Amy Y. Chen, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., F.A.C.S.

Amy Y. Chen, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., F.A.C.S., is chief of surgery and medical director of the thyroid oncology program at City of Hope^® Cancer Center Atlanta. A nationally recognized expert in the field of otolaryngology head and neck surgery and thyroid and parathyroid surgical care, Dr. Chen has more than 30 years’ experience as a cancer care leader and physician-scholar.

Dr. Chen’s clinical role at City of Hope involves diagnosing and treating cancers that affect the head and neck, such as thyroid and parathyroid cancer, thyroid neoplasms and mucosal cancers of the throat. She takes a multidisciplinary, patient-centered approach to care, working with patients and colleagues to ensure that patients receive individualized care and leading-edge treatments. As leader of the thyroid oncology team, Dr. Chen also focuses on broadening access to new surgical options for patients.

Prior to joining City of Hope, Dr. Chen was a Professor at Winship Cancer Institute and Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at Emory Healthcare, where she also served as director of the Head and Neck Endocrine Surgery program and inaugural vice chair for diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition to holding multiple leadership roles at Emory, Dr. Chen served on committees for national institutions such as the National Institutes of Health, the American Joint Commission on Cancer, the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute and the American College of Surgeons. She also led multidisciplinary head and neck tumor conferences for many years.

After receiving her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Dr. Chen completed her residency in otolaryngology head and neck surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, followed by a fellowship in head and neck surgical oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, both located in Houston, Texas. She also earned master’s degrees in business administration and public health from Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business and the University of Texas at Houston School of Public Health, respectively.

Dr. Chen is a prolific physician-scholar with more than 150 peer-reviewed publications to her name. She’s also served as principal investigator or co-investigator on numerous studies and given dozens of lectures on her research at conferences in the United States and beyond. Currently, she conducts translational research on head and neck malignancies and is focused on developing a new center to track health outcomes and quality of care in her field. Dr. Chen’s work as a teacher, academic and clinician has been recognized with awards including the Helen F. Krause, M.D., Trailblazer Award, the Margaret Butler Award for Outstanding Mentor of Women Head and Neck Surgeons, the Emory School of Medicine Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award, the American Head and Neck Society Scholarship Award and the Women’s Fund for Health, Education and Research Grant. She’s also a board member for the Partnership for Southern Equity and the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender Based Violence.