Shu Chien

University Professor, Bioengineering

Research on how the forces of blood flow impact the cardiovascular system. His studies are leading to new understanding about the onset of atherosclerosis and hypertension, and to experimental treatments for heart disease using gene therapy and engineered tissue.

Professor Chien's research on how blood flow regulates interaction between the blood stream, blood cells and artery walls is also leading to new information relevant to the spread of cancer cells. At the molecular level, he is discovering how mechanical forces signal gene expression to cause cell growth, migration and cell death. Most recently, UCSD was issued a U.S. patent for Chien's proposed gene therapy to prevent arteries from re-clogging after balloon angioplasty and bypass surgery. Chien takes a multidisciplinary, integrative approach that combines engineering and biomedical sciences. He employs an array of technologies including nanotechnology, DNA microarrary, bioinformatics, cell biophysics and biomechanics in his research on the cardiovascular system.

Capsule Bio:
Shu Chien joined UCSD in 1988 and became the founding chair of the Department of Bioengineering in 1994. In 2008, Chien became the founding Director of UC San Diego’s new Institute of Engineering in Medicine. As principal investigator on the Whitaker Foundation Development Award (1993) and Leadership Award (1998), Chien played a major role in establishing UCSD' bioengineering program as one of the top two programs in the country. As founding Director of the Whitaker Institute of Biomedical Engineering at UCSD, he helps foster collaborations among the faculty of UCSD and with research institutes and biomedical companies in San Diego. As founding Director of the UC Systemwide Bioengineering Institute in California, he has contributed to collaborations in research and education among the ten UC campuses. In September 2006, Chien was named the inaugural holder of the Y.C. Fung Endowed Chair in Bioengineering at the Jacobs School. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Chien co-founded Celladon Corporation and serves as a consultant to AVIVA Biosciences and BioDuro. He received his M.D. from the National Taiwan University and his Ph.D. in Physiology from Columbia University, where he was a professor from 1969 to 1988.

Institute Affiliation:
Director,
Whitaker Institute of Biomedical Engineering »