Karen Chen
Assistant Professor
- Phone: 919.515.6403
- Email: kbchen2@ncsu.edu
- Office: 4349 Fitts-Woolard Hall
Karen Chen joined NC State’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering as a faculty member in the Human Factors and Ergonomics group in August 2016. Prior to joining ISE, she was a postdoctoral research associate at the Healthcare Systems Engineering Institute at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
Chen’s research studies human performances and uses human factors and ergonomics frameworks as the foundation. She also implements technologies such as virtual reality to explore potentials in improving the health and safety of various populations. She has investigated the use of virtual reality to understand older driver biomechanics and the utility for ranges of motion rehabilitation of chronic pain patients. Besides research, she also offers courses in Human Factors in Systems Design, Musculoskeletal Biomechanics, Human-Computer Interface, and Special Topics in Technology and Healthcare Applications.
Visit Chen’s Virtual and Augmented Reality Lab.
Research Interests
Karen Chen’s recent research studies patient safety in healthcare systems specifically examines some critical junctures between primary and specialty care using human factors frameworks and methods. She also explores the application of virtual reality for chronic neck pain rehabilitation and the interface design of touchscreens for individuals with physical disabilities. These research topics also highlight her experiences in experimental design.
Education
| Degree | Program | School | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 2015 |
| MSBE | Masters of Science in Biomedical Engineering | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 2010 |
| BSBE | Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 2009 |
Honors and Awards
- 2021 | Goodnight Early Career Innovators Award, NC State’s Provost’s Office
- 2021 | AEC Young Investigator Award
- 2014 | IEEE VR Best Poster Award
- 2014 | HFES Student Honors Award
Discover more about Karen Chen
- Like Safety, Success Doesn’t Happen by Accident
- A Seeker of Science
- ISE Welcomes New Faculty
- Watch Dr. Chen talk with WRAL News about her virtual reality research
- Watch Virtual Reality Team on the CW22
- Which Came First: The Superhero or the Science?
- ISE Goes to Comicon
- Creator of Worlds
Publications
- A comparison of the psychological effects of robot motion in physical and virtual environments
- Sanders, N. E., Xie, Z., & Chen, K. B. (2023), APPLIED ERGONOMICS, 112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2023.104039
- Modeling Human-Machine Interaction System Reliability with Multiple Dependent Degradation Processes and Situation Awareness
- Hu, Y., Wang, R., Zhu, M., & Chen, K. B. B. (2023, July 19), INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RELIABILITY QUALITY AND SAFETY ENGINEERING, Vol. 7. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218539323500146
- Shrink or grow the kids? Scale cognition in an immersive virtual environment for K-12 summer camp
- Wu, L., Chen, K. B., Sekelsky, B., Peterson, M., Harper-Gampp, T., & Delgado, C. (2023), 2023 IEEE CONFERENCE ON VIRTUAL REALITY AND 3D USER INTERFACES ABSTRACTS AND WORKSHOPS, VRW, pp. 721–722. https://doi.org/10.1109/VRW58643.2023.00203
- Task-Oriented and Imitation-Oriented Movements in Virtual Reality Exercise Performance and Design
- Chen, K., & Chen, K. B. (2023), HUMAN FACTORS, 65(1), 125–136. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187208211010100
- Checklists in Healthcare: Operational Improvement of Standards using Safety Engineering-Project CHOISSE-A framework for evaluating the effects of checklists on surgical team culture
- Perera, G. N., Hey, L. A., Chen, K. B., Morello, M. J., McConnell, B. M., & Ivy, J. S. (2022), APPLIED ERGONOMICS, 103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2022.103786
- Examining the Effects of Gender Transfer in Virtual Reality on Implicit Gender Bias
- Wu, L., & Chen, K. B. B. (2022, December 27), HUMAN FACTORS, Vol. 12. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187208221145264
- Unmet needs and problems related to employment and working as reported by survivors with metastatic breast cancer
- Sesto, M. E., Carroll, C. B., Zhang, X., Chen, K. B., Terhaar, A., Wilson, A. S., & Tevaarwerk, A. J. (2022, January 28), SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER, Vol. 30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06755-z
- Reply to The Effects of Curative-Intent Cancer Therapy on Employment, Work Ability, and Work Limitations
- Tevaarwerk, A. J., Kwekkeboom, K., Buhr, K. A., Dennee, A., Conkright, W., Onitilo, A., … Sesto, M. E. (2021, June 18), CANCER, Vol. 6. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33566
- Results from a prospective longitudinal survey of employment and work outcomes in newly diagnosed cancer patients during and after curative-intent chemotherapy: A Wisconsin Oncology Network study
- Tevaarwerk, A. J., Kwekkeboom, K., Buhr, K. A., Dennee, A., Conkright, W., Onitilo, A. A., … Sesto, M. E. (2021), CANCER, 127(5), 801–808. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33311
- Usage of a Web-Based Workplace and Symptom Self-Management Intervention Tool to Improve Work Ability for Breast Cancer Survivors
- Chen, K. B., Yen, T., Sun, W., Tevaarwerk, A. J., Wiegmann, D. A., Heidrich, S. M., & Sesto, M. E. (2021, September 3), JOURNAL OF CANCER EDUCATION, Vol. 9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-021-02048-5
