MSK dermatologic surgeon Jason Chen

Chih-Shan Jason Chen, MD, PhD, FAAD

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Basal cell carcinomas of the skin
  • Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin
  • Melanoma of the skin

My Specialties

  • Mohs surgery
  • Dermatologic surgery
  • Diagnosis and management of skin cancer
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Get to Know Me

I am a dermatologic surgeon who specializes in caring for people with basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and early-stage melanoma, as well as other rare forms of skin cancer.

As Director of Dermatologic Surgery at MSK Skin Cancer Center Hauppaugue, I lead a team of skilled physician assistants, nurses, patient care technicians, and laboratory staff providing high-quality skin cancer care to residents of Long Island.

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The main focus of my practice is dermatologic surgery to remove skin cancers as well as skin reconstruction. I completed fellowship training in dermatologic surgery, and have particular expertise in a technique called Mohs surgery. Mohs surgery is an excellent option for people with nonmelanoma skin cancers located in delicate areas of the body. It has an extremely high cure rate and offers excellent cosmetic outcomes.

I believe that high-quality skin cancer care is compassionate and comprehensive. To me, this means not only curing the disease, but paying close attention to my patients’ personal preferences, comfort, and quality of life. I am grateful for the trust that patients place in my hands when they choose me for their care.  

With more than 20 years of experience, I continue to be fascinated and curious about the field of dermatology. I am constantly looking for new ways to enhance the techniques I use to treat patients, whether that means refining an existing approach or developing a new one.

My specific research focus is on sophisticated optical imaging devices called reflectance confocal microscopy and optical coherence tomography. These state-of-the-art technologies are not in wide use today, but in the future they may offer a noninvasive alternative to skin biopsy and help guide other aspects of skin cancer management. MSK’s Dermatology Service is at the forefront of this leading-edge technology and I’m proud to be a part of it.

What I Do at MSK

I'm a dermatologist, which is a doctor with special training in skin, hair, and nails.

I'm a Mohs surgeon, which is a doctor with special training in treating skin cancer with Mohs surgery. This surgery removes cancer while keeping healthy tissue safe.

  • Director, Dermatologic Surgery, Hauppauge
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Basal cell carcinomas of the skin
  • Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin
  • Melanoma of the skin
  • Lentigo maligna melanoma (LMM)

My Specialties

  • Mohs surgery
  • Dermatologic surgery
  • Diagnosis and management of skin cancer
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, Chung-Shan Medical University
  • PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Residencies

  • Internal Medicine - Yale University
  • Dermatology - SUNY at Stony Brook

Fellowships

  • Mohs Micrographic Surgery - SUNY at Stony Brook

Board Certifications

  • Dermatology
  • Mohs Micrographic Surgery

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

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Current Patients
Request an appointment by calling your Care Team or messaging them in MSK MyChart.

Contact and Location

Dr. Chen sees patients at one location.

Office Phone
Location
Hauppauge, NY
800 Veterans Memorial Highway 2nd Floor Hauppauge NY 11788

Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.

Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

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See all Hauppauge Dermatology Section doctors

Clinical Trials

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Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

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Research and Publications

Chen CSJ, Elias MD, Busam KJ, Rajadhyaksha M, Marghoob AA.  Multi-modal In Vivo Optical Imaging, Including Confocal Microscopy, Facilitate Pre-surgical Margin Mapping for Clinically Complex Lentigo Maligna Melanoma. Brit J Dermatol 2005; 153 (5): 1031-1036.

Thosani MK, Marghoob AA, Chen CSJ. Current Progress of Immunostains in Mohs Micrographic Surgery: A Review.  Dermatol Surg 2008;34(12):1621–1636

Chen CSJ, Sierra H, Cordova M, Rajadhyaksha, M. Confocal Microscopy Guided Laser Ablation for Superficial and Early Nodular Basal Cell Carcinoma. A Promising Surgical Alternative for Superficial Skin Cancers. JAMA Dermatol. 2014 Sep 150(9):994-8.   

Bajaj S, Chen CSJ.  Patch Splinting for Atrophic or Tight Skin Excision Wounds. Dermatol Surg 2016 Oct 42(10): 1225-1227.

Sahu A, Yelamos O, Iftimia N, Cordova M, Alessi-Fox C, Gill M, Maguluri G, Dusza SW, Navarrete-Dechent C, Gonzalez S, Rossi AM, Marghoob AA Rajadhyaksha M, Chen CSJ, Combined handheld reflectance confocal microscopy-optical coherence tomography probe for detection and depth assessment of basal cell carcinoma: a prospective pilot study. JAMA Dermatol 2018 June.

Navarrete-Dechecnt C, Liopyris K, Cordova M, Busam KJ, Marghoob AA, Chen CSJ. Reflectance confocal microscopy and en face histopathology correlation of the dermoscopic feature of ‘circle within a circle’ in lentigo maligna. JAMA Dermatol 2018 July.

 

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Chen’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Chih-Shan Jason Chen discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

No disclosures meeting criteria for time period


If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.


This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


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