Bridget Chen

Originally from Michigan, Bridget attended Johns Hopkins University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience with a second major in German, in 2019. Bridget began cultivating her interest in medicine and research as an undergraduate, when she joined a basic behavioral neuroscience lab led by Dr. Patricia Janak, to examine neural circuits involved in potentiating addictive behavior in rodents trained under various conditioning paradigms. Around the same time, she joined Dr. Rebecca Gottesman's stroke and neuroepidemiology lab, examining the interface between cardiovascular disease and neurological health and in particular, the potential causal link between stroke and dementia. In her gap year, Bridget had the opportunity to dissect factors driving racial health disparities in stroke care with Dr. Roland Faigle.

Clinically, her interests span from stroke neurology, cardiology to obstetrics and gynecology - with a special interest in pathophysiological perturbations and mental health challenges during perimenstrual and peripartum periods. For her PhD, Bridget is looking to explore the brain-body interface, in various physiological and pathological processes in Rui Chang's Lab - particularly, neuroimmune interactions in the periphery, the role of organ intrinsic neuronal populations, and peripheral neural pathways involved in reproductive function. Outside of research and medicine, she enjoys playing volleyball, pickleball, dancing, teaching ultrasound or neuroanatomy, mentorship, and learning about languages and cultures. She also loves playing with her two kittens and teaching them new tricks.