Dr. Chen is a physician-scientist and nephrologist. She is currently an Associate Professor with Tenure in Medicine and Cell Biology & Physiology at WashU. She is directing Autosomal Dominant Tubulointerstitial Kidney Disease (ADTKD) Center and Nephrotic Syndrome Clinic. Her research focus is developing novel therapeutics that target organelles, including endoplasmic reticulum (ER), mitochondria and lysosome to treat kidney disease. Her lab has pioneered discovery of urinary ER stress biomarkers. In addition, her group has discovered podocyte ER calcium stabilizers as a new class of drugs to treat nephrotic syndrome, and MANF as a novel biotherapeutic protein to treat ADTKD. These research findings have been patented. Dr. Chen's research has been supported by R01s, VA Merit Award and DoD, as well as numerous Career Development Awards. She is an elected member of American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI).