MD, MPH, MBA, FACS
Chief of Surgery & Director of Thyroid Oncology
My approach is to look at the person first, not the cancer, and guide the individual on which care will suit them best. Not the other way around.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
General Surgery – Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery– Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Head and Neck Surgical Oncology – MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Master’s Degree in Public Health – University of Texas at Houston School of Public Health, Houston, TX
Master’s Degree in Business Administration – Emory University Goizueta School of Business, Atlanta, GA
Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery– American Board of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
Amy Chen, MD, MPH, MBA, FACS, is the Director of Thyroid Oncology, Chief of Surgery and Professor at City of Hope® Cancer Center Atlanta. A board-certified head and neck surgeon with more than 30 years of clinical, research and teaching expertise in head and neck and thyroid tumors, Dr. Chen is a recognized expert in head and neck surgery and thyroid and parathyroid tumors, an advocate of a multidisciplinary, personalized approach to care and a longtime champion for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Dr. Chen was drawn to City of Hope for one primary reason: “I was looking for a place where I could have a direct impact on my patients’ treatment and care—somewhere with a high-quality, truly patient-centered approach. I feel that City of Hope is exactly the right place.”
Her clinical work focuses on treating head and neck and thyroid cancer, building the hospital’s thyroid oncology team and broadening access to specialized surgeries and procedures for patients. She also works with patients diagnosed with diseases such as parathyroid cancer, thyroid neoplasms and mucosal cancers of the throat.
Prior to joining City of Hope, Dr. Chen spent more than 20 years at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, most recently as the Willard and Lillian Hackerman professor and inaugural vice chair for diversity, equity and inclusion within the Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, while also serving as the director of the Head and Neck Endocrine Surgery Program. She served in a research leadership role in the Department of Surveillance and Health Policy Research of the American Cancer Society and continues to be a board member for, the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender Based Violence and the Partnership for Southern Equity.
Dr. Chen earned her medical degree at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. She went on to complete postgraduate training in general surgery and otolaryngology head and neck surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and specialized in head and neck surgical oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in the same city. She also holds a master’s degree in business administration from Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Texas at Houston School of Public Health.
Over the course of her career, Dr. Chen has been honored with multiple awards, including the Helen F. Krause, MD, Trailblazer Award, the Emory Eminent Physician Award, the Margaret Butler Award for Outstanding Mentor of Women Head and Neck Surgeons, the Emory School of Medicine Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award, the Gussack Memorial Award for Teaching, the Percy Memorial Research Award, the American Head and Neck Society Scholarship Award and the Women’s Fund for Health, Education and Research Grant.
Dr. Chen’s current research agenda includes focusing on creating a multidisciplinary center dedicated to tracking and improving health services research, outcomes and quality of care, as well as translational work to bring new therapies for thyroid, head and neck malignancies into her practice. She’s been principal or co-investigator on numerous research projects and served as a committee or board member for the National Institutes of Health, the American Joint Commission on Cancer, the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute and the American College of Surgeons. She’s given dozens of invited lectures and is author or co-author of more than 150 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.
Dr. Chen is married with two daughters. She enjoys spending time with her family and hiking in the great outdoors.