Biography

Dr. P. Roc Chen is a Professor of Neurosurgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. He received his medical degree at Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences in Guangzhou, China, followed by residencies at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School. He has completed fellowships in neurointerventional radiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School, in cerebrovascular and skull base surgery at Barrow Neurological Institute and in neuroendovascular surgery and cerebrovascular neurosurgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Prior to joining UTHealth Houston Neurosciences and McGovern Medical School, he was an assistant professor of neurosurgery, director of the Cerebrovascular and Neuroendovascular Program and director of the Skull Base Program at Baylor College of Medicine.

Specialties

  • Cerebrovascular and Neuroendovascular Neurosurgery: Intracranial aneurysms, brain arteriovenous malformations, spinal arteriovenous malformations, carotid artery stenosis or occlusion, cavernous malformation (or hemagioma, or cavernoma), intracranial artery occlusion with or without stroke, Moyamoya diseases, carotid artery or vertebral artery dissection.
  • Skull base Neurosurgery: Acoustic neuroma ( or vestibular schwannoma), brainstem cavernous malformation, skull base meningioma and other tumors.

Dr. Chen specializes the following treatment modalities in cerebrovascular or spinal vascular diseases:

  • Cerebrovascular open micro-neurosurgery: clipping of intracranial aneurysms, surgical resection of brain or spine arteriovenous malformations, carotid artery endarterectomy, bypass anastomosis for intracranial giant aneurysms or stroke.
  • Neuroendovascular neurosurgery: coiling for intracranial aneurysms, embolization for brain or spinal arteriovenous malformations, carotid angioplasty and stenting, intracranial angioplasty and stenting for artery occlusion/stroke.

Board Certifications

American Board of Neurological Surgery

Clinical Studies

  • Principle investigator: The Carotid Occlusion Surgery Study (COSS), a NIH-funded, randomized multicenter clinical trial.
  • Principle investigator: Patient Specific Computer Modeling of Blood Flow in Intracranial Aneurysms.
  • Principle investigator: A Randomoized Multicenter Clinical Trial of Unruptured Brain AVM (ARUBA), a NIH-funded, randomized clinical study.
  • Principle investigator: Evaluation of Presidio and Cerecyte Coils in Large and Giant Aneurysms (PAC) Study.
  • Principle investigator: Evaluation of Onyx HD 500 Embolic System in the Treatment of Wide-Neck Intracranial Aneurysms.
  • Investigator: Interventional Management of Stroke Trial Phase III (IMS-III). A randomized, multi-center, open-label, 900 subject clinical trial that will examine whether a combined intravenous (IV) and intra-arterial (IA) approach to recanlization is superior to standard IV rt-PA (Activase) alon when initiated within three hours of acute ischemic stroke onset.
  • Investigator: MR and Recanalization of Stroke Clots Using Embolectomy (MR RESCUE) & UCLA SPOTRIAS Center Application.

Dr. Chen In the News

A 57-year-old Houston man who suffered a stroke was quickly treated by UTHealth Houston’s stroke and cardiology team. Read more of his story in the Houston Chronicle.

For Patients

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Peng R. Chen, MD


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Education

Graduate School
Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Residency
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (Neurosurgery)
Fellowship
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (Neuro-interventional radiology)
Fellowship
Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona (Cerebrovascular/skull base)
Fellowship
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Neuro-interventional radiology and cerebrovascular neurosurgery)

Publications

  • Siddiqui, AH., Chen, PR., (2009), “Intracranial Collateral Anastomoses: Relevance to Endovascular Procedures”. Neurosurgery Clinics of North America, July 2009.
  • Takizawa, K., Moorman, C., Wright, S., Purdue,J., McPhail, T., Chen, PR., Warren, J., Tezduyar, TE., (2010), “Patient-Specific Arterial Fluid-Structure Interaction Modeling of Cerebral Aneurysms” IJNMF, in press.
  • Chen, PR., Ortiz, R., Page, JH., Siddiqui, AH., Rosenwasser, RH., (2008), “Systemic hemodynamic Response during Temporary Balloon Occlusion Predicts the Outcome Following a Carotid Artery Sacrifice”. Neurosurgery, August 2008.
  • Chen, PR, Spetzler, RF, (2008) “Long Peritoneal Shunt Catheter Induced Persistent Lower Abdominal Pain” Acta Neurochir, Augst 2008
  • Chen, PR, Amin-Hanjani, S., Albuquerque, F., McDougall, C., Zabramski, J., Spetzler, RF. “Evolution of oculomotor nerve palsy from posterior communicating artery aneurysms” Neurosurgery, 2006 June
  • Lekovic, GP, Jho,D, Chen, PR, Sonntag, VK, Zabramski, JM, Spetzler, RF (2007). “Delayed Ischemic Neurological Deficit Following Elective Clipping of Incidentally Discovered Aneurysms: Case Report”. BNI Quarterly 2007
  • Chen, PR, Spetzler, RF (2007). “Surgical Outcome of Spinal Arteriovenous Malformation: A Single Center Retrospect Study”. In review.
  • Chen, PR, Spetzler, RF (2007). “Surgical management for A2 dissecting aneurysms” submitted, In review.
  • Amin-Hanjani, S., Chen, PR, Chang, S., Spetzler, RF. (2005). “Long-term follow-up of giant serpentine MCA aneurysm treated with EC-IC bypass and proximal occlusion.” Acta Neurochir (Wien).
  • Chen, P., I. F. Dunn, R. Friedlander (2005). “Intraoperative awakening for vision examination during ophthalmic artery aneurysm clipping.” Neurosurgery, 2005 Apr 56 (2) supplement Operative Neurosurgery.
  • Chen, P., K. Frerichs, R. Spetzler (2004). “Natural history and general management of unruptured intracranial aneurysm.” Neurosurgical Focus 2004 Nov; 17(5).
  • Chen, P., K. Frerichs, R. Spetzler (2004). “Current treatment options for unruptured intracranial aneurysms.” Neurosurgical Focus 2004 Nov; 17(5).
  • Tuli, S. K., P. Chen, E. Woodard (2004). “‘Fusion Rate’ A Time to Event Phenomenon.” J Neurosurg Spine. 2004 Jul;1(1):47-51.
  • Tuli, S. K., P. Chen, M. Eichler, E. Woodard (2004). “Reliability of radiologic assessment of fusion: cervical fibular allograft model.” Spine 29(8): 856-60.
  • Chen, P., Goldberg, D.E., Kolb B., Lanser, M., Benowitz, L.I., (2002). “Inosine induces axonal rewiring and improves behavioral outcome after stroke.” Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 99(13) 9031-9036.
  • Thoidis, G., T. Kupriyanova, Chen, P. et al. (1999). “Glucose transporter Glut-3 is targeted to secretory vesicles in neurons and PC12 cells.” J Biol Chem 274(20): 14062-6.
  • Zhou, M., L. Sevilla, G. Vallega, Chen, P., Kandra, K, et al. (1998). “Insulin-dependent protein trafficking in skeletal muscle cells.” Am J Physiol 275 (2 Pt 1); E187-96.
  • Thoidis, G., Chen, P., Kandra, K, et al. (1998). “Two distinct populations of synaptic-like vesicles from rat brain.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 95 (1): 183-8.