Helena Chang, MD

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

Santa Clara, California

Helena Chang, MD, is a Professor in the Surgery Department, Director of the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center, and a member of Signal Transduction and Therapeutics at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Santa Clara, California. Dr. Chang specializes in cancer and surgical oncology. 

Dr. Chang earned undergraduate degrees at Stanford University in Biological Sciences and International Relations. Before medical school, she worked to influence policies that improve access to health care in Washington, D.C. Dr. Chang earned her medical degree at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin. She then completed a residency in Urology at the University of California, San Francisco, and a fellowship in Endourology and Minimally Invasive Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. 

Chang's long-term research interest is in the development of immunotherapy to treat adult ductal epithelial cancer. Chang has developed several recombinant live vaccines that actively secrete a tumor antigen and human cytokines. The role of these vaccines in human cancer treatment and prevention is under investigation. Her research team is characterizing the biological activity of the targeted tumor antigen (MUC-1 peptide) and its involvement in cancer invasion and metastases. She also works closely with clinician-scientists and basic researchers on studies characterizing breast cancer behavior and developing molecular classifications for locally advanced breast cancer.