- Leadership

Dr. Gary W. Chien is the Regional Assistant Medical Director for Graduate Medical Education (GME) at Kaiser Permanente, Southern California (KPSC). As the regional director of KP residency and fellowship programs, he serves as KP’s Designated Institutional Official (DIO) for Southern California. He supports the distinguished program directors and managers who lead 35 KP-sponsored, ACGME-accredited programs, plus scores of affiliated programs, in numerous medical and surgical specialties. KP programs reside in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside, and Woodland Hills, with more than 400 residents and fellows. Dr. Chien also oversees Undergraduate Medical Education for medical students who rotate with KP from eight affiliated schools of medicine and more than 100 other medical schools.

Dr. Chien received his BA in Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his MD degree from the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center. He completed his urology residency at KP Los Angeles Medical Center and fellowship training in robotics oncology at the University of Chicago. He returned to KP Los Angeles, where he served as the Endourology Fellowship Director 2008-2014, Urology Residency Program Director 2010-2021, then as the Assistant Area Medical Director 2021-2022. During this time as an educator and leader, Dr. Chien oversaw 22 GME programs at Los Angeles Medical Center, as well as the Assistant Area Medical Director over Finance. He is a Certified Professional Coder. Further, he has supported the organization’s efforts in Physician Wellness and Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity.

Always seeking evidence-based medicine when treating patients, Dr. Chien is an active researcher at KPSC with numerous peer-reviewed publications, much of this work derived from the power of KPSC’s integrated healthcare and extensive electronic medical records.

Dr. Chien is certified by the American Board of Urology. He specializes in minimally invasive and robotic urologic surgery and enjoys managing and treating the most challenging tertiary cases. He continues to be an active faculty member of the Urology Department. Dr. Chien is a member of the American Urological Association, and has held numerous leadership positions, currently a Planning Committee Member of the Western Section, AUA.

Dr. Chien and his wife Yuri, who is an elementary school teacher, are parents to two young adults. Dr. Chien loves all endurance sports and is an avid road cyclist.