Mike Y. Chen, M.D., Ph.D.

(877) 460-4673
Mike Y. Chen, M.D., Ph.D.
Neurosurgeon
Clinical Expertise
  • Complex Operations for the Removal of Brain, Brachial Plexus and Spine Tumors
  • Brain and Spine Tumors
Research Area
  • Histone Mediated Epigenetic Regulation of Glioblastomas
  • Effect of Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields on Enhancing Chemotherapeutics Agents
  • Correlation of Hormone Receptor Status with Bone Formation in Metastatic Spine Tumors
Other Languages Spoken
Mandarin
Academic Appointments
  • Associate Professor, Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery
Clinical Teams
Brain Tumors
Pituitary Disorders and Tumors
Spinal Tumors
Additional Contacts
  • Arcadia Patients
    (626) 218-9840
  • Referring Physicians/Colleagues
    (626) 218-8958

Bring your best every day and keep making it better.

That’s the philosophy of prolific researcher, talented physician and board-certified neurosurgeon, Mike Y. Chen, M.D., Ph.D., who has been on the City of Hope Cancer Center Duarte® neurosurgery team since 2007. Dr. Chen specializes in complex operations for the removal of brain and spine tumors. He also frequently treats benign and degenerative conditions of the spine for City of Hope patients.

As a contributor to the advancement of neurosurgery, Dr. Chen devises new surgical techniques, works with medical device companies to design new tools and teaches procedures to other surgeons.

Dr. Chen received his medical doctorate from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He furthered his training with an internship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and a residency at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond. Dr. Chen also completed a research fellowship in surgical neurology at the National Institutes of Health.

Location

Education & Experience

Board Certifications

  • Board Certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery

Degrees

  • 2006, Doctor of Philosophy, Anatomy and Neurobiology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA
  • 1996, Doctor of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA
  • 1994, Master of Science, Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
  • 1990, Bachelor of Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

Fellowship

  • 1997-2000, Research Fellowship, Surgical Neurology Branch, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

Residency

  • 2000-2006, Neurosurgery Residency, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA

Internship

  • 1996-1997, Internship, Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD

Professional Experience

  • 2015-present, Associate Professor, Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, City of Hope, Duarte and Arcadia, CA
  • 2012-present, Director, Neurosurgical Oncology Fellowship Program, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2007-2015, Associate Professor, Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2007-2015, Section Head, Malignant Brain Tumor Program, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2006, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA

Awards & Memberships

Awards

  • 2018-2019, Maximal Effect of Pulsed ElectroMagnetic Fields on Cancer 2017. Principal Investigator. $105, 022 grant supported by Orthofix, Inc
  • 2015, The Use of Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields to Enhance Delivery of Anti-neoplastic Agents. Investigator Initiated Industry Sponsored Research. $500,000
  • 2012-2015, Renewal of Margaret Early Trust Grant. Role of the Chromobox Protein CBX6 in the Mesenchymal Transition of Glioblastoma 2014. Principal Investigator. $225,000 grant by The Margaret E. Early Medical Research Trust
  • 2014, The Use of Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields to Enhance Delivery of Anti-neoplastic Agents. Investigator Initiated Industry Sponsored Research. $400,000
  • 2012, Biomechanical evaluation of dual vertebral cages in the thoracic spine. Investigator Initiated Industry Sponsored Research. Globus Medical Grant
  • 2012, Golden Axon Award for Leadership and Dedication. Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics
  • 2010, Characterizing the progenitor cell subpopulation in cancellous bone. Nuvasive. Industry Sponsored grant: $560,000
  • 2010, Biomechanical assessment of thoracic and lumbar vertebral column reconstruction with bilateral expandable cages. Globus Medical Corporation. Investigator Initiated Research: $10,000

Memberships

  • American Association of Neurological Surgeons
  • Congress of Neurological Surgeons
  • International Neurosurgical Children’s Association
  • President, Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics Society Board of Directors
  • The Johns Hopkins Medical & Surgical Association
  • Los Angeles County Medical Association
  • California Medical Association
  • American Association for Cancer Research
  • Society for Neuro-Oncology

Publications

  • Brown CE, Hibbard JC, Alizadeh D, Blanchard MS, Natri HM, Wang D, Ostberg JR, Aguilar B, Wagner JR, Paul JA, Starr R, Wong RA, Chen W, Shulkin N, Aftabizadeh M, Filippov A, Chaudhry A, Ressler JA, Kilpatrick J, Myers-McNamara P, Chen M, Wang LD, Rockne RC, Georges J, Portnow J, Barish ME, D'Apuzzo M, Banovich NE, Forman SJ, Badie B. Locoregional delivery of IL-13Rα2-targeting CAR-T cells in recurrent high-grade glioma: a phase 1 trial. Nat Med. 2024 Apr;30(4):1001-1012. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-02875-1. Epub 2024 Mar 7. Erratum in: Nat Med. 2024 May;30(5):1501. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-02928-5. PMID: 38454126; PMCID: PMC11031404.
  • Garg R, Jandial K, Chen M. GM-CSF — an oncogenic driver of HER2+ breast leptomeningeal metastasis. Oncoscience. 2022 Oct 10;9:57-59. doi: 10.18632/oncoscience.566. PMID: 36225261; PMCID: PMC9549905.
  • Chen MY, Li J, Zhang N, Waldorff EI, Ryaby JT, Fedor P, Jia Y, Wang Y. In Vitro and in Vivo Study of the Effect of Osteogenic Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields on Breast and Lung Cancer Cells. Technol Cancer Res Treat. 2022 Jan-Dec;21:15330338221124658. doi: 10.1177/15330338221124658. PMID: 36172744; PMCID: PMC9523832.
  • Nami M, Thatcher R, Kashou N, Lopes D, Lobo M, Bolanos JF, Morris K, Sadri M, Bustos T, Sanchez GE, Mohd-Yusof A, Fiallos J, Dye J, Guo X, Peatfield N, Asiryan M, Mayuku-Dore A, Krakauskaite S, Soler EP, Cramer SC, Besio WG, Berenyi A, Tripathi M, Hagedorn D, Ingemanson M, Gombosev M, Liker M, Salimpour Y, Mortazavi M, Braverman E, Prichep LS, Chopra D, Eliashiv DS, Hariri R, Tiwari A, Green K, Cormier J, Hussain N, Tarhan N, Sipple D, Roy M, Yu JS, Filler A, Chen M, Wheeler C, Ashford JW, Blum K, Zelinsky D, Yamamoto V, Kateb B. A Proposed Brain-, Spine-, and Mental- Health Screening Methodology (NEUROSCREEN) for Healthcare Systems: Position of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics. J Alzheimers Dis. 2022;86(1):21-42. doi: 10.3233/JAD-215240. PMID: 35034899.
  • Bhan A, Ansari KI, Chen MY, Jandial R. Inhibition of Jumonji Histone Demethylases Selectively Suppresses HER2+ Breast Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis Growth via Inhibition of GMCSF Expression. Cancer Res. 2021 Jun 15;81(12):3200-3214. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-3317. Epub 2021 May 3. PMID: 33941612; PMCID: PMC9126130.
  • Ashford JW, Gold JE, Huenergardt MA, Katz RBA, Strand SE, Bolanos J, Wheeler CJ, Perry G, Smith CJ, Steinman L, Chen MY, Wang JC, Ashford CB, Roth WT, Cheng JJ, Chao S, Jennings J, Sipple D, Yamamoto V, Kateb B, Earnest DL. MMR Vaccination: A Potential Strategy to Reduce Severity and Mortality of COVID-19 Illness. Am J Med. 2021 Feb;134(2):153-155. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.10.003. Epub 2020 Oct 23. PMID: 33198951; PMCID: PMC7583585.
  • Jia Y, Wang Y, Zhang C, Chen MY. Upregulated CBX8 Promotes Cancer Metastasis via the WNK2/MMP2 Pathway. Mol Ther Oncolytics. 2020 Oct 4;19:188-196. doi: 10.1016/j.omto.2020.09.012. PMID: 33251331; PMCID: PMC7666318.
  • Ansari KI, Bhan A, Liu X, Chen MY, Jandial R. Astrocytic IGFBP2 and CHI3L1 in cerebrospinal fluid drive cortical metastasis of HER2+breast cancer. Clin Exp Metastasis. 2020 Jun;37(3):401-412. doi: 10.1007/s10585-020-10032-4. Epub 2020 Apr 11. PMID: 32279122.
  • Chaudhry AA, Naim S, Gul M, Chaudhry A, Chen M, Jandial R, Badie B. Utility of Preoperative Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent Functional MR Imaging in Patients with a Central Nervous System Neoplasm. Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2021 Feb;31(1):93-102. doi: 10.1016/j.nic.2020.09.009. PMID: 33220831; PMCID: PMC10040207.
  • Deng H, Guan X, Gong L, Zeng J, Zhang H, Chen MY, Li G. CBX6 is negatively regulated by EZH2 and plays a potential tumor suppressor role in breast cancer. Sci Rep. 2019 Jan 17;9(1):197. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-36560-4. PMID: 30655550; PMCID: PMC6336801.

Ratings & Reviews

Ratings and reviews below are gathered from the Press Ganey Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CG CAHPS) survey. CG CAHPS is a standardized survey that is used to measure a patient's experience in the physician office setting. Ratings are an average of all responses to questions about a provider's care, with five stars being the highest.
4.9
Recommend this provider office
4.9
Provider explain in way you understand
4.9
Provider listen carefully to you
4.9
Know important info medical history
4.9
Show respect for what you say
4.9
Spend enough time with you
4.8
Rate provider 0-10
03/27/26
I always have the best experience with Dr.Chen on my follow up visits. I get all my questions answered, he makes sure my concerns are resolved. - Verified patient
03/18/26
Dr Chen sharp his patience always there , take time explaining at your level of understanding so knowledge thanks a lot tr Chen - Verified patient
03/02/26
City of hope saved my life now that is something one will never forget. - Verified patient
01/27/26
Can't say enough positive things about Dr Chen. He cares for me like I was his family. - Verified patient
01/07/26
Very professional yet very easy to talk to and he was genuinely concerned - Verified patient