Received his Ph.D. degree in Genetics from the University of Alberta, Canada, in 1973.  He has served as a post-doctoral fellow at Queen’s University, Canada, Assistant and Professor at McMaster University, Canada and professor at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and University of Connecticut.  From 1986-1995, Dr. Chen also served as Associate Director for research and faculty development at the Center of Marine Biotechnology, UMBI and Associate Provost of UMBI.  In 1995, Professor Chen was recruited by the University of Connecticut to head the Biotechnology Center and also serve as a professor at the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology.  He stepped down from the directorship of the Biotechnology Center in July 2002 and continues to serve as a professor in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology.

During the past 30 years, Professor Chen has made numerous important contributions in the areas of molecular endocrinology and biotechnology and has recruited in excess of 10 million dollars of research funding to support his scientific pursuits.  He has published more than 138 scientific papers in peer-reviewed international journals.  In addition, he also holds three patents including the E-P technology.