Why UAB ?
Herbert Chen , M . D ., has been asked that question often since joining the university ’ s faculty in 2015 . And as he will admit , he never anticipated his career path leading him to Birmingham .
“ I had been to UAB only once before , when I was a visiting professor in 2012 ,” Dr . Chen says . “ I knew several faculty members and that it was a fantastic institution , but that was all I knew .”
When Kirby Bland , M . D ., announced he was retiring as chair of the UAB Department of Surgery in 2014 , the university launched a national search for his replacement . At the time , Dr . Chen was serving as the chair of the division of general surgery and a professor of surgery at the University of Wisconsin . Knowing UAB ’ s reputation as a national leader in surgery , Dr . Chen was interested in the position , but his wife Harriet was not enthusiastic about moving to Alabama .
That ’ s when Dr . Chen was contacted by Selwyn Vickers , M . D ., dean of the UAB School of Medicine , and who had trained with Dr . Chen at Johns Hopkins . “ He encouraged me to bring my wife down here since she had never been to Alabama before ,” Dr . Chen recalls . “ After she was here for a day , she loved it . We didn ’ t think we ’ d ever live here , nor did we think we ’ d be so happy here .”
There were a number of factors that attracted Dr . Chen to UAB , including it being home to a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center . UAB ’ s longstanding tradition of surgical advancements was also appealing and an indicator of potential . “ UAB has a history of having an extremely academically , clinically and educationally strong department of surgery ,” he says . “ UAB was one of the birthplaces of cardiac surgery . The things that have happened here in surgery have been amazing in the past , and past accomplishments can reflect what an institution is capable of and where it can go in the future . I think this department has the great capacity to continue to make a number of contributions to American surgery .”
Finding a Path
Growing up in central Wisconsin , Dr . Chen was exposed to medicine at an early age . His father was an orthopedic surgeon , and most of their family friends were physicians . “ I can ’ t remember a time where I didn ’ t think I wanted to be a physician . Because of my dad being a surgeon and having the opportunity to be in the operating room with him , I knew I wanted to pursue some type of surgical specialty .”
That pursuit led Dr . Chen to Stanford University , where he received his bachelor ’ s degree with honors in biological sciences in 1988 . He went on to medical school at Duke University , and then completed his residency and fellowships at Johns Hopkins before returning to Wisconsin . His interest in academic surgery was solidified when , as a medical student , he was able to work with surgical oncologists in both the laboratory and patient care settings . His research fellowship at Johns Hopkins eventually led to his interest in endocrine cancers , which are cancers that affect the thyroid , adrenal , pancreas and parathyroid glands .
“ Our lab is trying to identify what problems exist for patients with these cancers , understand what the hurdles are and study basic questions in the laboratory that will help us to translate these observations into potential treatments for patients ,” Dr . Chen says . “ We have been very successful in studying the basic mechanisms that allow these cancers to spread and then designing therapies to prevent that .”
While at Wisconsin , Dr . Chen and his team conducted at least five clinical trials based on this work , and he hopes to do the same at UAB .
A Unique Opportunity
Being at an academic medical center such as UAB presents a unique opportunity for research and patient care , says Dr . Chen , who adds that patient care and actual time spent in the operating room are just a fraction of what a surgeon at UAB does .
“ A UAB surgeon performs some of the most complex difficult operations there are , but we are
“ A UAB surgeon performs some of the most complex difficult operations there are , but we are often asked to see patient who have very difficult problems – advanced cancers , extremely large tumors , people who have exhausted all other therapies .”
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