Ching-Hsien Chen, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Chancellor’s Fellow, UC Davis
Locations and Contact
Genome and Biomedical Sciences Building
Genome & Biomedical Sciences Facility
451 Health Sciences Dr
Davis, CA 95616
Phone: 530-752-2884
Clinical Interests
Dr. Chen’s translational research focuses on understanding and improving the treatment of cancer and fibrosis in the lung and kidney. She works closely with physician-scientists to identify clinically relevant biomarkers and therapeutic targets and develop preclinical models to evaluate new therapies.
Research/Academic Interests
Dr. Chen’s research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer, fibrosis, and tissue injury, with emphasis on cell metabolism, signal transduction, and immune responses. Her laboratory uses multi-omics, genetic, and pharmacological approaches together with clinically relevant cellular and ex vivo models to identify therapeutic targets and study disease processes in the lung and kidney. In collaboration with physician-scientists and chemists, her team develops and evaluates targeted therapeutic strategies aimed at translating mechanistic discoveries into new treatments.
Division
Nephrology
Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine
Center/Program Affiliation
Undergraduate School
B.S., China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan 2000
Other School
M.S., China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan 2004
Other School
Ph.D., National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan 2011
Fellowship
Internal Medicine/Cancer, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 2011-2012
Fellowship
Internal Medicine/Cancer, UC Davis, Davis CA 2012-2016
2021-22 Chancellor’s Fellow, UC Davis, 2022
Outstanding Poster Award, Annual Kidney Research Symposium, UC Davis, 2017
ASN Kidney Week Travel Award, The American Society of Nephrology, 2016
TRDRP Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, UCOP, 2014
Internal Medicine Trainee Research Award, UC Davis, 2013, 2014
PubMed/NCBI My Bibliography: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1Hc5aCs6R6k5k/bibliography/public/
UC Davis Profiles page: https://profiles.ucdavis.edu/ching-hsien.chen
Selected Publications:
1. Chang WH, Zhang J, Hong QS, Chen CH. Immune suppression in MTAP-deficient cancers via glutamate metabolism and CXCL10 downregulation. Front Immunol. 2025 Oct 30;16:1634342. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1634342. PMID: 41246302; PMCID: PMC12611951.
2. Chen CH, Chaudhary SK, Chang WH, Yang DC, Chang SY, Xu J, Hsu SW, Yik JH, Liu GY, Haudenschild DR. Repurposing flavopiridol as an inhaled therapeutic for pulmonary fibrosis. Eur J Pharmacol. 2025 Oct 15;1005:178058. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpharm.2025.178058. Epub 2025 Aug 13. PMID: 40816528; PMCID: PMC12479379.
3. Chang SY, Chang WH, Yang DC, Hong QS, Hsu SW, Wu R, Chen CH. Autologous precision-cut lung slice co-culture models for studying macrophage-driven fibrosis. Front Physiol. 2025 Jan 31;16:1526787. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1526787. PMID: 39958688; PMCID: PMC11825446.
4. Liu J, Zheng B, Cui Q, Zhu Y, Chu L, Geng Z, Mao Y, Wan L, Cao X, Xiong Q, Guo F, Yang DC, Hsu SW, Chen CH, Yan X. Single-Cell Spatial Transcriptomics Unveils Platelet-Fueled Cycling Macrophages for Kidney Fibrosis. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2024 Aug;11(29):e2308505. doi: 10.1002/advs.202308505. Epub 2024 Jun 5. PMID: 38838052; PMCID: PMC11304276.
5. Chu LK, Cao X, Wan L, Diao Q, Zhu Y, Kan Y, Ye LL, Mao YM, Dong XQ, Xiong QW, Fu MC, Zhang T, Zhou HT, Cai SZ, Ma ZR, Hsu SW, Wu R, Chen CH, Yan XM, Liu J. Autophagy of OTUD5 destabilizes GPX4 to confer ferroptosis-dependent kidney injury. Nat Commun. 2023 Dec 18;14(1):8393. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-44228-5. PMID: 38110369; PMCID: PMC10728081.
6. Yang DC, Hsu SW, Li JM, Oldham J, Chen CH. Spatial Decoding of Immune Cell Contribution to Fibroblastic Foci in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2023 Sep 15;208(6):728-731. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202303-0372LE. PMID: 37487177; PMCID: PMC10515576.
7. Li JM, Chang WH, Li L, Yang DC, Hsu SW, Kenyon NJ, Chen CH. Inositol possesses antifibrotic activity and mitigates pulmonary fibrosis. Respir Res. 2023 May 16;24(1):132. doi: 10.1186/s12931-023-02421-6. PMID: 37194070; PMCID: PMC10189934.
8. Chang WH, Hsu SW, Zhang J, Li JM, Yang DD, Chu CW, Yoo EE, Zhang W, Yu SL, Chen CH. MTAP deficiency contributes to immune landscape remodelling and tumour evasion. Immunology. 2023 Feb;168(2):331-345. doi: 10.1111/imm.13587. Epub 2022 Oct 11. PMID: 36183155; PMCID: PMC9840685.
9. Yang DC, Gu S, Li JM, Hsu SW, Chen SJ, Chang WH, Chen CH. Targeting the AXL Receptor in Combating Smoking-related Pulmonary Fibrosis. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2021 Jun;64(6):734-746. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2020-0303OC. PMID: 33730527; PMCID: PMC8456879.
10. Li JM, Yang DC, Oldham J, Linderholm A, Zhang J, Liu J, Kenyon NJ, Chen CH. Therapeutic targeting of argininosuccinate synthase 1 (ASS1)-deficient pulmonary fibrosis. Mol Ther. 2021 Apr 7;29(4):1487-1500. doi: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2021.01.028. Epub 2021 Jan 26. PMID: 33508432; PMCID: PMC8058484.
11. Liu J, Chen SJ, Hsu SW, Zhang J, Li JM, Yang DC, Gu S, Pinkerton KE, Chen CH. MARCKS cooperates with NKAP to activate NF-kB signaling in smoke-related lung cancer. Theranostics. 2021 Feb 19;11(9):4122-4136. doi: 10.7150/thno.53558. PMID: 33754052; PMCID: PMC7977464.
12. Xu J, Chang WH, Fong LWR, Weiss RH, Yu SL, Chen CH. Targeting the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor in MTAP-deficient renal cell carcinoma. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2019 Jan 25;4:2. doi: 10.1038/s41392-019-0035-z. PMID: 30701095; PMCID: PMC6345872.