Kai Chen, PhD
Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Environmental Health Sciences)DownloadHi-Res Photo
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Additional Titles
Faculty Director, Yale Center on Climate Change and Health
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Contact Info
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
- All Institutions
- Center for Brain & Mind Health
- 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
Epidemiology Methods; Environmental Health; Global Health; Infectious Diseases; Climate Change; COVID-19; Pollution
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.
Lingzhi Chu
Robert Dubrow, MD, PhD
Yiqun Ma
Harlan Krumholz, MD, SM
Yuan Lu, ScD
Emma Xiaolu Zang, PhD
117Publications
2,757Citations
Publications
2026
Response by Chu et al to Letter Regarding Article, “Joint Exposure to Ozone and Temperature and Acute Myocardial Infarction Among Adults Aged 18 to 64 Years in the United States”
Chu L, Ma X, Chen K. Response by Chu et al to Letter Regarding Article, “Joint Exposure to Ozone and Temperature and Acute Myocardial Infarction Among Adults Aged 18 to 64 Years in the United States”. Circulation 2026, 153: e914-e915. PMID: 41802023, DOI: 10.1161/circulationaha.125.078382.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchA cumulative perspective reveals urbanization exacerbates compound extreme heat-air pollution events in China
Li J, Zhou W, Wang J, Chen K, Georgescu M. A cumulative perspective reveals urbanization exacerbates compound extreme heat-air pollution events in China. Sustainable Cities And Society 2026, 139: 107234. DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2026.107234.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsChina's total land areaPollution eventsCompound eventsCumulative impactUrban areasAir pollution eventsEnvironmental health risk factorExtreme eventsMultiple climate driversSocio-ecological riskTotal land areaTemporal co-occurrenceSpatiotemporal patternsEnvironmental risksSimultaneous extreme eventsClimate driversNational scaleLand areaNorth ChinaCumulative perspectiveEnvironmental stressCo-occurrenceExtreme heatPrefecture levelChinaImpact of Long-Term Cumulative Exposure to Wildfire Smoke PM2.5 on Cardiovascular Hospital Admissions Among Older Adults in the United States A Population-Based Cohort Study
Zhang S, Wang Y, Wei J, Benmarhnia T, Liu Y, Krumholz H, Lu Y, Chen K. Impact of Long-Term Cumulative Exposure to Wildfire Smoke PM2.5 on Cardiovascular Hospital Admissions Among Older Adults in the United States A Population-Based Cohort Study. Journal Of The American College Of Cardiology 2026 PMID: 41706074, DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2025.12.079.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsExposure levelsFine particulate matterOccurrence of wildfiresCardiovascular hospital admissionsModerate exposure levelsSmoke PM2.5Quasi-Poisson regressionParticulate matterSmoke PMHealth risksWildfireMedicare beneficiariesContiguous United StatesOlder adultsCardiovascular diseaseCerebrovascular hospitalizationRelative riskHospitalization riskCohort studyPopulation-based cohort studySpatiotemporal modelResidential zipCVD hospitalizationsOverall CVDLow socioeconomic statusSpatial and racial/ethnic disparities in cardiovascular mortality attributable to PM2.5 components in the contiguous United States
Hu Y, Chu L, Renzetti S, Zang E, Opara I, Lu Y, Spatz E, Krumholz H, Chen K. Spatial and racial/ethnic disparities in cardiovascular mortality attributable to PM2.5 components in the contiguous United States. Science Advances 2026, 12: eadx2075. PMID: 41604483, PMCID: PMC12851041, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adx2075.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsLong-term exposure to fine particulate matterExposure to fine particulate matterContiguous United StatesFine particulate matterPM2.5 componentsParticulate matterBlack carbonCVD deathRacial/ethnic disparitiesNon-Hispanic blacksNon-Hispanic whitesCardiovascular diseaseRacial/ethnic groupsGeographic regionsTargeted interventionsUnited StatesEast North CentralRisk factorsDisparitiesRegression modelsNorth CentralMatterAtlanticCaliforniaCarbonWildfire smoke and stroke: emerging evidence on long-term cardiovascular risk
Zhang S, Chen K. Wildfire smoke and stroke: emerging evidence on long-term cardiovascular risk. European Heart Journal 2026, ehaf1003. PMID: 41587744, DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf1003.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricThe environmental exposome in heart failure risk and progression
Hahad O, Wass S, Rajagopalan S, Abohashem S, Hao H, Navas-Acien A, Bellumkonda L, Chen K, Brook R, Nasir K, Lurz P, Lanfear D, Bhimaraj A, Al-Kindi S. The environmental exposome in heart failure risk and progression. Nature Reviews Cardiology 2026, 1-16. PMID: 41582253, DOI: 10.1038/s41569-026-01247-1.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsSocial determinantsCardiovascular healthSocial determinants of healthDeterminants of healthReduced riskPublic health interventionsReduced risk of HFHF outcomesRisk of HFWalkable neighborhoodsHealth interventionsMedication adherenceSocioeconomic statusPrevention strategiesVulnerable populationsHeart failure riskHealthEnvironmental exposuresRisk predictionHeart failureVascular healthExposomeGenetic predispositionEarly lifeOutcomesEvaluating administrative compliance as a predictor of nursing home postdisaster outcomes in the USA
Festa N, Throgmorton K, Phadke M, O’Leary J, Davis-Plourde K, Zang E, Chen K, Kelly J, Dosa D, Hajduk A, Cohen A, Gill T. Evaluating administrative compliance as a predictor of nursing home postdisaster outcomes in the USA. BMJ Public Health 2026, 4: e003148. PMID: 41561558, PMCID: PMC12815042, DOI: 10.1136/bmjph-2025-003148.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsCenters for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesIncidence rate ratiosNursing homesPostdisaster outcomesFunctional declineCMS-certified nursing homesUS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesEmergency preparednessRetrospective cohort studyMedicaid ServicesLowest Bayesian information criterionRate ratiosMeasures of complianceCohort studyGeneralised linear modelsCoded surveysNursesProtective factorsPostdisaster periodHospitalisationHomeUnique deficienciesOutcomesNon-complianceElastic net regularisationHigh ambient temperature during pregnancy and offspring cerebral palsy: A population-based case-control study in California
Zhuo H, Warren J, Bellia G, Wang P, Chen K, Liew Z, Rogne T. High ambient temperature during pregnancy and offspring cerebral palsy: A population-based case-control study in California. Environmental Research 2026, 293: 123757. PMID: 41534582, PMCID: PMC12883187, DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2026.123757.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCerebral palsyCase-control studySibling AnalysisPopulation-based case-control studyCP casesMaternal residential addressCP riskNested Case-Control StudyRisk of CPGestational weeks 0Associated with CP riskResidential addressesUncontrolled confoundingStatewide systemNeuromotor disordersStrong associationsStudy populationChildhood CPEarly-pregnancyChildhood neurodevelopmental disordersPalsyPrenatal exposureDevelopmental disabilitiesRiskBirthAn updated modeling framework and sensitivity analysis of methodology for the climate health vulnerability index
Wang P, O’Brien F, Son J, Heo S, Bell M, Dubrow R, Chen K. An updated modeling framework and sensitivity analysis of methodology for the climate health vulnerability index. Nature Communications 2026, 17: 1417. PMID: 41507182, PMCID: PMC12881381, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-68162-w.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPopulation vulnerabilityVulnerability indexClimate changeSevere health impactsHealth Vulnerability IndexModeling frameworkDeductive designHealth impactsIndex developmentIndicator normalizationClimateNew York StateClimate justiceSensitivity analysisMethodological choicesVulnerable communitiesPolicy planningDisadvantaged populationsModel inputs
2025
Extreme Weather Events and Their Health Impacts: International Variation.
Chu L, Wang P, Qiu M, Abadi A, Chen K. Extreme Weather Events and Their Health Impacts: International Variation. Annual Review Of Public Health 2025 PMID: 41442643, DOI: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090924-033314.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
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News
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News
- March 20, 2026Source: ABC News
Extreme heat linked to broad number of health issues
- February 24, 2026
Translating science
- February 14, 2026Source: Good Morning America
YSPH professor says EPA rollback of greenhouse gas emissions threatens lives
- February 09, 2026
Cardiovascular deaths from air pollution declining in the U.S., but racial disparities persist
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Mailing Address
Environmental Health Sciences
60 College Street, PO Box 208034
New Haven, CT 06520-8034
United States
Locations
60 College Street
Academic Office
Fl 8th, Rm 824
New Haven, CT 06510
Events
May 202611Monday
Everyone Lavanya Bellumkonda, MD - Andrew Y. Chang, MD, PhD - Kai Chen, PhD - Yuan Lu, ScD - Jodi Sherman, MD - Erica Spatz, MD, MHSZoom link will be shared after registration.