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Chia-Ching (Rory) Chien, DVM, MSc, PhD, DACVP

Assistant Professor

Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences

Anatomic Pathology

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
Ithaca, NY 14853

Email: cc2923@cornell.edu

Profile

Research/Clinical Interests

  • Infectious diseases and host-pathogen interactions
  • Pulmonary pathology and respiratory diseases
  • Tick-borne pathogens such as Ehrlichia and Anaplasma spp. associated diseases and immunopathology
  • Diagnostic pathology and the development of diagnostic tools

Education

  • 2024, PhD, Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, The Ohio State University
  • 2019, Anatomic Pathology Residency, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University
  • 2014, MS, Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, National Taiwan University
  • 2012, DVM, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University

Biography/Professional Experience

  • 2022-2024, Locum Pathologist, Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University
  • 2015-2016, Research Assistant, Animal Drugs Inspection Branch, Animal Health Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, Miao-Li County, Taiwan
  • 2012-2014, Research Assistant, Laboratory Animal Medicine Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

Awards and Honors

  • 3-Minute Thesis Competition (Second Place), Graduate School of The Ohio State University, 2023
  • C.L. Davis and S.W. Thompson Foundation Scholarship Award in Veterinary Pathology (Oklahoma State University), 2019

Professional/Academic Affiliations

  • American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP)
  • American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD)
  • American Society for Rickettsiology (ASR)

Publications

Selected Publications

  • Chowdhury R, Bosireb EM, Wolverton LR, Pavinski Bitar PD, Bell KE, Keresztes I, Chien RC, Altier C. Salmonella exploits a quorum-sensing signal of the gut commensal Stenotrophomonas maltophilia to facilitate its colonization. Nat Commun. 2026 (In Review) 
  • Alamgir A, Yaneva M, Sela M, Mora-Raimundo P, Ghosal S, Odeh A, Hasson P, Chien RC, Schroeder A, DeLisa MP, Alabi CA. Intracellular delivery of full-length antibodies via organ targeted lipid nanoparticles. bioRxiv. 2025 Sep 26;678781; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.26.678781 (Preprint) 
  • Ferchaw H, Bessemer B, Dixon S, Chien RC, Ritter JM, Ali IKM, Roy S, Seeley KE. Necrohemorrhagic meningoencephalitis in a red ruffed lemur (Varecia rubra) caused by Acanthamoeba T1 Genotype. J Zoo Wildl Med. 2026 Jan 19; 57(1):113-118. https://doi.org/10.1638/2025-0096 
  • Giannino DL, Jager MC, Brodlie H, Chien RC. Myofibroblast differentiation in a cat with eosinophilic sclerosing fibroplasia involving mesenteric lymph nodes and liver. J Vet Diagn Invest. 2025 May 12: 10406387251339813. 
  • Duan N, Lin M, Zhang W, Yan Q, Chien RC, Budachetri K, Denton S, Kawahara J, Lakritz J, Zhong Y, Dong Y, Rikihisa Y. Development of Etf-3-specific nanobodies to prevent Ehrlichia infection and LNPmRNA delivery in cellular and murine models. Microbiol Res. 2025 Mar;292:128027. 
  • Chien RC, Lin M, Duan N, Denton S, Kawahara J, Rikihisa Y. RipE expression correlates with high ATP levels in Ehrlichia, which confers resistance during the extracellular stage to facilitate a new cycle of infection. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2024 Oct 1;14:1416577. 
  • Zhang T, Chien RC, Budachetri K, Lin M, Boyaka P, Huang W, Rikihisa Y. Ehrlichia effector TRP120 manipulates bacteremia to facilitate tick acquisition. mBio. 2024 Apr 10;15(4):e0047624. 
  • Chien RC, Mingqun L, Yan Q, Randolph N, Huang W, Wellman M, Toribio R, Rikihisa Y. Strains of Anaplasma phagocytophilum from horses in Ohio are related to isolates from humans in the northeastern USA. Microbiol Spectr. 2023 Dec 12;11(6):e0263223. 
  • Budachetri K, Lin M, Chien RC, Zhang W, Brock GN, Rikihisa Y. Efficacy and Immune Correlates of OMP-1B and VirB2-4 Vaccines for Protection of Dogs from Tick Transmission of Ehrlichia chaffeensis. mBio. 2022 Dec 20;13(6):e0214022. 
  • Budachetri K, Lin M, Yan Q, Chien RC, Hostnik LD, Haanen G, Leclère M, Waybright W, Baird JD, Arroyo LG, Rikihisa Y. Real-Time PCR Differential Detection of Neorickettsia findlayensis and N. risticii in Cases of Potomac Horse Fever. J Clin Microbiol. 2022 Jul 20;60(7):e0025022.

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