Board-Certified Allergist & Immunologist
Fellow, American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
Dr. Meng (Marcus) Chen, MD, FACAAI
Board of Directors, Houston Methodist Physicians' Alliance for Quality (HMPAQ)
Southwest Asthma & Allergy Associates (SWAAA) | Houston, TX
Dr. Meng (Marcus) Chen spent his early childhood in Buffalo, New York before moving to Houston, Texas in middle school. After attending Clements High School in Sugar Land, he was accepted into the combined Bachelor/MD Rice-Baylor Medical Scholars Program. After graduating from undergraduate at Rice University, he completed his MD at Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. Chen then moved to New York City to complete his Internal Medicine residency at New York University (NYU). After NYU, he underwent fellowship training in Adult and Pediatric Allergy/Immunology at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). At UCSF, Dr. Chen also underwent Advanced Training in Clinical Research (ATCR) certificate program while completing an immunology research fellowship year at Genentech to investigate novel drug development for allergic diseases.
He has given numerous oral presentations at international medical meetings and has published 10 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals in the fields of allergy, asthma, immunology, and dermatology. Board Certified in Allergy and Immunology, he is a member of national allergy/immunology organizations of AAAAI, ACAAI, and EAACI.
Dr. Chen moved back home to Houston in 2019 to join SWAAA and apply over a decade of elite academic medicine, research expertise, and clinical experience to do what he enjoys most: building therapeutic patient-doctor relationships to treat children and adults with allergic disease, asthma, food allergies, atopic dermatitis, and immune disorders.
Education & Training
Rice University
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Rice Baylor Combined BA-MD Medical Scholars Program
Baylor College of Medicine
Doctorate of Medicine (MD)
New York University (NYU)
Internal Medicine Residency
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
Adult & Pediatric Allergy/Immunology Fellowship
Awards & Recognitions
Super Doctors® Texas 2025
Best in Texas Doctors Magazine 2025
Houstonia Top Doctors 2021
Travel Scholarship & Speaking Invitation
AAAAI and WAO Joint Congress in Orlando, FL, March 2018
Chrysalis Project Scholarship Award
AAAAI Congress in Los Angeles, CA, March 2016
Best Presentation in Microbiology and Immunology
National Student Research Forum, 2013
Director of Operations, HOMES Clinic
Healthcare for the Homeless, Houston, 2013-2014
Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
Rice University, 2008
Trustee Distinguished Scholarship
Rice University, 2008
Hospital Affiliations
Professional Memberships
Bringing with him over a decade of elite academic medicine, research, and clinical experience. He holds active membership in the three most prominent allergy organizations:
- American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI)
- American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI)
- European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI)
His hospital affiliations include HCA Houston Healthcare West, Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, and Memorial Hermann — giving patients access to continuity of care across the region’s leading health systems. He has been recognized among Super Doctors® Texas, a distinction based on peer nomination and independent research.
Clinically, Dr. Chen treats both children and adults across a wide spectrum of conditions including seasonal and environmental allergies, food allergies, asthma, atopic dermatitis (eczema), chronic hives, angioedema, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, and immune deficiency disorders. He is particularly experienced with allergen immunotherapy — both traditional allergy shots and sublingual options — and has direct hands-on research experience with biologic therapies like Xolair. He sees patients at SWAAA’s Sugar Land, West Houston (Katy/Cinco Ranch), and Midtown clinic locations. He is fluent in English, Mandarin Chinese, and French, and is actively developing his Spanish — a meaningful asset in a city as multilingual as Houston.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Chen M, Choo E, Yoo B, Raut P, Haselkorn T, Pazwash H, Holweg CTJ, Hudes G.
No difference in omalizumab efficacy in patients with asthma by number of asthma-related and allergic comorbidities. Annals of Allergy Asthma Immunology.2021 Jan 17:S1081-1206(21)00023-5
Chen M, Shepard K, Yang M, Raut P, Pazwash H, Holweg CTJ, Choo E.
Overlap of allergic, eosinophilic and type 2 inflammatory subtypes in moderate-to-severe asthma. Clinical Experimental Allergy. 2021 Apr;51(4):546-555
Damask C, Chen, M, Holweg CTJ, Yoo B, Millette LA, Franzese C.
Defining the Efficacy of Omalizumab in Nasal Polyposis: A POLYP 1 and POLYP 2 Subgroup Analysis. American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy. 2021 Aug 12. DOI: 10.1177/19458924211030486
Chen M, Ko HM, Andreae DA, Cunningham-Rundles C, Chehade M, Maglione PJ.
Eosinophilic esophagitis in a patient with common variable immunodeciency. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. 2016 Sep-Oct;4(5):995-7
Yokose C, Chen M, Berhanu A, Pillinger MH, Krasnokutsky S. Gout and Osteoarthritis
Associations, Pathophysiology, and Therapeutic Implications. Current Rheumatology Reports. 2016 Oct;18(10):65.
Chen M, Gelman R, Al-Zubidi N, Kim JD, Lee AG.
Conjugal giant cell arteritis. Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology. 2013 Jun;33(2):158-61
Chen M, Holland MJ, Mir MR, Wong MG, Kelley BP, Grim KD, Bhuchar SS, Hsu S.
Frequency of thrombocytopenia in psoriasis patients treated with tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology. 2011 March; 10(3):280-4
Chen M, Doherty SD, Hsu S. Innovative uses of thalidomide.
Dermatologic Clinics. 2010 July; 28(3):577-586
Chen M, Zhao X, Nair M. The Effects of Quercetin on Bladder Cancer Cell Growth.
Symposium on Advances in Clinical Nutrition 44th Annual Meeting; 2003 Oct 9-12; Nashville, TN. In: Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 2003 Oct; 22(3):471
Krasnokutsky S, Oshinsky C, Attur M, Ma S, Zhou H, Zheng F, Chen M, Patel J, Samuels J, Pike VC, Regatte R, Bencardino J, Rybak L, Abramson S, Pillinger MH.
Serum Urate Levels Predict Joint Space Narrowing in Non-Gout Patients With Medial Knee Osteoarthritis. Arthritis and Rheumatology. 2017 Jun;69(6):1213-1220
Oral Presentations:
American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI)
Annual Scientific Meeting, Houston, TX. November 2019. Effect of Omalizumab in Asthma Patients by Number of Asthma-Related and Allergic Comorbidities in PROSPERO.
European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI)
Annual Congress, Lisbon, Portugal. June 2019. Efficacy of omalizumab therapy in asthma patients with or without asthma-related and atopic comorbidities.
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) and World Allergy Organization (WAO) Joint Congress, Orlando, FL.
March 2018. Management of Netherton Syndrome from the Immunology Perspective.
American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI)
Annual Scientific Meeting, San Antonio, TX. November 2015. Eosinophilic esophagitis in a patient with common variable immunodeficiency.
International Ocular Surface Society (IOSS) 16th Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA. May 2013.
The Effect of Interferon gamma on Goblet Cell Growth and Differentiation.
American College of Nutrition 44th Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN.
October 2003. The effects of quercetin on bladder cancer cell growth.
Quick Reference
| Specialty | Allergy & Immunology |
| Board Certification | American Board of Allergy & Immunology · American Board of Internal Medicine |
| Medical Degree | Baylor College of Medicine |
| Undergraduate | Rice University — Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society |
| Residency | Internal Medicine — New York University (NYU) |
| Fellowship | Allergy/Immunology — UCSF · Research — Genentech |
| Memberships | AAAAI · ACAAI · EAACI |
| Hospital Affiliations | HCA Houston Healthcare West · Houston Methodist Sugar Land · Memorial Hermann |
| Languages | English · Mandarin Chinese · French · Spanish (in progress) |
| Clinic Locations | Sugar Land · West Houston / Katy · Midtown Houston |
| Recognition | Super Doctors® Texas · 10 Peer-Reviewed Publications |
| Accepting Patients | Yes — New Patients Welcome |
| Insurance Accepted | Aetna · Cigna · Humana · Blue Cross · United Healthcare · Medicare · Medicaid + more |
Conditions Treated
- Seasonal & Environmental Allergies
- Food Allergies
- Allergic Asthma
- Mild-to-Severe Asthma
- Atopic Dermatitis (Eczema)
- Chronic Urticaria (Hives)
- Angioedema
- Allergic Rhinitis
- Sinusitis
- Immune Deficiency Disorders
- Drug Allergies
- Insect Sting Allergy