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Dr. Hong Chen
Scientist
Environmental and Occupational Health
![Photo of Dr. Hong Chen](/-/media/Images/Expert-Images/2019/01/expert-hong-chen.png?h=500&iar=0&w=550&rev=974543ac18d944f6b1efe0e03d00bc52&sc_lang=en&hash=8629B548544D6204A9FAB6580DEBED43)
ON WHY PUBLIC HEALTH ONTARIO IS IMPORTANT
"An important benefit of working at PHO is the ability to apply our research, knowledge and expertise at a level that can directly influence policy and practice to improve the health of Ontarians."
Areas of Expertise
- environmental epidemiology
- environmental exposure assessment
- biostatistics
- environmental exposure assessment using geographic information systems (GIS)
Academic Degrees and Accreditations
- Doctor of Philosophy (Epidemiology), McGill University
- Master of Science (Management Information Systems), Texas A&M University
- Master of Science (Environmental Sciences), University of Akron
PHO Research Interests
- Understanding the human health effects of exposure to environmental risk factors, particularly ambient air pollution, traffic-related noise, and extreme temperature.
- Methodological development regarding the modelling of health impacts of air pollution, with a focus on developing spatiotemporal models to characterize the spatial and temporal variability of air pollutants.
- Informing policy- and decision-making on actions geared towards achieving environmental exposure reduction and disease prevention.
PHO Research Activities
- Assessing the associations between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and noise and the development of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
- Investigating the effects of air pollution on the development of major neurodegenerative diseases, especially dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.
- Quantifying the health burden of ambient temperatures on mortality and morbidity.
- Examining the effects of environmental exposures on the long-term survival and other outcomes of adults living with major chronic diseases.
- Evaluating the public health impacts of environmental health programs, such as smog advisories.
Selected Publications
- Chen H, Li Q, Kaufman JS, Wang J, Copes R, Su Y,et al. Effect of air quality alerts on human health: a regression discontinuity analysis. Lancet Planet Health, 2018; 2(1):e19-26.
- Burnett RT, Chen H, Szyszkowicz M, Fann N, Hubbell B, Pope CA 3rd, et al. Global estimates of mortality associated with long-term exposure to outdoor fine particulate matter. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018;115(38):9592-9597.
- Chen H, Kwong JC, Copes R, Tu K, Villeneuve PJ, van Donkelaar A, et al. Living near major roads and the incidence of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis: a population-based cohort study. Lancet. 2017;389(10070):718-26.
- Chen H, Kwong JC, Copes R, Villeneuve PJ, Goldberg MS, Weichenthal S, et al. Cohort profile: the Ontario Population Health and Environment Cohort (ONPHEC). Int J Epidemiol. 2016;46(2):405-j.
- Chen H, Burnett RT, Kwong JC, Villeneuve PJ, Goldberg MS, Brook RD, et al. Spatial association between ambient fine particulate matter and incident hypertension. Circulation. 2014;129(5):562-9.
Updated
22 Oct 2019
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