Jie Chen
Jie Chen earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2023 at Florida State University.
Biography
Jie Chen is from a small village in central China with only a few hundred people. He was a curious child, always asking questions about how things work and why things are the way they are. He spent a lot of time trying to find books to read. His parents were farmers, so there weren’t a lot of extra funds for books, and because his village was so rural, his primary school didn’t have a library. To overcome this challenge and satisfy his curiosity, he wrote to family members to ask them for books, and a beloved Uncle regularly sent him reading material and encouraged his interest. He also loved being outdoors, enjoying activities—including climbing trees and swimming.
As he got older, he excelled in school. He was accepted into a middle school, which required a lot of travel and hours of study. After high school, he attended Wuhan University. He is the first person in his family to ever go to college. He was the first person in his village to attend such a high-ranking University. Dr. Chen excelled in many subjects, including chemistry, physics, Chinese language, and mathematics. Ironically, he wasn’t as good at biology at that time, even though that became such a foundational part of his career. He loved helping people and enjoyed his medical courses, so he chose to pursue nursing, earning a Bachelor of Science in that field. After working at Wuhan University Zhongnan Hospital as a registered nurse for several years, he went on to attend a master’s program at Peking University School of Nursing, one of the best nursing programs in China. That is where his interest in pain started—he was able to help develop the first pain management nursing standards in China. After earning a Master of Nursing Specialist-MNS, Critical Care Nursing degree, he worked as a lecturer in Wuhan University. He received his PhD from the University of Connecticut in 2021.
Today, Dr. Jie Chen is an assistant professor at the Florida State University College of Nursing. His research projects focus on pain and symptom management in older adults with multiple chronic conditions (MCC), i.e., cancer and cardiovascular disease. He is also interested in promoting the cardiovascular health of older adults with cancer. His long-term research plan is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the bio-behavioral and multi-omics mechanisms of pain and pain self-management among older adults with MCC. His dissertation titled “Pain Management in Older Adults with Heart Failure” was supported by the American Nurses Foundation from the Virginia Stone Fund, the Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS)/CANS dissertation award, and the STTI Mu Chapter research award.
“When I was a little boy, I was always asking questions. Why does this happen? Why is something that way?”
- Dr. Jie Chen
BIOGRAPHY
Jie Chen is from a small village in central China with only a few hundred people. He was a curious child, always asking questions about how things work and why things are the way they are. He spent a lot of time trying to find books to read. His parents were farmers, so there weren’t a lot of extra funds for books, and because his village was so rural, his primary school didn’t have a library. To overcome this challenge and satisfy his curiosity, he wrote to family members to ask them for books, and a beloved Uncle regularly sent him reading material and encouraged his interest. He also loved being outdoors, enjoying activities—including climbing trees and swimming.
As he got older, he excelled in school. He was accepted into a middle school, which required a lot of travel and hours of study. After high school, he attended Wuhan University. He is the first person in his family to ever go to college. He was the first person in his village to attend such a high-ranking University. Dr. Chen excelled in many subjects, including chemistry, physics, Chinese language, and mathematics. Ironically, he wasn’t as good at biology at that time, even though that became such a foundational part of his career. He loved helping people and enjoyed his medical courses, so he chose to pursue nursing, earning a Bachelor of Science in that field. After working at Wuhan University Zhongnan Hospital as a registered nurse for several years, he went on to attend a master’s program at Peking University School of Nursing, one of the best nursing programs in China. That is where his interest in pain started—he was able to help develop the first pain management nursing standards in China. After earning a Master of Nursing Specialist-MNS, Critical Care Nursing degree, he worked as a lecturer in Wuhan University. He received his PhD from the University of Connecticut in 2021.
Today, Dr. Jie Chen is an assistant professor at the Florida State University College of Nursing. His research projects focus on pain and symptom management in older adults with multiple chronic conditions (MCC), i.e., cancer and cardiovascular disease. He is also interested in promoting the cardiovascular health of older adults with cancer. His long-term research plan is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the bio-behavioral and multi-omics mechanisms of pain and pain self-management among older adults with MCC. His dissertation titled “Pain Management in Older Adults with Heart Failure” was supported by the American Nurses Foundation from the Virginia Stone Fund, the Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS)/CANS dissertation award, and the STTI Mu Chapter research award.
“When I was a little boy, I was always asking questions. Why does this happen? Why is something that way?”
- Dr. Jie Chen
Research Focus
Challenges
Effective pain management is an ongoing challenge in medicine. Patients who experience pain sometimes cannot find relief, causing a significant decrease in their quality of life. Physicians can struggle to accurately assess, understand, treat, and manage patients’ pain without clear guidelines and procedures. In addition, some current treatments, like opioids, have been found to have devastating side effects for patients and society.
Focus and Priorities
Dr. Chen’s long-term research plan is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the bio-behavioral and multi-omics mechanisms of pain and pain self-management among older adults with MCC. As one of the steps in that journey to better understanding, he is working on a study to explore the validity of meditation and breathing exercises on pain management. Using funding from The Karen Toffler Charitable Trust, he is recruiting participants from north Florida communities.
Participants will be divided into two groups, one doing active meditation and the other doing focused meditation. He will then measure the results of these practices through surveys and stool samples to see what effect these behaviors have on patient outcomes and their gut microbiomes.
Benefits
By exploring alternative therapies for pain management, Dr. Chen hopes to provide physicians and patients with more effective treatment options with fewer long-term side effects. He also hopes this research will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the bio-behavioral and multi-omics mechanisms of pain and pain self-management.
Karen Toffler Charitable Trust Investment
Dr. Chen is using funding from the Karen Toffler Charitable Trust to recruit participants from North Florida communities to participate in a study about meditation and pain management. Participants will be divided into two groups, with one group doing active meditation while the other doing focused meditation. Funds will be used to pay for tests and a small stipend to participants for their participation. If the trial is successful, he will apply for a more significant grant from NIH to include more populations, hopefully showing the benefits of meditation—which would ultimately give patients and doctors more options when it comes to pain management.
Karen Toffler Charitable Trust Investment
Dr. Chen is using funding from the Karen Toffler Charitable Trust to recruit participants from North Florida communities to participate in a study about meditation and pain management. Participants will be divided into two groups, with one group doing active meditation while the other doing focused meditation. Funds will be used to pay for tests and a small stipend to participants for their participation. If the trial is successful, he will apply for a more significant grant from NIH to include more populations, hopefully showing the benefits of meditation—which would ultimately give patients and doctors more options when it comes to pain management.
“Meditation is good for your health because it can change your brain activity and gut microbiome. There are tangible benefits.”
- Jie Chen