Over the past 15 years, Chia-Ching Chen, M.A., M.S., Ed.D., CHES, has accomplished and demonstrated professional growth through teaching, research, scholarly activities, and services to the school and the community. She advocates for community-based health education and incorporates cross-cultural teaching and research with an eye towards applying it to public health issues for individuals, families, and communities. Dr. Chen has educated a variety of students across different disciplines and is an effective and approachable instructor who adapts to the learning styles of her students. As a behavioral scientist, she strives to identify strategies to advocate for a better quality of life through health promotion and disease prevention.
Dr. Chen has served as journal editor and as a frequent federal grant reviewer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) Extramural Research Program Office (ERPO), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), and Office of Population Affairs (OPA). She has served as a technical and subject matter expert for Office of Population Affairs for a project that aims to systematically examine classroom context and primary messaging strategies that can be better aligned for improved precision of delivery for teen pregnancy prevention programs in group-based settings.
Education
- B.A., Economics, Chinese Culture University
- M.S., Health Behavior Studies, Columbia University
- M.A., Health Education, Columbia University
- Ed.D., Health Behavior Studies, Columbia University
Honors and Awards
- Delta Omega Faculty Award for Outstanding Public Health Performance in Scholarship, Teaching, Research, and the Quality of Publications, New York Medical College Delta Alpha Chapter of Delta Omega, Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, 2021
- Honorable mention for the APHA A&PH Nobuo Maeda International Research Award, 2016
Research
Most of Dr. Chen’s research is conducted through an interdisciplinary collaboration. Many of her publications focus on improving accessibility to healthcare services, eliminating health disparities, and identifying psychosocial determinants associated with individual level outcomes among different socioeconomics groups.
Another focus of research that Dr. Chen finds intriguing is teen pregnancy prevention, which continues to affect youth of color disproportionately, especially those who reside in low income and under-resourced communities. She has conducted several community-based intervention studies to identify effective ways to educate youth to achieve optimal adolescent health. Dr. Chen applies the rain-the-trainer approach to train graduate students to deliver evidenced-based health education curricula to at-risk adolescents in diverse communities that are federally funded research.
Publications
- Waqar M, Tai TS, Qadeer A, et. al. "Association of TNF-α polymorphisms rs1800629 (-308G>A) and rs361525 (-238G>A) with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Punjabi population of Pakistan." Frontiers in endocrinology, 16(), (2025) 1664411. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1664411
- Al-Hammouri S, Wung SF, Chen Z, et. al. "Fall prediction algorithm with built-in instability metrics." Journal of biomechanics, 194(), (2025) 113066. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2025.113066
- Chen SC, Chen CC. "Cognitive Recovery After Intensive Care: Balancing Intensity and Tolerance in Delirium Survivors." Critical care medicine, 53(11), (2025) e2387-e2388. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000006788
- Chen SC, Chen CC. "Reassessing the Implications of Early Active Mobilization in Critically Ill Patients: Beyond Cost-Effectiveness." Critical care medicine, 53(11), (2025) e2376-e2377. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000006801
- Hsieh WY, Yu CN, Chen CC, et. al. "Evaluating the antiviral efficacy and specificity of chlorogenic acid and related herbal extracts against SARS-CoV-2 variants via spike protein binding intervention." Journal of traditional and complementary medicine, 15(7), (2024) 782-793. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcme.2024.11.009
- Chiu YW, Chang YH, Hsu TY, et. al. "Monitoring for early prediction of gram-negative bacteremia using machine learning and hematological data in the emergency department." Communications medicine, 5(1), (2025) 483. doi: 10.1038/s43856-025-01200-2
- Liang YC, Wang JS, Lee CC, et. al. "HCV micro-elimination in diabetes care: A multicenter, prospective quality improvement program in Taiwan." Journal of microbiology, immunology, and infection = Wei mian yu gan ran za zhi, (), (2025) . pii: S1684-1182(25)00195-1. doi: 10.1016/j.jmii.2025.11.002
Teaching Responsibilities
- Behavioral and Social Factors in Public Health
- Principles and Technique of Behavior Change
- Introduction to Health Education
- Health Communication and Social Marketing
- Health Promotion Strategies
