Gene Block

Block was born in Monticello, New York, the grandson of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.{{cite web |first=Larry |last=Gordon |title=Yes, Virginia, he's coming to lead UCLA |website=Los Angeles Times |date=June 24, 2007 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jun-24-me-block24-story.html |access-date=March 4, 2015 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402161904/http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jun/24/local/me-block24 |url-status=live}} 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. He played varsity tennis at Monticello High School.

Block attended Foothill College{{Cite web |title=Foothill College on LinkedIn: UCLA Chancellor Gene Block (pictured here with some Foothill College… |url=https://www.linkedin.com/posts/foothill-college_ucla-chancellor-gene-block-pictured-here-activity-7062931904131469312-G3HA/ |access-date=January 30, 2025 |website=www.linkedin.com |language=en}} and then received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in psychology from Stanford University in 1970. He received a Master of Science in 1972 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1975 in psychology from the University of Oregon.{{cite thesis |title=Efferent control of the circadian oscillator in the eye of Aplysia. |date=1975 |institution=University of Oregon |degree=Ph.D. |last=Block |first=Gene David |id={{ProQuest|302729825}} |oclc=}}{{Cite web |title=Gene Block, Ph.D. – UCLA Brain Research Institute (BRI) |url=https://bri.ucla.edu/people/gene-block/ |access-date=January 6, 2024 |language=en-US}}

From 1975 to 1978, he returned to Stanford for postdoctoral work with Donald Kennedy (who later became the 8th president of Stanford) and Colin Pittendrigh (who is known as the “father of biological timing"). During his postdoctoral research years, 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.

In 1978, Block became a member of the faculty in the Department of Biology of University of Virginia. 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 executive vice president and provost. Furthermore, during this time from 1991 to 2002, Block also served as the founding director of the National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center in Biological Timing.{{cite web |url=http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/20361 |title=Curriculum Vitae Gene D. Block |publisher=University of California |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419214459/http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/20361 |archive-date=April 19, 2013 |url-status=dead}}

According to Block, “The center raised the national visibility of the University in biological and medical research, and gave us reputational leverage in the U.S. as well as in Europe and Japan... 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.”{{cite web |url=http://www.virginia.edu/insideuva/2002/11/bio_timing.html |title=Clock stops on NSF biological timing center, but the momentum carries on |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907110301/http://www.virginia.edu/insideuva/2002/11/bio_timing.html |archive-date=September 7, 2008 |url-status=dead |first=Fariss |last=Samarrai |date=March 29, 2002 |work=Inside UVA |publisher=University of Virginia}}

One of the center's biggest advances, largely by Joseph Takahashi, was the development of a mutant mouse that allowed for the identification and cloning of the “Clock” gene for the biological clock in a mouse in 1997. This was the first such gene to be identified at the molecular level in a mammal. This groundbreaking discovery was a result of the Clock Genome Project, which uses "forward genetics" to discover the genes regulating circadian clocks in mice, fruit flies, and plants. In addition, this work also led to the discovery of many other genes that regulate the biological clock.{{cite web |url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=102795 |title=First Circadian Clock Gene Identified and Cloned in Mammals |publisher=National Science Foundation |access-date=April 6, 2018 |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620002109/https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=102795 |url-status=live |date=May 15, 1997}}

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,{{clarify|date=February 2023|reason=None of the existing citations mentions these person's relationship with either Science and Technology Center in Biological Timing or Gene Block. A better description on what is/was the "Science and Technology Center in Biological Timing" might be needed. Where was the center location? Who had worked there? When did the center operate?}} received the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm.”{{Cite press release |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2017/press.html |title=The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine |website=The Nobel Foundation |access-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-date=October 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011064851/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2017/press.html |url-status=live}}

Block was appointed Chancellor of UCLA in 2007. His selection was announced on December 21, 2006, succeeding interim office holder Norman Abrams on August 1, 2007.{{Cite web |url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/Gene-D-Block-Named-New-UCLA-C-7611 |title=Gene Block named new UCLA chancellor |last=Stogsdill |first=Carol |website=UCLA Newsroom |language=en |access-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-date=September 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930195503/https://newsroom.ucla.edu/ |url-status=live}}

On February 24, 2014, Block published an open letter to the campus community, expressing his opposition to Proposition 209, stating that the proposed merit-based selection system would damage diversity on campus.{{Cite web |url=http://chancellor.ucla.edu/updates/the-impact-of-proposition-209-and-our-duty-to-our-students |title=The Impact of Proposition 209 and Our Duty to Our Students |access-date=February 28, 2014 |archive-date=March 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305202918/http://chancellor.ucla.edu/updates/the-impact-of-proposition-209-and-our-duty-to-our-students |url-status=live}}

He has been widely criticized for the 2022 suspension of highly awarded professor of ecology Priyanga Amarasekare without documentation, viewed as retaliation for her calls for reform of a culture of discrimination at UCLA.{{cite journal |title=Exclusive: Documents raise questions about UCLA's suspension of ecologist |journal=Nature |year=2023 |doi=10.1038/d41586-023-00473-8 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00473-8 |access-date=February 25, 2023 |last1=Tollefson |first1=Jeff |pmid=36829063 |s2cid=257183409 |url-access=subscription}}

In his inaugural address at UCLA, Block shared that his top priorities are to advance academic excellence, financial stability, diversity and civic engagement.{{Cite news |url=https://chancellor.ucla.edu/writings-speeches/inaugural-address/ |title=Inaugural Address - UCLA Chancellor |work=UCLA Chancellor |access-date=June 19, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620003433/https://chancellor.ucla.edu/writings-speeches/inaugural-address/ |url-status=live}} He has called for UCLA to deepen its engagement with Los Angeles and to increase access for students from underrepresented populations.{{Cite news |url=https://chancellor.ucla.edu/about/chancellor/ |title=Chancellor Gene Block – UCLA Office of the Chancellor |work=UCLA Chancellor |access-date=June 19, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620002734/https://chancellor.ucla.edu/about/chancellor/ |url-status=live}} 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-California Proposition 209 levels, enrolling 279 African American freshmen, on par with the African American share of California public high school graduates.{{Cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ucla-diversity-20160620-snap-story.html |title=How UCLA is boosting campus diversity, despite the ban on affirmative action |last=Watanabe |first=Teresa |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 23, 2016 |access-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620001857/http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ucla-diversity-20160620-snap-story.html |url-status=live}} UCLA has also increased the number of low- to middle-income students enrolled.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/18/upshot/some-colleges-have-more-students-from-the-top-1-percent-than-the-bottom-60.html |title=Some Colleges Have More Students From the Top 1 Percent Than the Bottom 60 |work=The New York Times |date=January 18, 2017 |access-date=June 19, 2018 |language=en |archive-date=April 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410135504/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/18/upshot/some-colleges-have-more-students-from-the-top-1-percent-than-the-bottom-60.html |url-status=live}}

In 2019 UCLA was named the number one public university in the nation for the third consecutive year{{Cite news |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public |title=2020 Top Public Colleges |date=September 8, 2019 |publisher=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=September 10, 2019 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102072710/https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public |url-status=live}} and is consistently the most applied-to university, with more than 113,000 freshman applications for fall 2018.{{Cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/local/education/higher-ed/la-me-edu-ucla-applicants-20171214-story.html |title=Freshman applicants to UC soar to a new record, with UCLA again leading the way |last=Watanabe |first=Teresa |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 14, 2017 |access-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620002119/http://www.latimes.com/local/education/higher-ed/la-me-edu-ucla-applicants-20171214-story.html |url-status=live}}

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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ucla-startups-20170707-story.html |title=UCLA grabs the top spot among 225 universities in business creation |last=White |first=Ronald D. |work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 7, 2017 |access-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620001623/http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ucla-startups-20170707-story.html |url-status=live}} 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.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/UCLA-Volunteer-Day-Dispatches-Students-into-Los-Angeles--130212348.html |title=UCLA Freshmen Tackle Volunteer Projects |publisher=NBC Southern California |access-date=June 19, 2018 |language=en |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620010704/https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/UCLA-Volunteer-Day-Dispatches-Students-into-Los-Angeles--130212348.html |url-status=live}} Block also implemented UCLA's two Grand Challenges, which are aimed at understanding, treating and preventing depression worldwide,{{Cite news |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/In-a-Fight-Against-Depression/242778 |title=In a Fight Against Depression, UCLA Relies on Technology |date=March 8, 2018 |publisher=The Chronicle of Higher Education |access-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620001957/https://www.chronicle.com/article/In-a-Fight-Against-Depression/242778 |url-status=live}} and moving Los Angeles toward 100 percent renewable energy, 100 percent locally sourced water and enhanced ecosystem health by 2050.{{Cite web |url=https://grandchallenges.ucla.edu/about/ |title=Grand Challenges About |publisher=grandchallenges.ucla.edu |language=en-US |access-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620004839/https://grandchallenges.ucla.edu/about/ |url-status=live}}

During his tenure, Block has faced the challenge of steering UCLA through a severe budget crisis and tuition increases.{{cite web |url=http://www.today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/PRN-budget-block-letter-95129.aspx |title=Chancellor Block addresses scope of budget crisis, plans and priorities |publisher=UCLA Today |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615032719/http://www.today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/PRN-budget-block-letter-95129.aspx |archive-date=June 15, 2010 |url-status=dead}} 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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-ucla-campaign-20140516-story.html |title=UCLA plans $4.2-billion fundraising drive to mark 2019 centennial |last=Gordon |first=Larry |website=Los Angeles Times |date=May 16, 2014 |access-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620001934/http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-ucla-campaign-20140516-story.html |url-status=live}}

Block holds UCLA faculty appointments in psychiatry and bio-behavioral sciences in the David Geffen School of Medicine and in integrative biology and physiology in the College of Letters and Science.{{cite web |url=http://chancellor.ucla.edu/biography |title=UCLA Chancellor Gene Block |publisher=University of California |access-date=April 12, 2013 |archive-date=December 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214060456/http://chancellor.ucla.edu/biography |url-status=live}}

On April 25, 2024, a pro-Palestinian occupation protest began at UCLA to protest the administration's investments in Israel amid the Gaza war.{{cite news |title=UC rejects calls for Israel-related divestment, boycott driving pro-Palestinian protests |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-27/uc-rejects-calls-for-israel-related-divestment-boycotts-driving-pro-palestinian-protests |work=Los Angeles Times |date=April 27, 2024}} On May 1, violent clashes were reported on the UCLA campus in which groups of counter-demonstrators supporting Israel attacked pro-Palestinian protesters. The clashes began shortly after Block declared that the pro-Palestinian encampment was "unlawful" and students who remained would face disciplinary action.{{cite news |title=Violence erupts at UCLA campus between rival Gaza protest groups |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/may/01/violence-erupts-ucla-university-campus-clashes-rival-gaza-protest-groups |work=The Guardian |date=May 1, 2024}} In the days after the incident, senate faculty members from the departments of History,{{cite news |title=Statement of Members of the Department of History in Response to Clearing the Encampment, 2 May 2024 |url=https://history.ucla.edu/2024/05/02/statement-of-members-of-the-department-of-history-in-response-to-clearing-the-encampment-2-may-2024/ |work=UCLA College of Social Sciences: History |date=May 2, 2024}} English, Comparative Literature, and Writing Programs,{{cite news |title=Statement of undersigned members of the UCLA Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Writing Programs Faculty in response to the forcible removal of the Student Encampment |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/14TaDWu8ulDjWDxBo_NSzAk159RJlN6-HNGts97yI1Mo/edit |work=Google Docs: Statement of undersigned members of the UCLA Department of English Faculty in response to the forcible removal of the Student Encampment |date=May 2, 2024}} Asian American Studies,{{cite news |title=Asian American Studies Department Solidarity Statement |url=https://asianam.ucla.edu/2024/05/03/asian-american-studies-department-solidarity-statement/ |work=UCLA College of Social Sciences: Asian American Studies |date=May 3, 2024}} World Arts and Cultures/Dance,{{cite news |title=SOLIDARITY STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE VIOLENT REMOVAL OF THE STUDENT ENCAMPMENT |url=https://www.wac.ucla.edu/statement-of-the-ucla-department-of-world-arts-and-cultures-dance-in-response-to-may-2-s-violent-removal-of-the-student-encampme |work=UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture: World Arts and Cultures/Dance |date=May 4, 2024}} Disability Studies,{{cite news |title=Statement of Members of the UCLA Disability Studies Program on the Right to Protest Peacefully without Fear of Violence |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_cxU1RLAOcAklFPKGcoclcwkavM-Ns7av1IBJEefNdY/edit |work=Google Docs: Statement of Members of the UCLA Disability Studies Program on the Right to Protest Peacefully without Fear of Violence |date=May 3, 2024}} Gender Studies,{{cite news |title=UCLA Gender Studies Department Statement on Mob and Police Violence against Students and Faculty |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UuYkUHH46G3Ht4X25Wtb6_3A-TTW9ZiH/view |work=Google Docs: Final Gender Studies department strongly condemns the mob attack of April 30 (1) |date=May 2, 2024}} Information Studies,{{cite news |title=IS Statement to UCLA Administration |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jijGht3nOMfflx5MTwKr30V_Z9MaTUih/view |work=Google Drive: IS%20letter%20to%20UCLA%20Administration.pdf |date=May 3, 2024}} Chicano/a and Central American Studies,{{cite news |title=CCAS Faculty Statement of Solidarity |url=https://chavez.ucla.edu/2024/05/03/ccas-faculty-statement-solidarity/ |work=UCLA College of Social Sciences: César E. Chávez Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies |date=May 3, 2024}} Art,{{cite news |title=Faculty Response to Violence on Our Campus |url=https://www.art.ucla.edu/gazaprotests/ |work=UCLA Art |date=May 9, 2024}} Art History,{{cite news |title=Statement of the Undersigned Members of UCLA Art History Faculty in Response to the Attacks of April 30-May 2, 2024 |url=https://arthistory.ucla.edu/news/statement-of-the-undersigned-members-of-ucla-art-history-faculty-in-response-to-the-attacks-of-april-30-may-2-2024/ |work=UCLA College of Humanities: Art History |date=May 3, 2024}} Philosophy, {{cite news |title=Statement re: The university’s response to peaceful protest |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FFI_-U6iRsUI-PI_CioHalvVkimzRlKRu48l5c6mGbg/edit#heading=h.mbjsiz6n6jlo |work=Google Docs: UCLA Department of Philosophy |date=May 6, 2024}} African American Studies,{{cite news |title=Solidarity Statement of the Department of African American Studies, UCLA |url=https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1uKK39v36FsYDM9NUo8hCnag41Bv7AqSAf01NZ4A-gM0CvQ/viewform |work=Google Docs: UCLA Department of African American Studies |date=May 6, 2024}} Sociology,{{cite news |title=UCLA Department of Sociology’s Response to the Administration's Failures over Gaza Solidarity Encampment |url=https://sites.google.com/view/uclasociologyresponse/home |work=UCLA Sociology Response |date=May 6, 2024}} Anthropology,{{cite news |title=Statement of members of the UCLA Department of Anthropology Faculty in response to the forcible removal of the Student Encampment |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SEETzDEsE7h31grPy9E7I3gkYHNe0VwI/view |work=Google Drive: Anthropology Department Letter |date=May 5, 2024}} and Society & Genetics,{{cite news |title=Statement of Faculty of the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics faculty in response to the attacks on the encampment and ensuing police violence, April 30 to May 2 2024 |url=https://socgen.ucla.edu/2024/05/03/statement-of-isg-faculty-in-response-to-the-attacks-on-the-encampment-and-ensuing-police-violence-april-30-to-may-2/ |work=UCLA College of Life Sciences: Society & Genetics |date=May 3, 2024}} the Center for the Study of Women,{{cite news |title=Center for the Study of Women Statement on Palestine Solidarity Encampment and Protests |url=https://csw.ucla.edu/2024/05/09/statement-palestine-solidarity-encampment-and-protests/ |work=UCLA College of Social Sciences: Barbara Streisand Center for the Study of Women |date=May 10, 2024}} in addition to subsets of faculty from the departments of Epidemiology,{{cite news |title=Letter* to the UCLA Community in Response to the Encampment Attack on April 30, 2024 |url=https://sites.google.com/g.ucla.edu/epi-letter-ucla/home?authuser=0 |work=Epi Letter UCLA |date=May 3, 2024}} Social Welfare,{{cite news |title=Statement from undersigned* Social Welfare faculty members in response to the forcible removal of the Student Encampment |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oaLs1a5keC61v5xXRCCgJOH7G8XgzTHbad_KxTVTaEs/edit |work=Google Docs: Concerned Faculty of Social Welfare Letter in Response to Forcible Removal of Encampment |date=May 3, 2024}} Education,{{cite news |title=Statement of undersigned members of the UCLA Department of Education in response to the forcible removal of the Student Encampment |url=https://seis.ucla.edu/departments-and-degrees/department-of-education/Department-of-Education-Faculty-Statement |work=UCLA School of Education and Information Studies |date=May 9, 2024}} Mathematics,{{cite news |title=Statement of the undersigned members of the UCLA Mathematics Department on the actions of the administration in response to recent student protests |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sBKc2fl1yBXPqpnQLXSefFDbT4omK1t8/view |work=Google Drive: Statement to the UCLA Administration.pdf |date=May 9, 2024}} Design Media Arts,{{cite news |title=Statement of undersigned members of the UCLA Department of Design Media Arts Faculty in response to the forcible removal of the Student Encampment |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1opoK-J5rKoAZUvt4Ll3MqZOUWbTXcsvx3i08kPtC4qM/edit |work=Google Docs: UCLA DMA Public Statement re: Gaza Solidarity Encampment |date=May 4, 2024}} the Luskin School of Public Affairs{{cite news |title=Statement from undersigned Luskin School of Public Affairs faculty members in response to the forcible removal of the Student Encampment |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/18TV9nImZEFWrYJNCcRUY8SoE89HD-mtv0N4_e8UImjo/edit |work=Statement from undersigned Luskin School of Public Affairs faculty members in response to the forcible removal of the Student Encampment |date=May 8, 2024}} (and its graduate students),{{cite news |title=RE: Luskin Students Demand an Aye Vote for No Confidence, Censure of Chancellor Block, and Stand in Solidarity with UCLA Student Demands |url=https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:f74fed37-8d89-4181-a350-5afb348c8fbe |work=Statement from Graduate Students of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs 5.10.24 |date=May 10, 2024}} the David Geffen School of Medicine,{{cite news |title=UCLA BLNA Letter in Support of Students, Faculty and Broader Bruin Community Subject to Emotional and Physical Violence During the Past Week’s Events |url=https://sites.google.com/view/blna-letter |work=UCLA Black, Latinx, and Native American (BLNA) Faculty Collective of the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) |date=May 10, 2024}} and the School of Theater, Film, and Television,{{cite news |title=Statement of the Undersigned Members of the School of Theater, Film, and Television Community in Response to the Attacks of April 30-May 2, 2024 |url=https://sites.google.com/view/statement-of-the-undersigned |work=Statement |date=May 3, 2024}} faculty and staff from the broader UC system,{{cite news |title=University of California Faculty and Staff Demand |url=https://sites.google.com/view/uc-demands |work=University of California Faculty and Staff Demand |date=May 6, 2024}} alumni groups,{{Cite tweet |user=uclablackbruins |number=1787911249717772720 |title=In light of this week’s recent events at UCLA and beyond and a lack of cohesion within ASU, we, a group of autonomous Concerned Black Bruins and Alumni, have released a statement in solidarity with the Students for Justice in Palestine. We call for 1) the UCLA Administration to}} the representatives of the Undergraduate Students Association (student government),{{cite news |title=USAC passes resolution calling for UCLA Chancellor Gene Block’s resignation |url=https://dailybruin.com/2024/05/07/usac-passes-resolution-calling-for-ucla-chancellor-gene-blocks-resignation |work=The Daily Bruin |date=May 7, 2024}} and a joint statement by the California Federation of Teachers and the University Council-AFT{{cite news |title=CFT Leaders Call on UCLA Chancellor Gene Block to Resign Following Violence on Campus |url=https://www.cft.org/news-release/cft-leaders-call-ucla-chancellor-gene-block-resign-following-violence-campus |work=CFT: A Union of Educators and Certified Professionals |date=May 1, 2024}} (which respectively represent educators and classified professionals, and UC librarians and non-Senate faculty), along with an individual statement from UC-AFT Local 1474,{{cite news |title=UCLA Chapter of UC-AFT Local 1474 Condemns Arrests of Contingent Faculty and Librarians for Protecting Students |url=https://ucaft.org/content/ucla-chapter-uc-aft-local-1474-condemns-arrests-contingent-faculty-and-librarians-protecting |work=University Council-AFT: Representing Non-Senate Faculty and Librarians of the University of California |date=May 6, 2024}} issued calls for votes of no confidence and/or the immediate resignation of Block due to his handling of the conflict. A supermajority of voting UC-AFT Local 1474 members voted to express no confidence in Block's leadership.{{Cite tweet |user=UCAFT |number=1794148791962276287 |title=An announcement from our colleagues @UCAFT_UCLA}} Ultimately, opponents of Block failed to force him to resign, as neither censure nor a vote of no confidence passed in the UCLA Academic Senate on May 16, 2024. The vote on censure was tied, 88–88.{{cite web |title=UCLA Faculty Decide Not To Rebuke Chancellor Gene Block Over Handling Of Protests |author-first1=Ross |author-last1=Brennenman |author-first2=Adolfo |author-last2=Guzman-Lopez |url=https://laist.com/news/education/ucla-faculty-resolution-gene-block-campus-protests |date=May 17, 2024 |access-date=August 1, 2024 |website=LAist |publisher=Southern California Public Radio}}{{cite web |title=Votes to censure, express no confidence in Gene Block fail in UCLA Academic Senate |url=https://dailybruin.com/2024/05/17/votes-to-censure-express-no-confidence-in-gene-block-fail-in-ucla-academic-senate |website=Daily Bruin |publisher=University of California, Los Angeles |date=May 17, 2024 |first1=Catherine |last1=Hamilton}}

On August 3, 2023, Block announced his impending retirement nearly a year in advance.{{cite web |first1=Teresa |last1=Watanabe |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-08-03/ucla-chancellor-gene-block-retires |title=UCLA Chancellor Gene Block to step down after boosting enrollment, diversity, rankings |date=August 3, 2023 |access-date=August 1, 2024 |website=Los Angeles Times |publisher=California Times}} He officially stepped down on July 31, 2024, ending his seventeen-year tenure as chancellor.

While at the University of Virginia, Block worked extensively with his graduate student, Douglas G. McMahon, the 1986 winner of the Society for Neuroscience's Donald B. Lindsley Prize in Behavioral Neuroscience, on the functioning of the circadian pacemaker system at the cellular level in Bulla gouldiana. In 1984, Block's students conducted a continuous 74-hour intracellular recording in constant darkness that demonstrated that basal retinal neurons (BRN) in the Bulla eye exhibit clear circadian rhythms. These rhythms were also shown to be correlated one-for-one with compound action potentials produced by the optic nerve.{{cite journal |last=McMahon |first=Douglas G. |title=Cellular analysis of the Bulla ocular circadian pacemaker system |journal=J Comp Physiol A |year=1984 |volume=155 |issue=3 |pages=379–385 |doi=10.1007/bf00610591 |s2cid=35743849}} The change in membrane potential of the BRNs, which are electrically coupled, were shown to precede or occur simultaneously with the increased compound action potential frequency. An increase in firing frequency, and depolarization 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 Stephan Michel and others working in Block's laboratory demonstrated that circadian rhythms in BRN membrane conductance could persist spontaneously in isolated BRNs.{{cite journal |last=Michel |first=Stephan |title=Circadian Rhythm in Membrane Conductance Expressed in Isolated Neurons |journal=Science |year=1993 |volume=259 |issue=5092 |pages=239–241 |pmid=8421785 |doi=10.1126/science.8421785 |bibcode=1993Sci...259..239M |display-authors=etal |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1231259 |access-date=July 4, 2019 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728173014/https://zenodo.org/record/1231259 |url-status=live}} 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 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.

Block and colleagues hypothesized that ion movement across cell membranes plays a role in the generation of circadian rhythms. In 2005, his lab measured rhythms in rat suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) in various concentrations of calcium ions. Block found that as calcium concentration decreased, thus lowering the transmembrane ion movement, the amplitude of circadian rhythmicity also decreased.{{cite journal |last=Lundkvist |first=Gabriella |author2=Yongho Kwak |author3=Erin Davis |author4=Hajime Tei |author5=Gene Block |title=A calcium flux is required for circadian rhythm generation in mammalian pacemaker neurons |journal=The Journal of Neuroscience |date=August 17, 2005 |volume=25 |issue=33 |pages=7682–7686 |pmid=16107654 |doi=10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2211-05.2005 |pmc=6725395 |doi-access=free}} With no calcium added, there was no circadian rhythm at all. Block's lab repeated the experiment with rat liver 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 Blockers 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 plays a role in the entrainment of the mammalian clock to the environment, similar to its role in mollusk entrainment.

Block has also studied the effect that aging has on the circadian system, collaborating with other leading chronobiologists including Michael Menaker. 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 shortened with age, while lung tissue often became arrhythmic (showing sporadic activity) and pineal and kidney tissues became phase advanced.{{cite journal |last=Yamazaki |first=Shin |author2=Marty Straume |author3=Hajime Tei |author4=Yoshiyuki Sakaki |author5=Michael Menaker |author6=Gene Block |title=Effects of aging on central and peripheral mammalian clocks |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=August 6, 2002 |volume=99 |issue=16 |pages=10801–10806 |pmid=12149444 |doi=10.1073/pnas.152318499 |pmc=125050 |bibcode=2002PNAS...9910801Y |doi-access=free}} In 2008, Block exposed rats of various ages to different light cycles, and found that phase 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.{{cite journal |last=Davidson |first=Alec |author2=Shin Yamazaki |author3=Deanna Arble |author4=Michael Menaker |author5=Gene Block |title=Resetting of central and peripheral circadian oscillators in aged rats |journal=Neurobiology of Aging |date=March 2008 |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=471–477 |pmid=17129640 |doi=10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2006.10.018 |pmc=1635489}} 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 signals from the SCN. In 2006, Block observed that jetlag significantly increased the death rate in older mice, which highlights the medical importance of understanding the aging process of the circadian system.{{cite journal |last=Davidson |first=AJ |author2=MT Sellix |author3=J Daniel |author4=S Yamazaki |author5=M Menaker |author6=GD Block |title=Chronic jet-lag increases mortality in aged mice |journal=Curr Biol |date=November 7, 2006 |volume=16 |issue=21 |pages=R914-6 |pmid=17084685 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2006.09.058 |pmc=1635966 |bibcode=2006CBio...16.R914D}}

• 2015: Friends of Semel Institute Visionary Award{{Cite web |url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/great-minds-gala-raises-more-than-1-million-for-semel-institute-research |title=Great Minds Gala raises more than $1 million for Semel Institute research |last=Wheeler |first=Mark |website=UCLA Newsroom |language=en |access-date=March 20, 2018 |archive-date=March 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321064809/http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/great-minds-gala-raises-more-than-1-million-for-semel-institute-research |url-status=live}}
• 2010: Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences{{Cite web |url=https://www.amacad.org/peerCollaboration/profile.aspx?c=psa&q=%22gene_block%22 |title=Academy Member Connection |website=www.amacad.org |access-date=March 20, 2018 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• 2009: Los Angeles NAACP Foundation Presidents’ Award
• 2006: Japan Prize in Biology selection committee
• 2004: Navigator Award, Virginia Piedmont Technology Council
• 2003: Pioneer Award, National Science Foundation (NSF Centers Program)
• 1998: Commonwealth of Virginia, Outstanding Public Service Award
• 1997: Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• 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
• 1995: Glaser Distinguished Visiting Professor, Florida International University
• 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

In 1970, Block married Carol Kullback, also from Monticello; they have two grown children.[http://magazine.ucla.edu/features/gene-block_chancellor/ UCLA Magazine: "Block on Board" by Mary Daily] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109024441/http://magazine.ucla.edu/features/gene-block_chancellor/ |date=November 9, 2017 }} July 1, 2007

• Michael Menaker

{{reflist}}

• [https://archive.today/20121215022921/http://newsroom.ucla.edu/page.asp?RelNum=7611 UCLA Newsroom: Gene D. Block Named New UCLA Chancellor]
• [http://www.chancellor.ucla.edu/ UCLA Chancellor Gene Block]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110322155005/http://www.srbr.org/Pages/default.aspx Society for Research on Biological Rhythms]
• [http://www.bri.ucla.edu/ Brain Research Institute UCLA]
• [http://www.circadian.org/dictionary.html Dictionary of Circadian Physiology]

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Category:1948 births

Category:Living people

Category:University of Virginia faculty

Category:Leaders of the University of California, Los Angeles

Category:Foothill College alumni

Category:Stanford University alumni

Category:University of Oregon alumni

Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni

Category:People from Monticello, New York

Category:Jewish American scientists

Category:American chronobiologists

Category:21st-century American Jews

Category:Monticello High School (New York) alumni