Dr. P. Roc Chen is a board-certified neurosurgeon at UTHealth Neurosciences, sub-specializing in open cerebrovascular, endovascular neurosurgery, and skull base neurosurgery, with expertise in brain aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, cavernous malformation, carotid and vertebral artery occlusive diseases, cerebral venous sinus disease, acoustic neuroma, and skull base tumors.

A professor in neurosurgery at the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, Dr. Chen received his medical degree from Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences in Guangzhou, China, followed by neurosurgery residency in Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School. He has subsequently completed fellowships in neurointerventional radiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School, in cerebrovascular and skull base neurosurgery at Barrow Neurological Institute, and in neuroendovascular and cerebrovascular neurosurgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Dr. Chen has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in cerebrovascular diseases, and other subjects in neurosurgery, particularly in brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) formation, surgical and endovascular techniques in treating brain aneurysms, brain AVMs, and arteriovenous fistula. He is currently the principal investigator for two multi-center randomized clinical trials: One focuses on treatment of cerebral vasospasm (iVAST) following subarachnoid hemorrhage due to brain aneurysm rupture; and another one compares sedation vs. general anesthesia in intra-arterial thrombectomy for acute stroke treatment (SEGA). He is the principal investigator of NIH-funded research utilizing computer algorithms (machine learning) to detect recurrence of brain aneurysms after coil embolization. In addition to all these studies, Dr. Chen has a very active molecular biology laboratory focusing on brain AVM research.

Dr. Chen specializes in treatment of brain AVMs, aneurysms, carotid and vertebral artery stenosis, and cerebral venous sinus stenosis-related intracranial hypertension and pulsatile tinnitus with open or endovascular techniques. He is one of a few cerebrovascular neurosurgeons skillful in performing extracranial to intracranial bypass anastomosis revascularization surgery for treating giant intracranial aneurysms or stroke-related intracranial occlusive disease, i.e., Moyamoya disease and atherosclerotic disease. His expertise includes treating a large number of complex acoustic neuromas and skull base meningiomas.

As a mentor and educator, Dr. Chen has trained many cerebrovascular and skull base neurosurgeons and neuroendovascular surgeons and neurologists in the past decade.

UTHealth Neurosciences faculty page: https://med.uth.edu/neurosciences/dr-peng-r-chen-md/ 

Education & Training

Medical School

Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences

Neurosurgery Residency

Harvard Medical School

Neuro-Interventional Radiology Fellowship

Harvard Medical School

Cerebrovascular/Skull Base Fellowship

Barrow Neurological Institute

Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery Fellowship

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Research Interests

Dr. Chen’s expertise includes:

• Carotid and vertebral stenosis (endarterectomy or stenting)
• Intracranial occlusive disease (bypass or stenting), Moyamoya disease (bypass surgery)
• Intracranial aneurysms (surgical clipping and endovascular embolization)
• Brain AVMs, dural arteriovenous fistulas, and carotid cavernous fistulas
• Vein of Galen malformation in newborns, infants, and young children
• Spinal AVMs and fistulas
• Venous sinus stenosis-related pulsatile tinnitus and intracranial hypertension
• Vestibular schwannoma (acoustic neuroma), and trigeminal schwannoma, and other schwannomas
• Skull base brain tumors, meningiomas
• Trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasms

PubMed link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?sort=date&term=Chen+PR&cauthor_id=26479318