Dr. Xiaojuan Chen

Biography

Xiaojuan (Jan) Chen is a Principal Investigator at the Columbia Center for Translational Immunology and the Director of Islet Cell Transplantation at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, Columbia University. She received her M.D. from Jinan University Medical College in China and holds a Master’s degree in Biology from Marquette University, as well as a Ph.D. in Molecular Cellular Physiology from the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Chen completed her postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins University. She joined Columbia University in 2012 after spending 15 years at Northwestern University School of Medicine, where she conducted translational research in islet cell transplantation. Dr. Chen is an expert in the methodologies and compliance procedures required for FDA-approved clinical cellular therapies, having performed islet isolation from more than 180 pancreata for research and clinical islet transplantation in patients with Type 1 diabetes. Her laboratory conducts research on human islet cell biology and immunogenicity characterization, utilizing islet transplantation models to explore vital areas of islet cellular and molecular biology pertinent to diabetes development and treatment improvements. Additionally, Dr. Chen directs a nonhuman primate research program focused on tolerance induction of islet allografts, playing a key role in translating tolerance therapies from animal models to clinical applications. Research interests include the pathogenesis of diabetes, islet cell abnormalities, improvement of islet transplantation outcomes, induction of immune tolerance in T1D, and the immunogenicity of islet beta cells and their interactions with the immune system.

Research Interests