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Chen X. Chen

Professor & Sorensen Endowed Professor
Headshot of Chen Chen
cxchen@arizona.edu
Pronouns:
she, her, hers

Chen X. Chen is the Sorensen Endowed Professor at the University of Arizona College of Nursing. Her research focuses on pain management, women's health, and biobehavioral research methods.

Chen has dedicated her career to studying dysmenorrhea, commonly known as menstrual pain. Recognizing how common this condition is and its potential to trigger other chronic pain issues later in life, she actively challenges the historical dismissal of menstrual pain by scientific and clinical communities. Her goal is to promote person-centered, equitable care to improve the quality of life for people who menstruate and reduce their risk of future chronic pain.

Her research is widely recognized and has been featured in popular media outlets to raise public awareness. She has published more than 40 peer-reviewed papers, which have been cited by scholars across 50 countries, and she frequently speaks and consults internationally. Her work has received funding from several branches of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Currently, she serves as the principal investigator on an NIH-funded R01 grant through the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

In addition to her research, Chen is a dedicated mentor who guides undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral fellows. Her teaching excellence was previously honored with the Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award.

Chen also serves on several national and international committees. She is a member of the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science Program Committee, the US Association for the Study of Pain Education and Professional Development Committee, and an international task force developing a classification system for female pelvic pain.

Chen earned her master’s degree and doctorate in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Indiana University. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a Mayday Fellow.