BME Seminar: Kellen Chen
Monday, November 7th, 2022 12:00 p.m.
Kellen Chen
Assistant Research Professor
Department of Surgery
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Arizona, College of Medicine - Tucson
"Investigating Mechanical Signaling and Molecular Pathways to Reduce Fibrosis and Promote Regeneration"
Keating 103
Live Zoom link | Passcode: BearDown
(Instructor permission is required for enrolled students to attend via Zoom)
Hosts: Dr. Beth Hutchinson and Dr. Shang Song
Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation by contacting the Disability Resource Center at 621-3268 (V/TTY).
ABSTRACT: Cells and tissue within injured organs undergo a complicated healing process that still remains poorly understood. Humans and other large organisms respond to injury by forming dysfunctional, fibrotic scar tissue, and understanding how to instead promote tissue regeneration and restoration of function remains a "holy grail" of biomedical research. Mechanotransduction pathways and mechanical signaling have been increasingly linked to healing processes throughout the body, and a better understanding of how to target both the physical and molecular mechanical environments remains an interesting pathway to promote improved healing.
BIO: Kellen Chen, Ph.D., is an assistant research professor in the Department of Surgery and Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine – Tucson. Dr. Chen recently completed his postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford University. He previously received his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Virginia and earned his B.S. in bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Chen co-directs the lab of Department of Surgery Chair Geoffrey Gurtner, MD, FACS. Together, they are currently studying therapies to improve outcomes after injury, skin grafting, chronic wound development, biomedical device implantation, and more. Among these many research avenues, Dr. Chen is particularly interested in the molecular and cellular drivers of fibrosis and regeneration across all organ systems, and he previously studied healing after myocardial infarction or Achilles tendon injuries. He is also currently working on obtaining FDA approval for a clinical trial to study pharmacological inhibition of mechanical signaling to accelerate the healing of deep dermal injury.