Kevin S Chen, MD, FAANS, FCNS
Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology
[email protected]

Available to mentor

Kevin S Chen, MD, FAANS, FCNS
Clinical Assistant Professor
  • About
  • Links
  • Qualifications
  • Center Memberships
  • Research Overview
  • Recent Publications
  • About

    Dr. Kevin Chen is the Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg Emerging Scholar, and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery with joint appointment in Neurology. Dr. Chen completed his Neurosurgical residency at Michigan Medicine, and additionally completed a fellowship in Stereotactic/Functional Neurosurgery at Stanford University. His clinical interests center on treating dysfunctional neural circuits, and using neuromodulation to help symptoms of movement disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, dystonia, etc.). Similarly, he has interest in neuromodulation using spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of certain chronic pain syndromes (e.g., complex regional pain syndrome, diabetic neuropathy, etc.), or use of intrathecal drug delivery (e.g., spasticity). He also has expertise in the surgical treatments of epilepsy, including vagal nerve stimulators, stereoelectroencephalography, responsive neurostimulators, deep brain stimulation for epilepsy, laser interstitial thermal therapy, and temporal lobectomy. During fellowship training, he also received training in the use of MRI-guided focused ultrasound, an incision-less approach for the treatment of movement disorders.

    Links
    • Neuronetwork for Emerging Therapies Profile
    Qualifications
    • Clinical Fellowship
      Stanford Health Care, Neurosurgery, 2019
    • Residency
      Michigan Medicine, Neurosurgery, 2018
    • MD
      Duke University, DUMC 3878, 2011
    • BA
      Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 2007
    Center Memberships
    • Center Member
      Eisenberg Family Depression Center
    Research Overview

    Stem cells are a particular focus of Dr. Chen's research, specifically induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). These cells are created from tissue that is easily obtainable from adult patient donors, for example skin cells, and can be quickly grown in a culture dish. By genetically reprogramming these cells, they revert back to a “stem cell” state and can then be formed into nerve cells to form new brain connections. Dr. Chen is studying how these connections may impact ALS, Alzheimer's disease, and other dementias. The ability to regulate nerve activity with new nerve connections could eventually also be applied to other neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, as well as other conditions, such as epilepsy, stroke, chronic pain, and psychiatric diseases.

    Recent Publications See All Publications
    • Journal Article
      Human neural stem cells restore spatial memory in a transgenic Alzheimer's disease mouse model by an immunomodulating mechanism.
      Chen KS, Noureldein MH, McGinley LM, Hayes JM, Rigan DM, Kwentus JF, Mason SN, Mendelson FE, Savelieff MG, Feldman EL. Front Aging Neurosci, 2023 15: 1306004 DOI:10.3389/fnagi.2023.1306004
      PMID: 38155736
    • Journal Article
      Regional interneuron transcriptional changes reveal pathologic markers of disease progression in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.
      Chen KS, Noureldein MH, Rigan DM, Hayes JM, Savelieff MG, Feldman EL. bioRxiv, 2023 Nov 4; DOI:10.1101/2023.11.01.565165
      PMID: 37961679
    • Journal Article
      Monoclonal antibody-mediated immunosuppression enables long-term survival of transplanted human neural stem cells in mouse brain.
      McGinley LM, Chen KS, Mason SN, Rigan DM, Kwentus JF, Hayes JM, Glass ED, Reynolds EL, Murphy GG, Feldman EL. Clin Transl Med, 2022 Sep; 12 (9): e1046 DOI:10.1002/ctm2.1046
      PMID: 36101963
    • Journal Article
      Magnetic resonance imaging of human neural stem cells in rodent and primate brain.
      McGinley LM, Willsey MS, Kashlan ON, Chen KS, Hayes JM, Bergin IL, Mason SN, Stebbins AW, Kwentus JF, Pacut C, Kollmer J, Sakowski SA, Bell CB, Chestek CA, Murphy GG, Patil PG, Feldman EL. Stem Cells Transl Med, 2021 Jan; 10 (1): 83 - 97. DOI:10.1002/sctm.20-0126
      PMID: 32841522
    • Journal Article
      Targeted intraspinal injections to assess therapies in rodent models of neurological disorders.
      Chen KS, McGinley LM, Kashlan ON, Hayes JM, Bruno ES, Chang JS, Mendelson FE, Tabbey MA, Johe K, Sakowski SA, Feldman EL. Nat Protoc, 2019 Feb; 14 (2): 331 - 349. DOI:10.1038/s41596-018-0095-5
      PMID: 30610242
    • Journal Article
      Human neural stem cell transplantation improves cognition in a murine model of Alzheimer's disease.
      McGinley LM, Kashlan ON, Bruno ES, Chen KS, Hayes JM, Kashlan SR, Raykin J, Johe K, Murphy GG, Feldman EL. Sci Rep, 2018 Oct 3; 8 (1): 14776 DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-33017-6
      PMID: 30283042
    • Journal Article
      A simple, inexpensive method for subcortical stereotactic targeting in nonhuman primates.
      Bentley JN, Khalsa SSS, Kobylarek M, Schroeder KE, Chen K, Bergin IL, Tat DM, Chestek CA, Patil PG. J Neurosci Methods, 2018 Jul 15; 305: 89 - 97. DOI:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2018.05.007
      PMID: 29768185
    • Journal Article
      Human neural stem cell transplantation into the corpus callosum of Alzheimer's mice.
      McGinley LM, Kashlan ON, Chen KS, Bruno ES, Hayes JM, Backus C, Feldman S, Kashlan BN, Johe K, Feldman EL. Ann Clin Transl Neurol, 2017 Oct; 4 (10): 749 - 755. DOI:10.1002/acn3.443
      PMID: 29046883
    Featured News & Stories Dr. Kevin Chen
    Research News
    Dr. Chen Awarded Prestigious Grant
    His research will investigate neuron dysregulation in Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders with the goal of developing new therapeutic approaches.
    stem cells
    Research News
    The Latest on Stem Cell & Gene Therapy
    Dr. Kevin Chen led a team that reviewed “Stem cell therapeutics and gene therapy for neurologic disorders.”
    Figure from the Annals of Clinical Neurology
    Research News
    The Exposome & Neurodegenerative Disease: New Discoveries
    A research team at the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies wrote a seminal review about the “Role of the Exposome in Neurodegenerative Disease,” which was published in Annals of Neurology, the official journal of the American Neurological Association (ANA).