Kenneth Chen, M.D.

Kenneth S. Chen, M.D., is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and the Children's Medical Center Research Institute. He is an Attending Physician in the Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. Dr. Chen received his B.S.E. in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and M.D. from UT Southwestern. He then completed pediatric residency and pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship at UT Southwestern, where he joined the laboratory of James F. Amatruda.

As a physician-scientist, he divides his time between his research laboratory and Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, where he specializes in the care of children with cancer and blood disorders. His research interests in the laboratory focus on understanding the genetic drivers of childhood cancers, especially Wilms tumor, pleuropulmonary blastoma, and other cancers driven by mutations that impair microRNA processing.

Medical School

UT Southwestern Medical School (2006)

Internship

UT Southwestern/Children's Medical Center (2007), Pediatrics

Residency

UT Southwestern/Children's Medical Center (2009), Pediatrics

Fellowship

UT Southwestern/Children's Medical Center (2013), Pediatric Hematology/oncology

• DICER1 syndrome
• Wilms tumor

Featured Publications

Ectopic PLAG1 induces muscular dystrophy in the mouse.

Aguayo JS, Shelton JM, Tan W, Rakheja D, Cai C, Shalaby A, Lee J, Iannaccone ST, Xu L, Chen K, Burns DK, Zheng Y, Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2023 Jul 665 159-168

Integrated genomic analysis reveals aberrations in WNT signaling in germ cell tumors of childhood and adolescence.

Xu L, Pierce JL, Sanchez A, Chen KS, Shukla AA, Fustino NJ, Stuart SH, Bagrodia A, Xiao X, Guo L, Krailo MD, Shaikh F, Billmire DF, Pashankar F, Bestrashniy J, Oosterhuis JW, Gillis AJM, Xie Y, Teot L, Mora J, Poynter JN, Rakheja D, Looijenga LHJ, Draper BW, Frazier AL, Amatruda JF, Nat Commun 2023 May 14 1 2636

Pitfalls in the diagnosis of yolk sac tumor: Lessons from a clinical trial.

Yang A, Patterson A, Pavlock T, Chen KS, Gagan J, Hatley ME, Frazier AL, Amatruda JF, Laetsch TW, Rakheja D, Pediatr Blood Cancer 2022 Feb 69 2 e29451

Extrarenal Anaplastic Wilms Tumor: A Case Report With Genomic Analysis And Tumor Models.

Willis KR, Sathe AA, Xing C, Koduru P, Artunduaga M, Butler EB, Park JY, Kurmasheva RT, Houghton PJ, Chen KS, Rakheja D, J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 2022 Feb

Integrated Molecular Analysis Reveals 2 Distinct Subtypes of Pure Seminoma of the Testis.

Medvedev KE, Savelyeva AV, Chen KS, Bagrodia A, Jia L, Grishin NV, Cancer Inform 2022 21 11769351221132634

Mutations in microRNA processing genes in Wilms tumors derepress the IGF2 regulator PLAG1

Chen KS, Stroup EK, Budhipramono A, Rakheja D, Nichols-Vinueza D, Xu L, Stuart SH, Shukla AA, Fraire C, Mendell JT, Amatruda JF Genes Dev. 2018 Jul

EGF Receptor and mTORC1 are novel therapeutic targets in nonseminomatous germ cell tumors.

Chen KS, Fustino NJ, Shukla AA, Stroup EK, Budhipramono A, Ateek C, Stuart SH, Yamaguchi K, Kapur P, Frazier AL, Lum L, Looijenga LHJ, Laetsch TW, Rakheja D, Amatruda JF Mol. Cancer Ther. 2018 Feb

A novel TP53-KPNA3 translocation defines a de novo treatment-resistant clone in osteosarcoma.

Chen KS, Kwon WS, Kim J, Heo SJ, Kim HS, Kim HK, Kim SH, Lee WS, Chung HC, Rha SY, Hwang TH Cold Spring Harb Mol Case Stud 2016 Sep 2 5 a000992

p53 genes function to restrain mobile elements.

Wylie A, Jones AE, D'Brot A, Lu WJ, Kurtz P, Moran JV, Rakheja D, Chen KS, Hammer RE, Comerford SA, Amatruda JF, Abrams JM Genes Dev. 2015 Dec

Invited reply to amikacin ototoxicity in children with cancer: the problem is the administration schedule.

Chen K, Bach A, Shoup A, Winick N Pediatr Blood Cancer 2014 Feb 61 2 191

• CPRIT Recruitment of First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty
  (2018-2023)
• Texas Super Doctors (Texas Rising Star)
  Texas Monthly (2018)
• UTSW Disease-Oriented Clinical Scholar
  (2018-2021)
• Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation Young Investigator
  (2016-2019)
• Hyundai Hope on Wheels Young Investigator
  (2016-2018)
• Damon Runyon-Sohn Pediatric Cancer Fellow
  (2013-2017)
• W.W. Caruth Scholar
  Children’s Medical Center Foundation (2013-2015)
• First Place, Critical Appraisal of Literature
  Resident Section Poster Contest, Texas Pediatric Society (2008)

• American Association for Cancer Research (2012)
• American Society of Clinical Oncology (2010)
• American Society of Hematology (2010)
• American Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (2010)