Dr. Changyi Johnny Chen Elected as Senior Member of NAI

Feb. 13, 2019

Changyi (Johnny) Chen, M.D., Ph.D., professor of surgery and of molecular and cellular biology at Baylor College of Medicine, has been elected to the rank of Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Senior Members are chosen for their “success in patents, licensing, and commercialization” and for producing “technologies that have brought, or aspire to bring, real impact on the welfare of society.” Read more about the NAI.

Dr. Chen’s efforts have enhanced the environment of innovation at Baylor, and his work has far-reaching impact. To date, he has published more than 280 scientific articles, received 16 U.S. or international patents, and has been awarded more than $20 million in grants to support his research programs as well as his collaborative research programs.

Currently, Dr. Chen’s laboratory is conducting a number of basic science and translational research projects that are relevant to clinical cardiovascular disease and pancreatic cancer. Using innovative experimental models, he is investigating the effects and the molecular mechanisms of several cardiovascular risk factors, including HIV protease inhibitors, the adipokine resistin, soluble CD40L, and uric acid on biochemical pathways associated with endothelial cell functions.

Dr. Chen is also leading several projects focused on the role and mechanisms of several genes, such as microRNAs (miR-196a, miR-198), X-inactive specific transcript (XIST), and Jude-2 in pancreatic cancer. Dr. Chen is also spearheading the development of a new polymer “LGA-PEI”-based nanotechnology for molecular imaging and specific drug and gene delivery, which has great potential for clinical applications, such as molecular diagnostics and targeted therapies for cancers and other diseases.

Two patented technologies of the therapeutic miRNA and the targeted drug delivery system have been licensed to a company for the development of new therapies for pancreatic cancer. Ten patented technologies of uric acid-lowering drugs and one new technology (patent pending) of health supplements for controlling hyperuricemia are in the licensing process.

Dr. Chen will be formally recognized as a NAI Senior Member at the Eighth National Academy of Inventors Annual Meeting, April 10-11, 2019, in Houston, Texas.