Her undergraduate degree is from Syracuse University, where she majored in nursing. She received generic Master's degrees from University of Texas at Austin and post-Master certification in nurse-midwifery from Columbia University, School of Nursing. She received her Doctor of Nursing Science (DNSc) also from the Columbia University at City of New York. Then, she went on two-year post-doctoral training at UCSF, School of Nursing with Dr. William L. Holzemer. Before she came to Yale, School of Nursing, she was one of the research faculty at University of Washington, School of Nursing, Department of Family and Child Nursing.Dr. Chen's research interests include HIV-related issues in people living with HIV/AIDS in China. Other research interests are immigrant health issues focusing on Asian immigrants.