Chen Chen

Chen Chen, PhD

Languages spoken: Chinese, English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Population Health Sciences

Education History

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

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Jones-Ngo CG, Chen C, Aguilera R, Marlier ME, Benmarhnia T (2026). Shorter Recovery Periods Between Smoke Waves: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis in California (2006–2020). Geohealth, 10(03), e2025GH001389.
  2. Chen H, Quick M, Kaufman JS, Chen C, Kwong JC, Rana J, Kim J, van Donkelaar A, Martin RV, Tjepkema M, Benmarhnia T, Burnett RT (2026). Improving inference in air pollution epidemiology: the case for rethinking multi-pollutant adjustment. Epidemiology.
  3. 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 ML (2025). A scoping review on the impact of ambient temperature on human infertility. Environ Res, 292, 123641.
  4. Schwarz L, Frankland TB, Tartof SY, Lee GS, Gu YM, Mayeda ER, Gonzlez DJX, Benmarhnia T, Casey JA, Chen C (2025). Long-term exposure to wildfire smoke and mortality: Heterogeneous effects by exposure metric and across subpopulations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 122(51), e2509173122.
  5. Burrows K, Natarajan S, Chen C (2025). Tropical Cyclones and Pediatric Hospitalizations in the US. JAMA Netw Open, 8(11), e2544013.
  6. Syed A, Chen C, Benmarhnia T, Basu R (2025). The Joint Effects of Extreme Heat and Wildfire Smoke on Paediatric Acute Care Utilisation. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol.
  7. Shapiro HFJ, Gelfand AA, Shapiro DJ, Elser H, Chen C, Casey JA (2025). Association between wildfire smoke exposure and pediatric emergency department visits for headache. Headache.
  8. Chen H, Kaufman JS, Chen C, Wang J, Maier A, van Dijk A, Slipp N, Rana J, MacIntyre E, Su Y, Kim J, Benmarhnia T (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.
  9. Casey JA, Gu YM, Schwarz L, Frankland TB, Wilner LB, McBrien H, Flores NM, Dey AK, Lee GS, Chen C, Benmarhnia T, Tartof SY (2025). The 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires and Outpatient Acute Healthcare Utilization.
  10. 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.
  11. Chen H, Quick M, Kaufman JS, Chen C, Kwong JC, van Donkelaar A, Martin RV, Tjepkema M, Benmarhnia T, Burnett RT (2024). Impact of a 10-year shift in ambient air quality on mortality in Canada: a causal analysis of multiple pollutants. Lancet Planet Health, 9(2), e92-e102.
  12. 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.
  13. Schwarz L, Chen C, Castillo Quiones JE, Aguilar-Dodier LC, Hansen K, Sanchez JR, Gonzlez DJX, McCord G, Benmarhnia T (2024). Heat-related mortality in Mexico: A multi-scale spatial analysis of extreme heat effects and municipality-level vulnerability. Environ Int, 195, 109231.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. Bai L, Kwong JC, Kaufman JS, Benmarhnia T, Chen C, van Donkelaar A, Martin RV, Kim J, Lu H, Burnett RT, Chen H (2023). Effect modification by statin use status on the association between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and cardiovascular mortality. Int J Epidemiol, 53(4).
  17. 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.
  18. Chen C, Chen H, Kaufman JS, Benmarhnia T (2023). Differential Participation, a Potential Cause of Spurious Associations in Observational Cohorts in Environmental Epidemiology. Epidemiology, 35(2), 174-184.
  19. 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.
  20. Sheridan P, Chen C, Thompson CA, Benmarhnia T (2022). Immortal Time Bias With Time-Varying Exposures in Environmental Epidemiology: A Case Study in Lung Cancer Survival. Am J Epidemiol, 192(10), 1754-1762.
  21. Alari A, Chen C, Schwarz L, Hdansen K, Chaix B, Benmarhnia T (2021). 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.
  22. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. 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.
  25. Kirby-McGregor M, Chen C, Chen H, Benmarhnia T, Kaufman JS (2022). Inequities in ambient fine particulate matter: A spatiotemporal analysis in Canadian communities. Sci Total Environ, 858(Pt 1), 159766.
  26. 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.
  27. 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.
  28. 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.
  29. 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.
  30. Chen C, Chan A, Dominici F, Peng RD, Sabath B, Di Q, Schwartz J, Bell ML (2021). 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.
  31. Heo S, Chen C, Kim H, Sabath B, Dominici F, Warren JL, Di Q, Schwartz J, Bell ML (2021). Temporal changes in associations between high temperature and hospitalizations by greenspace: Analysis in the Medicare population in 40 U.S. northeast counties. Environ Int, 156, 106737.
  32. 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 T (2021). Changes in exposure to ambient fine particulate matter after relocating and long term survival in Canada: quasi-experimental study. BMJ, 375, n2368.
  33. 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.
  34. Chen C, Warrington JA, Dominici F, Peng RD, Esty DC, Bobb JF, Bell ML (2020). 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. Lancet Planet Health, 5(8), e534-e541.
  35. 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.
  36. 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.
  37. 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.

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 NC (2025). Metrics of Urbanicity and Rurality in US-Based Epidemiologic Studies of Ambient Temperature and Health: A Scoping Review. [Review]. Curr Environ Health Rep, 12(1), 30.