Bio
Dr. Chen is an instructor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University. Her research focuses on materials science and engineering approaches to biological or biomedical problems. Specifically, she is dedicated to understanding the design principles and developing nanoscale and macroscale biomaterials for medical applications, experimental investigations of cell therapies, and integration across multiple disciplines including materials science, chemistry, medical imaging, and life science. Her ongoing projects are developing nanoparticles (funded by the NIH K99/R00 award) and hydrogels to treat various eye diseases. Dr. Chen has published over 30 peer-reviewed papers, contributed chapters to 2 books, given almost 30 presentations at professional conferences, and been included in 3 patents.
Before becoming an instructor, Dr. Chen was trained as a postdoc scholar at Stanford Ophthalmology Department. During this training, she invented several natural biopolymers based in situ forming hydrogels to promote corneal wound healing. She also established two corneal disease models in rodents and large animals with surgical tool-inner stopper trephines, which she invented to create consistent corneal defects in animal corneas. Her postdoctoral research in hydrogel and tissue engineering is complementary to her Ph.D. training in nanoparticles and cell tracking. Dr. Chen completed her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at UCSD, where she discovered several ultrasound-based contrast agents, revealed cytotoxicity and adsorption properties of various nanomaterials, and created a theranostic nanoparticle that improved the treatment efficacy of stem cell therapy for heart diseases. Beyond research, Dr. Chen has also served as a mentor, area safety coordinator, lab manager, animal protocol manager, and reviewer for multiple professional journals.
