Department Welcomes Dr. Carol Chen as Clinical Assistant Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Surgical Director of Heart Transplantation

The Stanford Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery is pleased to announce that Carol Chen, MD, will join the faculty as Clinical Assistant Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Surgical Director of Heart Transplantation at Stanford Health Care, effective July 7, 2025.

In this role, Dr. Chen will lead the heart transplant surgical program at Stanford Hospital, bringing a strong record of surgical excellence and expertise in managing the most complex cases. She will also see and treat patients at Stanford Hospital and at Dignity Health Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, California.

“Dr. Chen trained at Stanford, and there is such a tremendous value when our exceptional cardiothoracic surgery trainees return as faculty members to advance our mission. She is a highly skilled cardiothoracic surgeon with exceptional strengths in patient care, clinical leadership, and team collaboration,” said Joseph Woo, MD, Chair and the Norman E. Shumway Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

As the Surgical Director of Heart Transplantation, Dr. Chen brings extensive experience in transplantation, including expertise in patient selection and donor evaluation. Her background in performing highly complex transplants, such as cases involving multiple previous sternotomies and congenital heart disease, has positioned her for this vital leadership role. She is also highly skilled in performing aortic surgery, valve repair and replacement, and coronary artery bypass.

“Returning to the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery feels like coming home. It is such a supportive, collaborative team, from the faculty to the cardiothoracic anesthesiologists to the advanced practice practitioners,” said Dr. Chen, who looks forward to working closely with the team. 

Dr. Chen will also serve as an integral member of the cardiothoracic surgery team at Sequoia Hospital, which became affiliated with Stanford Medicine’s cardiothoracic surgery program in March 2025. In addition to providing expert surgical care at Sequoia Hospital, she will support the close working relationships among the cardiothoracic surgery teams to offer patients access to the highest level of care within the community.

Dr. Chen will lead a basic science research lab at Stanford School of Medicines, called the Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis and Mathematical Modeling in Mechanical Circulatory Support Laboratory. She and her colleagues will study allograft preservation, clinical epidemiology, biomarkers in heart transplantation, and fluid dynamics in mechanical support.

Dr. Chen earned her medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She completed her general surgery residency at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. While there, she undertook a postdoctoral research fellowship and obtained a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology. She came to Stanford to complete a traditional cardiothoracic surgery fellowship in 2021 and a transplant surgery fellowship in 2024. During her second fellowship, she was a cardiac surgeon at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, California.

Her most recent position was with Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Please join us in welcoming Dr. Chen back to Stanford!