Kai Chen, PhD
Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Environmental Health Sciences)DownloadHi-Res Photo
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Faculty Director, Yale Center on Climate Change and Health
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
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Environmental Health Sciences
60 College Street, PO Box 208034
New Haven, CT 06520-8034
United States
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Titles
Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Environmental Health Sciences)
Faculty Director, Yale Center on Climate Change and Health; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Biography
Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering in 2016 from Nanjing University in China. During 2014-2015, he served as a Visiting Scholar at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Prior to joining the Yale School of Public Health faculty in July 2019, he was an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoc Fellow at Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Center for Environmental Health.
Dr. Chen’s research focuses on the intersection of climate change, air pollution, and human health. His work involves applying multidisciplinary approaches in climate and air pollution sciences, exposure assessment, and environmental epidemiology to investigate how climate change may impact human health. Much of this work has been done in China, Europe, and the U.S.
Last Updated on April 07, 2025.
Appointments
Environmental Health Sciences
Associate Professor on TermPrimarySchool of Nursing
Assistant ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Climate Change and Health
- Climate, Health, and Environment Nexus (CHEN) Lab
- Environmental Health Sciences
- Public Health Data Science and Data Equity
- Public Health Modeling
- School of Nursing
- Wu Tsai Institute
- Yale School of Public Health
Education & Training
- Humboldt Postdoc Fellow
- Helmholtz Zentrum München (2019)
- PhD
- Nanjing University, Environmental Science and Engineering (2016)
- BSc
- Nanjing University, Environmental Sciences (2011)
Research
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Overview
Public Health Interests
Pollution; COVID-19; Climate Change; Global Health; Infectious Diseases; Environmental Health; Epidemiology Methods
ORCID
0000-0002-0164-1112- View Lab Website
CHEN Lab
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Kai Chen's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Kai Chen's research output by year.
Robert Dubrow, MD, PhD
Lingzhi Chu
Yiqun Ma
Harlan Krumholz, MD, SM
Yuan Lu, ScD
Joseph Ross, MD, MHS
82Publications
2,415Citations
Publications
2025
Cross-Sectional Association of Ground-Level Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide With Cardiac Mechanics Using Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography in the Cardiovascular Health Study.
Chang AY, Kaufman JD, Shah SJ, Tan AX, Patel RB, Margolis HG, Psaty BM, Gardin JM, Al-Kindi S, Austin TR, Bell ML, Chen K, Odden MC. Cross-Sectional Association of Ground-Level Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide With Cardiac Mechanics Using Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography in the Cardiovascular Health Study. Echocardiography 2025, 42: e70330. PMID: 41146536, DOI: 10.1111/echo.70330.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMortality risk and burden associated with non-optimum temperatures in Puerto Rico
Díaz-Collado F, Chu L, Carrión D, Méndez-Lázaro P, Chen K. Mortality risk and burden associated with non-optimum temperatures in Puerto Rico. Environmental Research Letters 2025, 20: 104032. PMID: 40932903, PMCID: PMC12419553, DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ae013e.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsNon-optimum temperaturesMortality riskConditional quasi-Poisson regressionRisk of all-cause mortalityDaily mortality countsHealth impactsRobust epidemiological evidenceQuasi-Poisson regressionTime-series studyAll-Cause MortalityTemperature-related deathsTime riskMortality fractionsMinimum mortality temperatureMortality burdenPuerto RicoRelative riskEpidemiological evidenceMortality countsMortality temperatureDeath rateSmall Island Developing StatesCaribbean Small Island Developing StatesVulnerable municipalitiesHeat-related death ratesDiscrepancies between Personal and Ambient Temperatures at Hourly Scale: Insights from Wearable Sensors and Environmental Modeling
Meng X, Lee M, Chu L, Nam S, Chen K. Discrepancies between Personal and Ambient Temperatures at Hourly Scale: Insights from Wearable Sensors and Environmental Modeling. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2025, 12: 1154-1161. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.5c00672.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPersonal exposureHourly scaleAssessment of personal exposureHour of dayLinear mixed-effects modelsCooler monthsDiurnal biasHealth impactsAmbient exposureHourly differencesEarly afternoonEnvironmental modelsMixed-effects modelsSolar radiationDiurnal patternEnvironmental factorsTemperature modelHigh-resolutionAccurate assessmentAmbient temperatureTemperature differenceExposurePerson's temperatureAmbient temperature modelRacial and ethnic disparities in exposure to short-term NO2 air pollution in California during 1980–2022
Liu R, Chu L, Rogne T, Ma X, Chen K. Racial and ethnic disparities in exposure to short-term NO2 air pollution in California during 1980–2022. Journal Of Hazardous Materials 2025, 496: 139309. PMID: 40695125, DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.139309.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsShort-term NO2 exposure anChemical transport model outputExposure to ambient nitrogen dioxideNO2 air pollutionAmbient nitrogen dioxideTransport model outputAir pollutionNitrogen dioxideSpatiotemporal variationsIsland groupsCoefficient of determinationStudy periodModel outputAlaskaConcentrationGeospatial dataExposureCaliforniaEnvironmental justice literaturePollutionDisparities in NO2-related health burden prevalent across race-ethnicity and income groups in the United States
Chu L, Ma Y, Zang E, Huang L, Chen K. Disparities in NO2-related health burden prevalent across race-ethnicity and income groups in the United States. One Earth 2025, 101387. DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2025.101387.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsHigh-income countiesRace-EthnicityNon-Hispanic black populationHealth burdenRacial-ethnic disparitiesRace-ethnic groupsIncome groupsLow-income countiesQuasi-Poisson regressionRacial-ethnic minoritiesMortality disparitiesUnited StatesHealthcare strategiesMortality burdenDescriptive statisticsRelative riskDisparitiesBlack populationNO2 exposureBurdenMortality rateCountyIncomeTargeted policiesMortalityFire Smoke Elevated the Carbonaceous PM2.5 Concentration and Mortality Burden in the Contiguous U.S. and Southern Canada
Jin Z, Ferrada G, Zhang D, Scovronick N, Fu J, Chen K, Liu Y. Fire Smoke Elevated the Carbonaceous PM2.5 Concentration and Mortality Burden in the Contiguous U.S. and Southern Canada. Environmental Science And Technology 2025, 59: 12196-12210. PMID: 40504638, PMCID: PMC12199464, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c01641.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsWildland fire smokeElemental carbonOrganic carbonContiguous U.S.Fire smokeSouthern CanadaImpact of fine particulate matterFine particulate matterBackground air qualityHealth impactsNon-accidental deathsPrescribed firePM2.5 concentrationsWildfire seasonFuture health burdenParticulate matterAir qualityWildlandMonetized damagesSouthwestern CanadaMonthly scaleFireModel resultsWildfireCanadaJoint Exposure to Ozone and Temperature and Acute Myocardial Infarction Among Adults Aged 18 to 64 Years in the United States
Chu L, Wang R, Gross C, Wei J, Lu Y, Krumholz H, Ma X, Chen K. Joint Exposure to Ozone and Temperature and Acute Myocardial Infarction Among Adults Aged 18 to 64 Years in the United States. Circulation 2025, 152: 246-256. PMID: 40458867, PMCID: PMC12303734, DOI: 10.1161/circulationaha.124.073614.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsIncident acute myocardial infarctionAcute myocardial infarctionIncreased oddsRisk of acute myocardial infarctionHigher risk of acute myocardial infarctionProbability of acute myocardial infarctionOccurrence of acute myocardial infarctionRandom-effects meta-analysisCase-crossover studyMultivariate random-effects meta-analysisExposure to ozoneRegion-specific estimatesMyocardial infarctionStatistical interaction termsAmbient ozone pollutionPrevention strategiesUnited StatesJoint exposureMeta-analysisAdult ageYoung adultsHigh riskAdultsOddsInteraction termsProlonged health risks following floods
Chu L, Chen K. Prolonged health risks following floods. Nature Water 2025, 3: 516-517. DOI: 10.1038/s44221-025-00442-7.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricEstimating the Effects of Hypothetical Ambient PM2.5 Interventions on the Risk of Dementia Using the Parametric g-Formula in the UK Biobank Cohort
Lin C, Liu R, Sutton C, DeWan A, Forastiere L, Chen K. Estimating the Effects of Hypothetical Ambient PM2.5 Interventions on the Risk of Dementia Using the Parametric g-Formula in the UK Biobank Cohort. Environmental Health Perspectives 2025, 133: 047007. PMID: 40062909, PMCID: PMC12010936, DOI: 10.1289/ehp14723.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsRisk of dementiaParametric g-formulaUK Biobank cohortG-formulaBiobank cohortLate lifeFree of dementiaUK Biobank participantsModifiable risk factorsParticulate matterAerodynamic diameter <Annual average standardBiobank participantsHypothetical interventionAmbient particulate matterNo interventionDementiaRisk differenceInterventionRisk factorsHealth benefitsPotential health benefitsCohortRiskParticipantsFloods and cause-specific mortality in the United States applying a triply robust approach
Chu L, Warren J, Spatz E, Lowe S, Lu Y, Ma X, Ross J, Krumholz H, Chen K. Floods and cause-specific mortality in the United States applying a triply robust approach. Nature Communications 2025, 16: 2853. PMID: 40122917, PMCID: PMC11930965, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58236-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCDC's National Center for Health StatisticsNational Center for Health StatisticsCause-specific mortality ratesCenter for Health StatisticsCause-specific mortalityHealth impacts of floodingExcess all-cause deathsLong-term health risksFlood daysLong-term associationDeath recordsHealth StatisticsConfounder adjustmentExternal causesStorm Events DatabaseAll-cause deathHealth impactsImpact of floodsPropensity scorePost‐flood yearMortality rateMyocardial infarctionPost-floodContiguous U.S.Respiratory disease
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News
- November 07, 2025
Warming U.S. climate linked to rising deaths from heat
- October 21, 2025
Lone star ticks, nitrogen dioxide pollution, and a dementia care study highlight this month's research roundup
- October 06, 2025
Building resilience in the face of extreme climate
- September 18, 2025Source: The New York Times
Wildfire smoke will kill thousands more by 2050, study finds
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Environmental Health Sciences
60 College Street, PO Box 208034
New Haven, CT 06520-8034
United States
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60 College Street
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Fl 8th, Rm 824
New Haven, CT 06510