Samuel L. Chen

Biography

Samuel L. Chen, M.D., RPVI, FACS, is an HS Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery and the Associate Program Director of the Vascular Surgery Fellowship in the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, with a primary practice location at UC Irvine Health in Orange, CA. He also serves as an attending vascular and endovascular surgeon at the UC Irvine - Irvine Campus and the Tibor Rubin Long Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr Chen received his M.D. from the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, followed by general surgery residency at UC Irvine Medical Center, where he was chief resident in 2018. He then completed a highly coveted two-year fellowship in Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA.

Dr Chen's clinical work focuses on comprehensive vascular care, including management of aortic aneurysms, dissections and complex aortic disease, peripheral artery disease for optimal limb preservation (both open and endovascular), visceral and renal artery stenosis, carotid stenosis, hemodialysis access, and acutely presenting vascular conditions. He also carries out a high volume of collaborative vascular care, including anterior lumbar spine exposures and oncologic resections involving vital vasculature.

He has over 20 peer-reviewed publications on outcomes following endovascular and open vascular procedures, with particular attention to factors affecting perioperative risk and long-term outcomes in patients undergoing aortic aneurysm repair, lower extremity revascularization, and carotid endarterectomy. His work has appeared in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, Annals of Vascular Surgery, Vascular, and other journals in the field.

Dr Chen serves as Chair of the Clinical Competency Committee for the Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program at UC Irvine and is a member of the Clinical Competency Committee and Program Evaluation Committee for the General Surgery Residency Program. He was the national Section Lead for the Aortoiliac Disease Section of the Society for Vascular Surgery's Self-Assessment Committee for VESAP6. He has also been recognized with the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Faculty Award from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation in 2022 and has received the multiple department-wide teaching awards, including the UC Irvine Department of Surgery Golden Scalpel Award for teaching excellence in 2022 and 2023; and the John E Connolly Teaching Professor of the Year in 2023. He was elected as Fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 2022, and recognized as a Orange County Medical Association Physician of Excellence in 2026 in his first year of eligibility.

Education

• B.A. with Honors in Human Biology, Stanford University, 2008
• M.D. in Medicine, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, 2012

Distinctions

• Orange County Medical Association - Physician of Excellence, 2026
• John E. Connolly Teaching Professor of the Year Award, UC Irvine Department of Surgery, 2023
• Golden Scalpel Award Faculty Award 'for Excellence in Fostering Learning in the Area of Surgery', UC Irvine Department of Surgery, 2023
• Fellowship Inductee, American College of Surgeons (FACS), 2022
• Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Faculty Award, Arnold P. Gold Foundation, UC Irvine School of Medicine, 2022
• Golden Scalpel Award Faculty Award 'for Excellence in Fostering Learning in the Area of Surgery', UC Irvine Department of Surgery, 2022
• Western Vascular Society Robert Hye Award for Best Trainee Presentation- 2nd Place, 2017
• UC Irvine 'Surgery Chief of Year' for Teaching on the Trauma Service, awarded by the UCI Emergency Medicine Department, 2017
• UC Irvine School of Medicine Admissions Committee- Shining Star Award, 2016
• UC Irvine/CHOC- Pediatric Surgical Resident of the Year (PGY-3), 2015
• University of California Regents Scholarship, UC Irvine School of Medicine, 2008-2012
• Los Angeles Surgical Society, Resident Research Award, 2012
• Roger G. Hauser Memorial Trust Medical Scholarship, UC Irvine, 2008
• Graduation with Honors in Human Biology, Stanford University, 2008
• Charles E. Gamble Memorial Scholarship, Stanford University, 2006-2008
• Siemens-Westinghouse National Science Competition Semi-Finalist, 2004