Qian Chen

Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University

Dr. Qian Chen is the Michael G. Ehrlich, MD Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Research, Professor of Medical Science, and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Orthopaedics at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He received his PhD degree in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, and performed Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Chen’s research interest includes cartilage molecular biology, aging and development, extracellular matrix, epigenetics and RNAi, mechano-transduction, osteoarthritis, nanomedicine and gene therapy. Throughout Dr. Chen’s research career, he received the Independent Scientist Award from NIH, the Satterfield Arthritis Investigator Award from Arthritis Foundation, and the Kappa Delta Award from American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Dr. Chen also served on multiple NIH study sections and advisory panels, and on the review board of Veteran’s Administration. 

Yajun Liu

Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University

Dr. Yajun Liu is an instructor in research in the lab of Dr. Qian Chen in the Department of Orthopaedics at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital. She received her Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from The Ohio State University. Dr. Liu joined the Chen lab as a Post-Doctoral Fellow after graduation to work on musculoskeletal diseases focusing on osteoarthritis. Her main research areas include understanding the molecular mechanisms for osteoarthritis pathogenesis, investigating sex dimorphism associated with aging diseases, aging disease prevention and treatment. In addition to that, Dr. Liu is especially interested in the fundamental biology of cell senescence and how it affects aging.