Dr. Yabing Chen is currently Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Before relocating to Portland, she held the position of Professor and Vice Chair for Faculty Development and Education in the Department of Pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where she was also the Jay M. McDonald Endowed Chair in Laboratory Medicine and a research career scientist at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center.

Over her 20-year tenure at UAB (2004-2024), Dr. Chen developed multidisciplinary research programs focusing on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of vascular smooth muscle cell phenotype in vascular calcification, aging, and vascular dementia. She has published over 80 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, and her research has received continuous support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), VA, and the American Heart Association (AHA). Dr. Chen’s contributions to vascular biology have been recognized with the “Vascular Biology Special Recognition Award” from the AHA Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB) and the “Senior Research Career Scientist Award” from the VA, as well as frequent invitations to speak and chair scientific sessions at leading scientific conferences and academic institutions. 

Dr. Chen has also contributed to the institution's shared governance and transparency in administration, research and teaching by serving on numerous committees across UAB, school of medicine and graduate school. Dr. Chen directed the Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine Graduate Theme in the Graduate Biomedical Science program from 2015-2020. As the Vice Chair for Faculty Development and Education, Dr. Chen played an active role in recruitment, training and career development of trainees and faculty at all career stages. Her contributions to service and education have earned her the UAB Graduate School Deans Award for Excellence in Mentorship (2016), UAB School of Medicine Dean's Excellence Award for Mentorship
(2019), and UAB Faculty Senate Outstanding Committee Member Award (2019).

Dr. Chen serves on the editorial board for Circulation Research, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB), and the Journal of Biological Chemistry.  She is currently the ATVB review editor. She has served on several NIH, VA and AHA grant review panels and the Vascular Cell and Molecular Biology (VCMB) study section.  Dr. Chen is a Fellow of the American Heart Association, and Chair of the ATVB Committee on Scientific Sessions Program of the AHA. She recently received the ATVB Woman’s Leadership Committee Award for Outstanding Mentorship of Woman (2024).

Dr. Chen is poised to continue to expand collaborations with OHSU research community and grow the research portfolio of the Department of Pathology.