Zhen Bouman Chen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department Of Diabetes Complications & Metabolism
Research Area
Epigenetic Regulation In Endothelial Stress Response And Its Functional And Translational Relevance In Cardiovascular Diseases.
Zhen Bouman Chen, B.Med., Ph.D., completed her medical training in basic medical sciences from Peking University Health Science Center, where she received the prize for "Best Thesis Research.” She then pursued her doctoral studies in mechanosensing and vascular biology at University of California Riverside, where she received the Joy K. Tilton Cancer Research Award and an Outstanding Achievement Award in Biomedical Sciences. After a postdoctoral fellowship at University of California San Diego, where she was jointly trained in the departments of Medicine and Bioengineering, Dr. Chen joined City of Hope in 2016 as a faculty member in the Department of Diabetes Complications & Metabolism.
Dr. Chen was a finalist for an American Heart Association (AHA) Junior Investigator Award for Women and a recipient of a New Investigator Award from the American Physiological Society-Cardiovascular Section and Springer Junior Investigator Award from North American Vascular Biology Organization (NAVBO). She has been a reviewer for National Institute of Health, AHA, Diabetes UK, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Czech Science Foundation, and Hong Kong Research Grant Council, and a number of scientific journals, including Nature Biomedical Engineering, Circulation, Circulation Research, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, Genome Research, and more
Built upon her interdisciplinary training in medicine, vascular biology, bioengineering, and data science, Dr. Chen leads an active research program focused on noncoding RNAs and endothelial stress response. Her team integrates innovative high-throughput sequencing technologies, bioinformatics approaches, and multi-scale models to elucidate RNA-mediated endothelial biology in the context of diabetes. Dr. Chen is passionate about mentorship and peer support and has served as a member on the Women Leadership Committee of the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology Council of the AHA and is currently the Vice-Chair of the committee.
Built upon her interdisciplinary training in medicine, vascular biology, bioengineering, and data science, Dr. Chen leads an active research program focused on noncoding RNAs and endothelial stress response. Her team integrates innovative high-throughput sequencing technologies, bioinformatics approaches, and multi-scale models to elucidate RNA-mediated endothelial biology in the context of diabetes. Dr. Chen is passionate about mentorship and peer support and has served as a member on the Women Leadership Committee of the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology Council of the AHA and is currently the Vice-Chair of the committee.
2021, Certificate, University of California, San Diego Extension, Data Science and Visualization
2010, Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA
2005, B.S., Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, China
2021-present, Associate Professor, Department of Diabetes Complications & Metabolism, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
2016-2021, Assistant Professor, Department of Diabetes Complications & Metabolism, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
2012-2016, Postdoctoral scholar, Division of Cardiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
2010-2012 Postdoctoral scholar, Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA
2010, Visiting Scholar, Genomics Research Center, Academia, Sinica, Taiwan
2006-2010, Ph.D. Candidate, Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA
2004-2005, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Department of Physiology and Diabetes Center, Peking University Health Science Center, China
2020, North American Vascular Biology Organization, Springer Junior Investigator Award
2018, New Investigator Award, American Physiological Society-Cardiovascular Section
2014, Best of American Heart Association Specialty Conference: Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology
2014, Junior Investigator Award for Women finalist, American Heart Association Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology Council
2014, K99 Career Development Award (K99HL122368), National Institute of Health, USA
2011, Postdoctoral Fellowship (11POST7590128), American Heart Association Western States Affiliate Research Programs
2010, Outstanding Achievement Award in Biomedical Sciences, University of California Riverside
2007, Joy K. Tilton Cancer Research Award, University of California Riverside
2005, Best Thesis, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Health Science Center
Member and Vice-Chair, Women's Leadership Committee of the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, American Heart Association
Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Life Sciences
Member, Editorial Advisory Board, American Journal of Physiology- Cell Physiology
Member, American Heart Association
Member, American Diabetes Association
Member, American Physiological Society
Member, American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Tang X, Luo Y, Yuan D, Calandrelli R, Malhi MK, Sriram K, Miao Y, Lou CH, Tsark W, Tapia A, Chen AT, Zhang G, Roeth D, Kalkum M, Wang ZV, Chien S, Natarajan R, Cooke JP, Zhong S, and Bouman Chen Z. Long Non-Coding RNA LEENE Promotes Angiogenesis and Ischemic Recovery in Diabetes Models. J Clin Invest. 2022
- Sriram K, Luo Y, Yuan D, Malhi NK, Tapia A, Amaram V, Natarajan R, Bouman Chen Z. Vascular Regulation by Super Enhancer-Derived LINC00607. Front. Cardiovasc. Med., 2022
- Malhi NK, Luo Y, Tang X, Sriram K, Calandrelli R, Zhong S, Bouman Chen Z. Isolation and Profiling of Human Primary Mesenteric Arterial Endothelial Cells at the Transcriptome Level. J Vis Exp. 2022
- Lai CH, Chen AT, Burns AB, Sriram K, Luo Y, Tang X, Branciamore S, O'Meally D, Chang SL, Huang PH, Shyy JY, Chien S, Rockne RC, Bouman Chen Z. RAMP2-AS1 Regulates Endothelial Homeostasis and Aging. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021.
- Bouman Chen Z, Malhi NK. Endothelium -gut communication: IGF-1Rs crosstalk with microbiota. EMBO Rep. 2021.
- Tang X, Miao Y, Luo Y, Sriram K, Qi Z, Lin F-M, Gu Y, Lai C-H, Hsu C-Y, Peterson KL, Van Keuren-Jensen K, Fueger PT, Yeo GW, Natarajan R, Zhong S, Bouman Chen Z. Suppression of endothelial AGO1 promotes adipose tissue browning and improves metabolic dysfunction. Circulation. 2020.
- Yan Z, Zhou Z, Wu Q, Bouman Chen Z, Koo E, Zhong S. Longitudinal changes of extracellular RNA in human plasma droplets correlate with clinical diagnoses of sporadic Alzheimer ’s disease. Curr Biol. 2020.
- Chang Y-J, Wu J, Wang K-C, Huang C, Chen Z, Li Y-S, Chien S. Extracellular miR-92a mediates endothelial cell-macrophage communication. Arter Thromb Vasc Biol. 2019.
- Wu W, Yan Z, Nguyen TC, Chen Z, Chien S, Zhong S. Mapping RNA-chromatin interactions by sequencing with iMARGI. Nat Protoc. 2019.
- Zhou Z, Wu Q, Yan Z, Zheng H, Chen C, Liu Y, Qi Z, Calandrelli R, Chen Z, Chien S, Su HI, Zhong S. Extracellular RNA in a single droplet of human serum reflects physiologic and disease states. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019.
- He M, Huang T-S, Li S, Hong H-C, Chen Z, Martin M, Zhou X, Huang H-Y, Su S-H, Zhang J, Wang W-T, Kang J, Huang H-D, Zhang J, Chien S, Shyy JY. Atheroprotective Flow Upregulates ITPR3 in Vascular Endothelium via KLF4-Mediated Histone Modifications. Arterio Thromb Vasc Biol. 2019.
- Yan Z, Huang N, Wu W, Chen W, Jiang Y, Chen J, Huang X, Wen X, Xu J, Jin Q, Zhang K, Chen Z, Chien S, Zhong S. Genome-wide colocalization of RNA-DNA interactions and fusion RNA pairs. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019.
- H. Biase FH, Wu Q, Calandrelli R, Rivas-Astroza M, Zhou S, Chen Z, Zhong S. Rainbow-Seq: Combining Cell Lineage Tracing with Single-Cell RNA Sequencing in Preimplantation Embryos. iScience. 2018.
- Zhang J, Dong J, Martin M, He M, Gongol B, Marin TL, Chen L, Shi X, Yin Y, Shang F, Wu Y, Huang H-Y, Zhang J, Zhang Y, Kang J, Cespedes EM, Huang H-D, Powell F, Chen Z, Thistlethwaite PA, Yuan Z, Shyy JY. AMPK Phosphorylation of ACE2 in Endothelium Mitigates Pulmonary Hypertension. Am J Respir and Crit Care Med. 2018.
- Lin F-M, Chien S, Chen Z. Epigenetic profiling with ultralow DNA amounts. Nat Biomed Eng. 2018
- Miao Y, Ajami N, Huang T-S, Lin F-M, Lou C-H, Li S, Kang J, Munkacsi H, Wang Y-T, Maurya M, Gupta S, Chien S, Subramaniam S, Chen Z. Long Non-Coding RNA LEENE Promotes Chromatin Remodeling to Enhance Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase. Nat Comm. 2018.
- Guo W, Liu W, Chen Z, Gu Y, Peng S, Shen L, Shen Y, Wang X, Feng G-S, Sun Y, Xu Q. Tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 negatively regulates NLRP3 inflammasome activation via ANT1-dependent mitochondrial homeostasis. Nat Comm. 2017.
- Ajami NE, Gupta S, Maurya MR, Nguyen P, Li J, Shyy JY, Chen Z*, Chien S, Subramaniam S. Systems Biology Analysis of Longitudinal Functional Response of Endothelial Cells to Shear Stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017.
(*Co-corresponding author) - Shang F, Wang S-C, Hsu C-Y, Miao Y, Martin M, Yin Y, Wu C-C, Wang Y-T, Wu G, Shu S, Huang H-D, Tarng D-C, Shiu Y-T, Cheung AK, Huang P-H, Chen Z*, Shyy JY. MicroRNA-92a mediates endothelial dysfunction in chronic kidney disease. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 2017. (*Co-corresponding author)
- Huang T-S, Wang K-C, Quon S, Nguyen P, Chang T-Y, Chen Z, Li Y-S, Subramaniam S, Y-J Shyy JY, Chien S. LINC00341 exerts an anti-inflammatory effect on endothelial cells by repressing VCAM1. Physiol. Genomics. 2017.
- Chen Z, Li S, Shyy JY, Subramaniam S, Chien S. Epigenetic Regulation: A New Frontier for Biomedical Engineers. Annu Rev Biomed Eng. 2017.
- He M, Chen Z, Martin M, Zhang J, Sangwung P, Woo B, Tremoulet A, Shimizu C, Jain MK, Burns JC, Shyy JY. miR-483 Targeting of CTGF Suppresses Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition: Therapeutic Implications in Kawasaki Disease. Circ. Res. 2016
- Liu W, Guo W, Shen L, Zhen C, Luo Q, Luo X, Feng G, Shu Y, Gu Y, Xu Q, Yang S. T lymphocyte SHP2-deficiency triggers anti-tumor immunity to inhibit colitis-associated cancer in mice. Oncotarget. 2016.
- T-Y, T-Y W, Li, Wang S-C, He M, Martin M, Zhang J, Shentu T-P, Xiao H, Kang J, Wang K-C, Chen Z, Chien S, Tsai M-D, Shyy JY. TIFA as a Crucial Mediator for NLRP3 Inflammasome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016.
- Shang F, Li Z, Marin TL, Gongol B, Zhang J, Zhang J, Xiao H, Zhang Y, Chen Z, Shyy JY, Lei T. AMPK Phosphorylation of PARP1 Is Endothelium-Protective: Implications for Metformin and Telmisartan Treatment. PLoS One. 2016.
- Chen Z*, Wen L, Martin M, Hsu C-Y, Fang L, Lin F-M, Lin T-Y, Geary MJ, Geary G, Zhao Y, Johnson DA, Chien S, Huang H-D, Miller YI, Huang P-H, Shyy JY. Oxidative stress activates endothelial innate immunity through SREBP2 transactivation of miR-92a.Circulation. 2015. (*Co-corresponding author)
- Cooke JP, Chen Z. A Compendium on Peripheral Arterial Disease. Circ Res.2015.
- Chen Z, Martin M, Li Z, Shyy JY. Endothelial Dysfunction: The Role of SREBP-Induced NLRP3 Inflammasome in Atherosclerosis. Curr Opin Lipid. 2014.
- Wang X, Fang X, Zhou J, Chen Z, Zhao B, Xiao L, Liu A, Li Y-S, Shyy JY, Guan Y, Chien S, Wang N. Shear stress activation of PXR in endothelial detoxification. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013
- Wen L, Chen Z, Jiang J, Zhang F, Cui X, Sun W, Geary GG, Wang Y, Johnson DA, Zhu Y, Shyy JY. Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent Protein Kinase Kinase β Phosphorylation of Sirtuin 1 in Endothelium Is Atheroprotective. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013.
- Xiao H, Lu M, Yang Lin TY, Chen Z, Chen G, Wang W-C, Marin T, Shentu T-P, Wen L, Gongol B, Sun W, Liang X, Chen J, Huang H-D, Pedra J, Johnson DA, Shyy JY. SREBP2 Activation of NLRP3 Inflammasome in Endothelium Mediates Hemodynamic-Induced Atherosclerosis Susceptibility. Circulation. 2013.
- Chen Z, Lai T-C, Jan Y-H, Lin F-M, Wang W-C, Xiao H, Wang Y-T, Sun W, Cui X, Li Y-S, Fang T, Zhao H, Padmanabhan C, Sun R, Wang DL, Jin H, Chau G-Y, Huang H-D, Hsiao M, Shyy JY. Hypoxia-responsive miRNAs target argonaute 1 to promote angiogenesis. J Clin Invest. 2013.
- Marin T, Gongol B, Chen Z, Woo B, Subramaniam S, Chien S, Shyy JY. Mechanosensitive microRNAs-Role in Endothelial Responses to Shear Stress and Redox State. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 2013.
- Chen Z, Shentu T-P, Wen L, Johnson DA, Shyy JY. Regulation of SIRT1 by Oxidative Stress-Responsive miRNAs in the Endothelium. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2013.
- Peng I-C, Chen Z, Sun W, Li Y-S, Marin TL, Hsu P-H, Su M-I, Cui X, Pan S, Lytle C, Johnson DA, Blaeser F, Chatila T, Shyy JY. Glucagon regulates ACC activity in adipocytes through the CaMKKβ/AMPK pathway. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2012.
- Chen H-Y, Lin Y-M, Chung H-C, Lang Y-D, Lin C-J, Huang J, Wang W-C, Lin F-M, Chen Z, Huang H-D, Shyy JY, Liang J-T, Chen R-H. miR-103/107 Promote Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer by Targeting the Metastasis Suppressors DAPK and KLF4. Cancer Res. 2012.
- Shyy JY, Chen Z, Wu W, Sun W. Shear-Stress Activation of AMPActivated Protein Kinase in Endothelial Homeostasis. Cell Mol Bioeng. 2011.
- Chen Z, Peng I-C, Cui X, Li Y-S, Chien S, Shyy JY. Shear stress, SIRT1, and vascular homeostasis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010.
- Chen Z, Peng I-C, Sun W, Su M-I, Hsu P-H, Fu Y, Zhu Y, DeFea K, Pan S, Tsai M-D, Shyy JY. AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Functionally Phosphorylates Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Ser633. Circ. Res. 2009.