RACHEL CHEN, O.D.

Certification, Education & History

Doctor Rachel Chen is a licensed Therapeutic Optometrist and Optometric Glaucoma Specialist. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from The University of Texas at Austin and her Doctorate of Optometry from The University of Houston College of Optometry in 2011. In optometry school, she served as a teaching assistant and was a member of the Beta Sigma Kappa International Optometric Honor Society. She is also a member of the Texas Optometric Association and the American Optometric Association.

Dr. Chen was originally from China but migrated to Galveston Texas when she was twelve years old, where she attended middle school and high school. She knew very little English when she first came to America. She drove herself to learn English through obsessively listening to popular American music of the time. She now speaks both Chinese and English fluently, and has an iPod full of a variety of music spanning many different genres. She took a special interest in medicine and health care at a very young age. During middle school and high school, she participated in numerous summer research programs offered by The University of Texas Medical Branch, where she received hands on training on biomedical science research. While biomedical research is rewarding and very interesting, she realized that she would rather spend her day working one on one with people instead of with petri dishes and microscopes.

Inspiration Interests & Family Life

As a young myope, Dr. Chen always looked forward to her annual visit to the optometrist’s office. One of her favorite memories growing up was the first time she put on her prescription glasses after being diagnosed with near-sightedness. She saw the world in high definition for the first time in a very long time: the trees had distinct leaves, the flowers had individual petals, license plates numbers can be read from a distance, pedestrians from across the street had distinguishable features, and colors were more vibrant than she’s ever seen. She was in awe of the world around her that she did not know was in focus for others. It is now a goal of hers to help others share that same experience.

Dr. Chen started working with Dr. Brending and the team at Clear Lake Eye Center when she was a first year optometry school student. She worked as Dr. Brending’s assistant throughout school and upon graduation she joined the practice as a part-time associate optometrist. In 2013, Dr. Brending and Dr. Chen join forces in full-time partnership. Dr. Chen enjoys getting to know her patients and providing them with personalized eye care. She understands that different occupations and hobbies require very different vision needs, and one size cannot possibly fit all in the eye care world. Therefore spending a little extra time to get to know a patient can make a world of difference in improving the patient’s quality of life after the exam. She also takes a special interest in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic ocular conditions such as double vision, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration.

In her free time, Dr. Chen enjoys reading, traveling, and attending concerts. On most weekends, you can find her out and about with her family, friends, and her two hyperactive Pomeranians.