Dr. David Chen
Class of 1979Alumni Recognition Award, 1999
Dr. David Chen returns to Naperville Central High School twenty years after his graduation. While a student at NCHS, David was a member of the Redskin tennis team and captain of the team during the 1979 season. In addition to his athletic endeavors, Dr. Chen was involved with Smoke Signals, was a member of the Student Advisory Council, was president of his junior class, and was Co-Valedictorian for the Naperville Central Class of 1979.
Following high school, Dr. Chen moved to the University of Illinois where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in Finance for his B.A. He then received his M.D. with honors from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1987. he completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation from the Northwestern University Medical School in 1991.
Dr. Chen received numerous awards and recognition while achieving his medical credentials. While at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Dr. Chen was a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta, Khi Kappa Phi, and Phi Beta Kappa Honor Societies. He received First Place Awards for Poster Presentations at both the Illinois Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation ("Cardiac Pacemaker Inhibition by Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation") and the American Spinal Injury Association ("The Effectiveness of Ham's F-10 Supplemented with Bovine Serum Albumin in Maintaining Sperm Viability in Various Concentrations of Urine").
Dr. Chen became an Attending Physician in the Spinal Cord Injury Program at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago in July of 1991. In 1994, Dr. Chen became the Director of the Spinal Cord Injury Program at the Institute. He also serves as the Medical Director of the Spinal Cord Injury, Orthopedic and Amputee Clinical Operating Group at the Rehabilitation Institute.
Dr. Chen has been, and continues to be involved in an abundance of professional committees through the Rehabilitation Institute, the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, the American Spinal Injury Association, and the State of Illinois.
Among his many patients at the Institute are James Mullen, a Chicago policeman paralyzed by a bullet, and Darryl Stingley, a former football player felled by a cheap shot on the playing field. Dr. Chen also manages a staff of about 80, in addition to coordinating the activities of outside psychologists, physical therapists, and other specialists. He also teachers, churns out research papers, and proselytizes for the prevention and treatment of spinal injuries. In March of 1997, Dr. Chen was recognized by Crain's Chicago Business, as one of Chicago's "Forty Under 40."
DR. CHEN'S MESSAGE TO NAPERVILLE CENTRAL STUDENTS: Look beneath the surface of color, race, religion, and physical and mental abilities, and you will see the true depth and strength of the human spirit.
