University of California San Francisco
San Francisco General Hospital
Box 0841, SFGH NH 5K1
San Francisco, California 94143
phone: 415-206-8072
fax: 415-695-1551
email: lchen@medsfgh.ucsf.edu
Dr. Chen received her M.D. degree from the University of Michigan
and completed her internal medicine residency at Cornell University’s
program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Northshore University
hospitals. She worked for one year with the Indian Health Service
as a staff physician on the Navajo reservation, and then completed
her fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the
University of California, San Francisco. She became a faculty
member of the UCSF Pulmonary and Critical Care division in 1994.
Academic/Research Interests
Dr. Chen’s academic interests
have shifted from investigating the physiologic and biochemical
effects of air pollutants, to the investigation, evaluation, and
treatment of interstitial lung diseases. She is a principal investigator
at the UCSF site for a multi-center, Phase III study evaluating
the safety and efficacy of interferon-gamma for the treatment
of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Investigating new therapeutic
agents for IPF is a compelling issue. Once symptomatic, patients
with this disorder often proceed along a relentless course of
deteriorating lung function and fibrosis, leading to death within
3 to 5 years after diagnosis. Standard treatment with steroids
and cytotoxic drugs are rarely beneficial. Extensive preclinical
and clinical evidence suggests that interferon-gamma shifts the
immune system toward a TH1 response, favoring antifibrotic activity
indirectly by modulating TGF-beta activity and directly by inhibition
of fibroblast proliferation. Phase II data of treatment of patients
with IPF using interferon-gamma in combination with low-dose steroids
have shown promising results with disease stabilization and in
some cases, improvement.
Dr. Chen’s other activities include
the development of a new Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic at San
Francisco General Hospital with Drs. King and Morris, and a comprehensive,
clinical, database system for ILD cases. The database will serve
as a framework for future clinical and translational investigations
in the UCSF Fibrotic Lung Disease Program, and will work in tandem
with current plans for an ILD tissue bank to study gene expression.
She is also the co-director of the chest section of the Introduction
to Clinical Medicine course, overseeing the pulmonary lecture
series and curriculum for the second-year medical students. She
attends on the inpatient Pulmonary and ICU services, as well as
in the TB and Occupational medicine clinics and thoroughly enjoys
her role as an educator. As a part-time faculty member and a full-time
mother, her favorite phrase is "life is full".
Selected Publications
Chen LL, Scannell C, Tager I, Peden
DB, Christian DL, Ferrando RE, Welch BS, Kelly TJ, Balmes JR.
Effect of ozone on the inflammatory response to inhaled allergen
in allergic asthmatic subjects. (submitted)
Christian DL, Chen LL, Scannell CH, Ferrando RE, Welch BS, Balmes
JR. Ozone-induced inflammation is attenuated with multi-day exposure.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1998; 158:532-537.
Balmes JR, Aris RM, Chen LL, Scannell C, Tager IB, Finkbeiner
W, Christian D, Kelly T, Hearne PQ, Ferrando R, Welch B. Effects
of ozone on normal and potentially sensitive human subjects. Part
I: Airway inflammation and responsiveness to ozone in normal and
asthmatic subjects. Research Report No. 78. Health Effects Institute:
Cambridge, MA, 1997.
Daley CL, Mugusi F, Chen LL, Schmidt DM, Small PM, Bearer E, Aris
E, Mtoni IM, Cegielski P, Lallinger G, Mbaga I, Murray JF. Pulmonary
complications of HIV infection in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Am
J Respir Crit Care Med 1996; 154:105-110.
Scannell C, Chen LL, Aris RM, Tager I, Christian D, Ferrando R,
Welch B, Kelly T, Balmes JR. Greater ozone-induced inflammatory
responses in subjects with asthma. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1996;
154:24-29.
Balmes JR, Chen LL, Scannell C, Tager I, Christian D, Hearne PQ,
Kelly T, Aris R. Ozone-induced decrements in FEV1 and FVC do not
correlate with airway inflammation in human subjects. Am J Respir
Crit Care Med 1996; 153:904-909..
