Before I came to the Children’s Research Center, I worked as a doctor specializing in infectious disease in Shenzhen, China. We treated patients mostly with chronic hepatitis B and pulmonary tuberculosis. Current medical technology in Shenzhen made it difficult for us to diagnose and treat the diseases effectively. Thus we carried out some research to develop a therapeutic vaccine for chronic hepatitis B and a genetic diagnostic method for pulmonary tuberculosis. We had some success in these fields. I received two awards from the Shenzhen municipal government for my work. My group published nine research papers in Chinese and one in English. These achievements spurred my desire to develop my knowledge and skills in immunology and microbiology. I applied to the University of Arizona and came here in the fall of 2002 for the PhD program.

Currently, I am investigating the combined effect of bone marrow transplant and CRCL vaccine to prevent and treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The experiment is progressing well. I have established the mouse model for bone marrow transplant and the preliminary data seems promising.

Xinchun Chen