Shu Chien received his medical degree from National Taiwan University and Ph.D. (Physiology) from Columbia University. He was a faculty at Columbia University (Physiology) till 1988, when he came to University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where he is University Professor and Y.C. Fung Professor of Bioengineering and Medicine and Director of the Institute of Engineering in Medicine (IEM). The IEM has the mission of applying engineering concept and technology to enhance medical research and the delivery of healthcare. Dr. Chien is also Director of the UC System-wide Bioengineering Institute of California that synergizes the bioengineering activities among the ten UC campuses, including annual symposia.
Dr. Chien has made seminal contributions to advancing the integrative approach of research at the interface of biology, medicine and engineering. His primary areas of research are cardiovascular regulation, molecular and cellular bioengineering, endothelial cell mechanotransduction, and regulation of stem cell fate by the microenvironment. He is the author of over 500 peer-reviewed scientific articles and the editor of eleven books.
Dr. Chien has been Presidents of the American Physiological Society, Microcirculatory Society, International Society of Biorheology, and Biomedical Engineering Society, as well as the Federation of Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB) and American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). He was Chair, Co-Chair or Honorary Chair of the First World Congress of Biomechanics (1990), Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting (1997), International Congress of Physiological Sciences (2005), International Congress of Biorheology (2005), 7th Congress of Federation of Asian & Oceanian Physiological Societies (2011), and IEEE EMBS Meeting (2012).
Dr Chien is an Honorary Member of four professional societies, including being the only living honorary member of the Chinese Association of Physiological Sciences and IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. He is a Fellow of IAMBE, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Society, and American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He has been bestowed Honorary Doctoral Degrees by Columbia University and five universities in China Mainland and Taiwan, and is an Honorary Professor at nine universities.
Dr. Chien has received numerous awards and honors, including the Melville Medal (twice), Landis Award, ALZA Award, Zweifach Award, Galletti Award, Poiseuille Medal, and the Founders Award of the National Academy of Engineering. He was selected as Asian American Engineer of the Year (2005), LEE Kwan Yew Distinguished Visitor (2008), and recipient of Taiwan’s National Health Medal (1998), and Presidential Science Prize (2009). He is a Laureate of U.S. National Medal of Science, receiving the medal from President Obama in October 2011.
Dr. Chien is one of eight scientists who are Members of all three U.S. National Academies (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine), as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also a Member of Academia Sinica in Taiwan and a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.