Chen Chen

Chen Chen, PhD

Languages spoken: Chinese, English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Population Health Sciences

Education History

Undergraduate Fudan University
 BS
Graduate Training Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
 MSPH
Doctoral Training Yale University
 PhD
Postdoctoral Training Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego
 Postdoctoral Scholar

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Do V, Chen C, Benmarhnia T, Casey JA (2024). Spatial Heterogeneity of the Respiratory Health Impacts of Wildfire Smoke PM(2.5) in California. Geohealth, 8(4), e2023GH000997.
  2. Chen C, Teyton A, Benmarhnia T (2024). The temporal trend and disparity in short-term health impacts of fine particulate matter in California (2006-2019). Sci Total Environ, 954, 176543.
  3. Chen C, Schwarz L, Rosenthal N, Marlier ME, Benmarhnia T (2024). Exploring spatial heterogeneity in synergistic effects of compound climate hazards: Extreme heat and wildfire smoke on cardiorespiratory hospitalizations in California. Sci Adv, 10(5), eadj7264.
  4. Chen C, Chen H, Kaufman JS, Benmarhnia T (2024). Differential Participation, a Potential Cause of Spurious Associations in Observational Cohorts in Environmental Epidemiology. Epidemiology, 35(2), 174-184.
  5. Elser H, Frankland TB, Chen C, Tartof SY, Mayeda ER, Lee GS, Northrop AJ, Torres JM, Benmarhnia T, Casey JA (2025). Wildfire Smoke Exposure and Incident Dementia. JAMA Neurol, 82(1), 40-48.
  6. Bai L, Kwong JC, Kaufman JS, Benmarhnia T, Chen C, van Donkelaar A, Martin RV, Kim J, Lu H, Burnett RT, Chen H (2024). Effect modification by statin use status on the association between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and cardiovascular mortality. Int J Epidemiol, 53(4).
  7. Chen C, Chen H, van Donkelaar A, Burnett RT, Martin RV, Chen L, Tjepkema M, Kirby-McGregor M, Li Y, Kaufman JS, Benmarhnia T (2023). Using Parametric g-Computation to Estimate the Effect of Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution on Mortality Risk and Simulate the Benefits of Hypothetical Policies: The Canadian Community Health Survey Cohort (2005 to 2015). Environ Health Perspect, 131(3), 37010.
  8. Chen C, Ilango SD, Henneman LRF, Casey JA, Benmarhnia T (2023). The local impacts of coal and oil power plant retirements on air pollution and cardiorespiratory health in California: An application of generalized synthetic control method. Environ Res, 226, 115626.
  9. Lasky E, Chen C, Weiser SD, Benmarhnia T (2023). Investigating the Links between Climate Injustice and Ableism: A Measurement of Green Space Access Inequalities within Disability Subgroups. Environ Health Perspect, 131(5), 57702.
  10. Kirby-McGregor M, Chen C, Chen H, Benmarhnia T, Kaufman JS (2023). Inequities in ambient fine particulate matter: A spatiotemporal analysis in Canadian communities. Sci Total Environ, 858(Pt 1), 159766.
  11. Alari A, Chen C, Schwarz L, Hdansen K, Chaix B, Benmarhnia T (2023). The Role of Ozone as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Heat Waves and Mortality in 15 French Urban Areas. Am J Epidemiol, 192(6), 949-962.
  12. Sheridan P, Chen C, Thompson CA, Benmarhnia T (2023). Immortal Time Bias With Time-Varying Exposures in Environmental Epidemiology: A Case Study in Lung Cancer Survival. Am J Epidemiol, 192(10), 1754-1762.
  13. Chen H, Quick M, Kaufman JS, Chen C, Kwong JC, van Donkelaar A, Meng J, Martin RV, Kim J, Lavigne E, Bai L, Li Y, Tjepkema M, Benmarhnia T, Burnett RT (2022). Impact of lowering fine particulate matter from major emission sources on mortality in Canada: A nationwide causal analysis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 119(49), e2209490119.
  14. Chen C, Wang J, Kwong J, Kim J, van Donkelaar A, Martin RV, Hystad P, Su Y, Lavigne E, Kirby-McGregor M, Kaufman JS, Benmarhnia T, Chen H (2022). Association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and COVID-19 severity: a prospective cohort study. CMAJ, 194(20), E693-E700.
  15. Bai L, Benmarhnia T, Chen C, Kwong JC, Burnett RT, van Donkelaar A, Martin RV, Kim J, Kaufman JS, Chen H (2022). Chronic Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter Increases Mortality Through Pathways of Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease: Insights From a Large Mediation Analysis. J Am Heart Assoc, 11(22), e026660.
  16. Letellier N, Gutierrez LA, Duchesne J, Chen C, Ilango S, Helmer C, Berr C, Mortamais M, Benmarhnia T (2022). Air quality improvement and incident dementia: Effects of observed and hypothetical reductions in air pollutant using parametric g-computation. Alzheimers Dement, 18(12), 2509-2517.
  17. Chen C, Chan A, Dominici F, Peng RD, Sabath B, Di Q, Schwartz J, Bell ML (2022). Do temporal trends of associations between short-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) and risk of hospitalizations differ by sub-populations and urbanicity-a study of 968 U.S. counties and the Medicare population. Environ Res, 206, 112271.
  18. Choi HM, Chen C, Son JY, Bell ML (2021). Temperature-mortality relationship in North Carolina, USA: Regional and urban-rural differences. Sci Total Environ, 787, 147672.
  19. Bose S, Romero K, Psoter KJ, Curriero FC, Chen C, Johnson CM, Kaji D, Breysse PN, Williams DL, Ramanathan M, Checkley W, Hansel NN (2018). Association of traffic air pollution and rhinitis quality of life in Peruvian children with asthma. PLoS One, 13(3), e0193910.
  20. Chen C, Zeger S, Breysse P, Katz J, Checkley W, Curriero FC, Tielsch JM (2016). Estimating Indoor PM2.5 and CO Concentrations in Households in Southern Nepal: The Nepal Cookstove Intervention Trials. PLoS One, 11(7), e0157984.
  21. Soneja S, Chen C, Tielsch JM, Katz J, Zeger SL, Checkley W, Curriero FC, Breysse PN (2014). Humidity and gravimetric equivalency adjustments for nephelometer-based particulate matter measurements of emissions from solid biomass fuel use in cookstoves. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 11(6), 6400-16.
  22. Ndovu A, Chen C, Schwarz L, Lasky E, Weiser SD, Benmarhnia T (2025). Spatial Variation in the Association between Extreme Heat Events and Warm Season Pediatric Acute Care Utilization: A Small-Area Assessment of Multiple Health Conditions and Environmental Justice Implications in California (2005-2019). Environ Health Perspect, 133(1), 17010.
  23. Chen C, Kaufman JS, Rana J, Benmarhnia T, Chen H (2025). Do we need flexible machine-learning algorithms to assess the effect of long-term exposure to fine particulate matter on mortality?: An example from a Canadian national cohort. Environ Epidemiol, 9(2), e375.
  24. Schwarz L, Chen C, Castillo Quiñones JE, Aguilar-Dodier LC, Hansen K, Sanchez JR, González DJX, McCord G, Benmarhnia (2025). Heat-related mortality in Mexico: A multi-scale spatial analysis of extreme heat effects and municipality-level vulnerability. Environment international, 195, 109231.
  25. Chen H, Kaufman JS, Chen C, Wang J, Maier A, van Dijk A, Slipp N, Rana J, MacIntyre E, Su Y, Kim J, Benmarhnia (2025). Impact of the 2023 wildfire smoke episodes in Ontario, Canada, on asthma and other health outcomes: an interrupted time-series analysis. CMAJ, 197(17), E465-E477.
  26. Schwarz L, Frankland TB, Tartof SY, Lee GS, Gu YM, Mayeda ER, González DJX, Benmarhnia T, Casey JA, Chen (2025). Long-term exposure to wildfire smoke and mortality: Heterogeneous effects by exposure metric and across subpopulations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122(51), e2509173122.
  27. Burrows K, Natarajan S, Chen (2025). Tropical Cyclones and Pediatric Hospitalizations in the US. JAMA network open, 8(11), e2544013.
  28. Syed A, Chen C, Benmarhnia T, Basu (2025). The Joint Effects of Extreme Heat and Wildfire Smoke on Paediatric Acute Care Utilisation. Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology,
  29. Shapiro HFJ, Gelfand AA, Shapiro DJ, Elser H, Chen C, Casey J (2025). Association between wildfire smoke exposure and pediatric emergency department visits for headache. Headache,
  30. Casey JA, Gu YM, Schwarz L, Frankland TB, Wilner LB, McBrien H, Flores NM, Dey AK, Lee GS, Chen C, Benmarhnia T, Tartof S (2025). The 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires and Outpatient Acute Healthcare Utilization.
  31. Chen H, Quick M, Kaufman JS, Chen C, Kwong JC, van Donkelaar A, Martin RV, Tjepkema M, Benmarhnia T, Burnett R (2025). Impact of a 10-year shift in ambient air quality on mortality in Canada: a causal analysis of multiple pollutants. The Lancet. Planetary health, 9(2), e92-e102.
  32. Heo S, Chen C, Kim H, Sabath B, Dominici F, Warren JL, Di Q, Schwartz J, Bell M (2021). Temporal changes in associations between high temperature and hospitalizations by greenspace: Analysis in the Medicare population in 40 U.S. northeast counties. Environment international, 156, 106737.
  33. Chen H, Kaufman JS, Olaniyan T, Pinault L, Tjepkema M, Chen L, van Donkelaar A, Martin RV, Hystad P, Chen C, Kirby-McGregor M, Bai L, Burnett RT, Benmarhnia (2021). Changes in exposure to ambient fine particulate matter after relocating and long term survival in Canada: quasi-experimental study. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 375, n2368.
  34. Chen C, Warrington JA, Dominici F, Peng RD, Esty DC, Bobb JF, Bell M (2021). Temporal variation in association between short-term exposure to fine particulate matter and hospitalisations in older adults in the USA: a long-term time-series analysis of the US Medicare dataset. The Lancet. Planetary health, 5(8), e534-e541.
  35. Heo S, Byun G, Choi Y, Song Y, Bravo M, Ma T, Stewart R, Amezcua-Smith A, Son JY, Goldsmith L, Burrows K, Choi HM, Chen C, Foo D, Kim S, Johnson NP, Deziel NC, Wang Y, Kim H, Bell M (2026). A scoping review on the impact of ambient temperature on human infertility. Environmental research, 292, 123641.

Review

  1. Johnson NP, Del Favero-Campbell A, Nori-Sarma A, Amezcua-Smith A, Lewis B, Chen C, Lin C, Foo D, Byun G, Choi HM, Kim H, Berman JD, Son JY, Warren JL, Chen K, Burrows K, Fong KC, Goldsmith L, Meadows MC, Smith M, Stewart R, Heo S, Lin S, Ning X, Choi Y, Bell ML, Deziel N (2025). Metrics of Urbanicity and Rurality in US-Based Epidemiologic Studies of Ambient Temperature and Health: A Scoping Review. Current environmental health reports, 12(1), 30.