calcium flux. In this experiment, Block also tried adding calcium

channel Blocker A channel blocker is the biological mechanism in which a particular molecule is used to prevent the opening of ion channels in order to produce a physiological response in a cell. Channel blocking is conducted by different types of molecules, su ...

s to the tissues. Rhythmicity did disappear, but it took several cycles, and it is unknown why rhythmicity was not immediately abolished. In addition, Block suspects that calcium

flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ph ...

plays a role in the

entrainment Entrainment may refer to: * Air entrainment, the intentional creation of tiny air bubbles in concrete * Brainwave entrainment, the practice of entraining one's brainwaves to a desired frequency * Entrainment (biomusicology), the synchronization o ...

of the mammalian clock to the environment, similar to its role in mollusk entrainment.

Effects of aging on the circadian clock

Block has also studied the effect that

aging Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

has on the circadian system, collaborating with other leading chronobiologists including

Michael Menaker Michael Menaker (May 19, 1934 – February 14, 2021), was an American chronobiology researcher, and was Commonwealth Professor of Biology at University of Virginia. His research focused on circadian rhythmicity of vertebrates, including contribu ...

. In 2002, he studied rhythmicity in rats of various ages and found that aging affected rhythmicity differently in different tissues. In the SCN, the intrinsic

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

shortened with age, while

lung The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...

tissue often became arrhythmic (showing sporadic activity) and

pineal The pineal gland, conarium, or epiphysis cerebri, is a small endocrine gland in the brain of most vertebrates. The pineal gland produces melatonin, a serotonin-derived hormone which modulates sleep patterns in both circadian and seasonal cycle ...

and

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

tissues became phase advanced. In 2008, Block exposed rats of various ages to different light cycles, and found that

phase Phase or phases may refer to: Science *State of matter, or phase, one of the distinct forms in which matter can exist *Phase (matter), a region of space throughout which all physical properties are essentially uniform * Phase space, a mathematic ...

advances took longer in the SCN in old rats than in young rats, but pineal tissues advanced faster in older rats. Liver tissues did not phase shift at all when the light cycle was advanced. These studies together have shown how complex the aging process is in the circadian system. Block notes that some, though not all, of these changes are likely influenced by diminishing

synchronizing Synchronization is the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. For example, the conductor of an orchestra keeps the orchestra synchronized or ''in time''. Systems that operate with all parts in synchrony are said to be synchronou ...

signals from the SCN. In 2006, Block observed that

jetlag Jet lag is a physiological condition that results from alterations to the body's circadian rhythms caused by rapid long-distance trans-meridian (east–west or west–east) travel. For example, someone flying from New York to London, i.e. from ...

significantly increased the death rate in older mice, which highlights the

medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

importance of understanding the aging process of the circadian system.

Inventions

Honors and awards

*2015: Friends of Semel Institute Visionary Award *2010: Fellow,

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

*2009: Los Angeles

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

Foundation Presidents’ Award *2006:

Prize in Biology selection committee *2004: Navigator Award,

Virginia Piedmont The Piedmont region of Virginia is a part of the greater Piedmont physiographic region which stretches from the falls of the Potomac, Rappahannock, and James Rivers to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The region runs across the middle of the state from ...

Technology Council *2003: Pioneer Award, National Science Foundation (NSF Centers Program) *1998:

Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United Stat ...

, Outstanding Public Service Award *1997: Fellow,

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

*1997: Chairman, Gordon Conference on Chronobiology *1997: Visiting Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science *1996 – 1998: President,

Society for Research on Biological Rhythms The Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (SRBR) is an international chronobiological research society with three key goals: (1) to promote the advancement and dissemination of basic and applied research in all aspects of biological rhythms ( ...

*1995: Glaser Distinguished Visiting Professor,

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

*1993: Alumni Council Thomas Jefferson Professor (endowed chair) *1988 – 1991: Treasurer: Society for Research on Biological Rhythms *1983 – 1988: Research Career Development Award,

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

Positions

Block has served on numerous advisory boards and committees, including: *Board of Directors (chair),

Association of Pacific Rim Universities APRU (the Association of Pacific Rim Universities) is a consortium of 61 leading research universities in 19 economies of the Pacific Rim. Formed in 1997,

*Board of Directors,

Association of American Universities The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...

*Board of Directors, Division I,

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

*Board of Directors (former chair),

Association of Public and Land-grant Universities The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) is a research, policy, and advocacy organization of public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems, and higher education organizations. It has member ca ...

*Board of Directors (former chair),

National Institute of Aerospace The National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) is a non-profit research and graduate education institute headquartered in Hampton, Virginia, near NASA's Langley Research Center. NIA was formed in 2002 by a consortium of research universities. NIA perfo ...

*Program Advisory Committee (former chair), Specialized Neuroscience Research Program (SNRP), Univ. Alaska, Fairbanks

Personal life

In 1970, Block married Carol Kullback, also from Monticello; they have two grown children.UCLA Magazine: "Block on Board" by Mary Daily
July 1, 2007

References

External links

UCLA Newsroom: Gene D. Block Named New UCLA ChancellorUCLA Chancellor Gene BlockSociety for Research on Biological RhythmsBrain Research Institute UCLA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Block, Gene D. 1948 births Living people University of Virginia faculty Leaders of the University of California, Los Angeles Stanford University alumni University of Oregon alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni People from Monticello, New York Jewish American scientists Chronobiologists 21st-century American Jews Monticello High School (New York) alumni