Elena Hsieh, M.D.

Biography

Wen-Yuan "Elena" Hsieh, M.D., is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine and the Division Chief of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She specializes in immunodeficiency and autoimmunity, with a focus on inborn errors of immunity.

Dr. Hsieh earned her medical degree at the University of California, San Francisco, and completed pediatrics residency training at UCLA Medical Center. She obtained advanced training through a fellowship in allergy and immunology at Stanford Hospital and Clinics.

Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Allergy and Immunology, she joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2026. She previously served as an associate professor of pediatrics and allergy/immunology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, Colorado, where she directed the Jeffrey Modell Diagnostic and Research Center for Primary Immunodeficiencies and served as director of the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies Center of Excellence.

As a physician-scientist, she focuses on helping patients with rare or more common immune system conditions. Dr. Hsieh has been a leader in bringing new laboratory and genetic testing approaches into everyday medical care, with a special focus on improving diagnosis and treatment for people with rare immune disorders and autoimmune diseases.

Her research program, continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Lupus Research Alliance, the Arthritis Foundation, and the Boettcher Foundation, has advanced the mechanistic understanding of immune dysregulation in inborn errors of immunity, lupus, and other autoimmune diseases, bridging discovery science and patient care to propel precision medicine.

Dr. Hsieh has given numerous national and international presentations and published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Cell Reports, and the Journal of Experimental Medicine. In addition, she serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Human Immunity.

She is an active member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Association of Immunologists, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, and the European Society for Immunodeficiencies. She is also a Fellow of the Clinical Immunology Society.

Dr. Hsieh’s contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Boettcher Foundation Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Award and the Women in STEM Leadership Award, and election to the Henry Kunkel Society and American Society for Clinical Investigation.

Personal Note

When she’s not at work, Dr. Hsieh enjoys rock climbing, aerial silks, and high-altitude mountaineering.