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
- Pathania S, Chen CC, Ng P, et. al. "Unnatural Amino Acid Substitutions to Improve In Vivo GRPR-Targeting Capability of [68Ga]Ga-SP01011 for Cancer Imaging." Molecular pharmaceutics, 23(9), (2026) 4770-4781. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.6c00854
- Chang CD, Lee SY, Chen CC, et. al. "CT-Guided Inferior Rectal Nerve Block for Postoperative Pain Management After Hemorrhoidectomy." Canadian Association of Radiologists journal = Journal l'Association canadienne des radiologistes, (), (2026) 8465371261484425. doi: 10.1177/08465371261484425
- Chen J, Kang HY, Jiang YH, et. al. "[Mechanism study on baicalein inhibiting cervical cancer driven by persistent HPV infection via restoring MAVS-IRF3-IFN-β mitochondrial antiviral signal]." Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica, 51(15), (2026) 4493-4501. doi: 10.19540/j.cnki.cjcmm.20260330.704
- Chang WY, Chang LC, Chou CK, et. al. "Impact of Baseline Synchronous Adenoma Burden on the Risk of Metachronous Advanced Neoplasia." The American journal of gastroenterology, (), (2026) . doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000004197
- Chen CY, Shieh TM, Chen CC, et. al. "2-O-Methylmagnolol suppresses oral squamous cell carcinoma progression by targeting c-MYC signaling." Journal of dental sciences, 21(3), (2026) 1560-1572. doi: 10.1016/j.jds.2025.07.3483
- Yang XF, Chung JJ, Chen CC, et. al. "Antibacterial tannic acid/polydopamine hybrid coatings for titanium implants." Journal of dental sciences, 21(2), (2026) 1204-1214. doi: 10.1016/j.jds.2026.01.025
- Chen CC, Kelly SP. "The anti-coagulating agent heparin and native serum alter the barrier and tight junction properties of a primary cultured model fish gill epithelium." Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology, (), (2026) . doi: 10.1007/s00360-026-01705-9
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
