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

• Nguyen N, Hoang TM, Huang TY, et. al. "Macrophage-hitchhiked, effervescence-induced nanoemulsions for enhanced oral chemotherapy and immunotherapy: Impact on absorption route." Biomaterials, 316(), (2024) 123019. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2024.123019
• Amin N, Wu CH, Malak N, et. al. "In Vitro Bioassay and In silico Pharmacokinetic Characteristics of Xanthium strumarium Plant Extract as Possible Acaricidal Agent." Current pharmaceutical design, (), (2024) . doi: 10.2174/0113816128317849241108064144
• Chen NJ, Yeh CH, Cao HY, et. al. "High-resolution imaging of organic and inorganic nanoparticles at nanometre-scale resolution by X-ray ensemble diffraction microscopy." Journal of synchrotron radiation, (), (2025) . doi: 10.1107/S1600577524010567
• Bui VT, Wu KW, Chen CC, et. al. "Exploring the Synergistic Effects of Erinacines on Microglial Regulation and Alzheimer's Pathology Under Metabolic Stress." CNS neuroscience & therapeutics, 30(12), (2024) e70137. doi: 10.1111/cns.70137
• Chen CC, Hung TM, Huang YJ, et. al. "Tacrolimus regulates extracellular vesicle secretion from T cells via autophagy-lysosomal pathway." Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie, 182(), (2024) 117765. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.117765
• Lin L, Yang KH, Chen CC, et. al. "Risk factors and a prediction model of severe asparaginase-associated pancreatitis in children." Annals of hematology, (), (2024) . doi: 10.1007/s00277-024-06133-9
• Chan YJ, Chen CC, Tu YK, et. al. "The Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccination on Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Geriatric Patients." Journal of medical virology, 96(12), (2024) e70119. doi: 10.1002/jmv.70119

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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