By Christina Crowe
On December 15, 2021, the Department welcomes a new faculty member to the Division of Neuropathology directed by C. Ryan Miller, M.D., Ph.D.
Shu G. Chen, Ph.D., joins the UAB Department of Pathology as Professor, Neuropathology, from Case Western Reserve University’s Department of Pathology, where he served as professor.
Chen earned his Ph.D. in Biochemical Pharmacology from the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo) in 1993. Chen went on to become a Senior Research Associate at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, for his post-graduate training in 1992 before accepting a position as an instructor and later as assistant professor in Case Western’s Department of Pathology, in 1996.
Dr. Chen is a well-established neurobiologist in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. Among his achievements, he is among the first to elucidate the structural differences in prion protein that causes distinct human prion diseases, the basis for today’s prion strain typing as a diagnostic tool in the prion field. He is also an expert on the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease associated with LRRK2 mutations. Chen’s current research focuses on biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease, supported by two R01s and a U01 award on the topics, from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). He is also supported by the NIA for an R01 on computational prediction, network analysis and genetic screening in C. elegans to uncover neurodegenerative causes in Alzheimer’s disease. Chen has published more than 80 peer-reviewed papers in high-quality scientific journals, with a citation h-index of 52 by Google Scholar.
Chen served as Associate Director of the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center at Case Western University from 2003 to 2008, and was head of its Protein Analysis Laboratory for five years. He is the recipient of a Johnson & Johnson Focused Giving Award for outstanding research and is certified in Case Western’s Weatherhead School of Medicine Leadership Development Program.
Chen had served on editorial boards for many biomedical journals. He is Associate Editor of Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. Chen has worked on numerous study sections and grant review committees, his latest being the NIH’s Neural Oxidative Metabolism, Mitochondria and cell Death (NOMD) section in 2021. He currently serves on the Steering Committee of NIH Parkinson’s Disease Biomarker Program.
Chen has extensive experience in consulting and mentorship. He has trained 12 mentees and served on 12 thesis committees. He will be an invaluable trainer and mentor within the Department.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Chen to the UAB Department of Pathology.