Allen M. Chen, MD

Dr. Allen M. Chen is a board-certified UCI Health radiation oncologist who specializes in the management of head and neck cancers. He serves as chair of the UCI School of Medicine's Department of Radiation Oncology.

Chen received his medical degree from Yale University's School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. He completed an internship in internal medicine at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, followed by residencies in radiation oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and UC San Francisco School of Medicine. Before joining the UCI School of Medicine and UCI Health, he served as residency director for radiation oncology at the UC Davis School of Medicine, vice chair of radiation oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, then chair of radiation oncology at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City.

He also holds master's degrees in business administration from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, where he was awarded the John Wooden Global Leadership Fellowship, and the National University of Singapore-Business School, where he studied international finance and business development.

Regarded among the leading international authorities on optimizing cure rates and quality of life for head and neck cancer patients, Chen has published more than 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals. His research interests also include the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in head and neck cancers. His 2017 study on de-escalation for HPV-positive cancer, the first to suggest a benefit in reducing radiation doses, is now standard protocol. He also has conducted numerous clinical trials on re-irradiation techniques for recurrent cancers of the head and neck. He serves on leadership committees for the National Cancer Institute, the Radiological Society of North America, the American Board of Radiology, and is a fellow of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.