Kai Chen, PhD

Professor of Research Radiology, Radiation Oncology, and Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences

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Overview

Dr. Chen received a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Nankai University in China in 2001. He then moved to the United States where he performed his postdoctoral research in the Department of Radiology at Harvard Medical School. In 2005, Dr. Chen joined Siemens Healthcare USA, Inc. as a research scientist, where he led several projects spanning preclinical discovery to clinical investigation. He was promoted to Group Leader in 2006 and Project Manager in 2008. In the summer of 2009, Dr. Chen moved to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he was part of the Intramural Research Program team of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). In 2010, Dr. Chen joined the USC as a faculty member.

The research interests in Dr. Chen’s laboratory focus on the development of novel theranostic agents for disease diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Chen has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles, and he is a co-inventor of 20 International and US patents. He has served as a reviewer for a number of funding agencies. Dr. Chen has also served as an active reviewer for over 70 research journals. In addition, he sits on the Editorial Board of 7 peer-reviewed international journals. Currently, Dr. Chen serves as President for the Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Council (RPSC) of Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI).

Awards

  • USC Stevens Center for Innovation: Technology Commercialization Award, 2018
  • Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI): Center for Molecular Imaging Innovation and Translation (CMIIT) Young Investigator Award, 2013

Research Keywords

  • Molecular Imaging and Therapy, Theranostics, PET, Radiochemistry, Nanomedicine, Cancer, Neuroimaging

Publications

  • Understanding the Exchange of Systemic HDL Particles Into the Brain and Vascular Cells Has Diagnostic and Therapeutic Implications for Neurodegenerative Diseases. Front Physiol. 2021; 12:700847.. View in PubMed
  • Recent advances and applications of microspheres and nanoparticles in transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Nanomed Nanobiotechnol. 2022 03; 14(2):e1749.. View in PubMed
  • A comparison of the monomeric [68Ga]NODAGA-NGR and dimeric [68Ga]NOTA-(NGR)2 as aminopeptidase N ligand for positron emission tomography imaging in tumor-bearing mice. Eur J Pharm Sci. 2021 Nov 01; 166:105964.. View in PubMed
  • Exploring Solvent Effects in the Radiosynthesis of 18F-Labeled Thymidine Analogues toward Clinical Translation for Positron Emission Tomography Imaging. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci. 2021 Feb 12; 4(1):266-275.. View in PubMed
  • Supramolecular nanosubstrate-mediated delivery system enables CRISPR-Cas9 knockin of hemoglobin beta gene for hemoglobinopathies. Sci Adv. 2020 10; 6(43).. View in PubMed
  • Radiofluorinated GPC3-Binding Peptides for PET Imaging of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Mol Imaging Biol. 2020 02; 22(1):134-143.. View in PubMed
  • Recent advances in the development of nanoparticles for multimodality imaging and therapy of cancer. Med Res Rev. 2020 05; 40(3):909-930.. View in PubMed
  • Preclinical evaluation of a 64Cu-labeled disintegrin for PET imaging of prostate cancer. Amino Acids. 2019 Nov; 51(10-12):1569-1575.. View in PubMed
  • Small molecules as theranostic agents in cancer immunology. Theranostics. 2019; 9(25):7849-7871.. View in PubMed
  • Near-Infrared Hybrid Rhodol Dyes with Spiropyran Switches for Sensitive Ratiometric Sensing of pH Changes in Mitochondria and Drosophila melanogaster First-Instar Larvae. ACS Appl Bio Mater. 2019 Nov 18; 2(11):4986-4997.. View in PubMed