The Department of Mechanical Engineering is pleased to welcome Dr. Yun Chen who will join WSE as Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in August 2015.

Yun_ChenDr. Yun Chen is currently a Research Fellow with the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. Dr. Chen completed her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina, where her research focused on tracking molecular movements in cells by single particle tracking with fast-sampling high-resolution microscopy. Dr. Chen was a 2010-13 NIH Intramural Research Training Award Fellow at National Institutes of Health and awarded 2007-2010 Joint NIST/NIH Interface Research Associate Fellowship by National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences. Her representative publications can be found at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yun_Chen32.

Dr. Yun Chen’s research efforts are focused on studying how biophysical and biochemical factors are coordinated to achieve homeostasis or facilitate pathogenesis across molecular, cellular and tissue levels. In particular, Dr. Chen uses multi-scale, multi-modality imaging integrating magnetic resonance imaging, optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy to study dynamical regulatory networks and mechanosignaling in cancer and its microenvironment. The physical parameters such as diffusion rate, fluid viscosity, tissue rigidity, electric surface charges, etc., in tumor microenvironment can be probed with the multi-scale, multi-modality imaging platform and subsequently assessed for their contribution in early cancer development. In addition, Dr. Chen is combining mass spectrometry-based proteomics with the imaging tools to identify the key molecules biophysically driving tumor progression. Dr. Chen also partners with clinicians at National Cancer Institute to develop collaborative translational research projects based on her findings.

Yun_Chen_intro_pic