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
- Liang YS, Chang LC, Wong WF, et. al. "Characteristics and diagnostic sensitivity of endoscopic ultrasound in lower gastrointestinal subepithelial lesions." Journal of the Formosan Medical Association = Taiwan yi zhi, (), (2026) . pii: S0929-6646(26)00108-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jfma.2026.02.004
- Chen CC, Hsu WH, Chen CJ, et. al. "Mesoscopic Inhomogeneities in Ethanol-Water Mixtures: Are They Nanobubbles, Impurity Aggregates, or Nanoscale Gas-Water Composite Structures?" Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids, (), (2026) . doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5c05369
- Chen CB, McComas AM, Liu E, et. al. "Gender disparities in lung cancer and social determinants of environmental risk: a geospatial analysis across Illinois counties." Frontiers in public health, 13(), (2026) 1676853. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1676853
- Lin YS, Lin YC, Chen YY, et. al. "Liver Steatosis-Related Polygenic Risk Score Predicts Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk After Hepatitis C Virus Eradication." Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics, (), (2026) . doi: 10.1111/apt.70566
- Lin YY, Chen SH, Tseng YR, et. al. "Highly selective photocatalytic conversion of CO(2) to hydrocarbons, H(2) evolution, and photodegradation of CV dye using SbSI and SbSeI as catalysts." Journal of colloid and interface science, 710(), (2026) 139981. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2026.139981
- Kite T, Hanft S, Zeller S, et. al. "Local control and leptomeningeal disease after resection and GammaTile brachytherapy for newly diagnosed brain metastases: results from a prospective registry." Journal of neuro-oncology, 176(3), (2026) 199. doi: 10.1007/s11060-026-05455-0
- Chen FY, Chen CC, Chiao CC, et. al. "Extracts from Cordyceps cicadae and Hericium erinaceus promote the neurite outgrowth of retinal ganglion cells." PloS one, 21(2), (2026) e0342244. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0342244
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
