Ruijia Chen

Dr. Ruijia Chen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences and a faculty affiliate at the California Center for Population Research. She is a social epidemiologist by training, and her research uses advanced quantitative methods to understand how social determinants across the life course influence healthy aging. Her work aims to identify the social drivers of health disparities among older adults and to generate evidence that informs policies and interventions to promote healthy aging.

Dr. Chen's research focuses on three interconnected areas: 1) quantifying how social and behavioral determinants across the life course contribute to dementia risk and inequities; 2) understanding how social isolation, loneliness, and other dimensions of social relationships influence cognitive aging, dementia, and other age-related health outcomes; 3) evaluating the impact of social policies and programs on reducing dementia risk and disparities, and on improving the well-being of people living with dementia and their caregivers. Her work draws on data from large, longitudinal population cohorts in the United States and internationally, along with medicare claims and electronic health records, to identify modifiable drivers of healthy aging and health inequities. More broadly, she is interested in developing and applying innovative quantitative methods to answer questions in social epidemiology and to inform community-based interventions and health policy.

Dr. Chen received her ScD in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she specialized in social epidemiology, and her MS in Social Policy from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her postdoctoral training in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UCSF and the Department of Epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health.

Dr. Chen is supported by an NIA K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, the Alzheimer’s Association, and was previously awarded an NIA F99/K00 Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Transition Award. Her research has appeared in leading journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, JAMA Neurology, JAMA Internal Medicine, Health Affairs, American Journal of Epidemiology, Epidemiology, and Social Science & Medicine.

Select Publications

Chen, R., Charpignon, M-L., Raquib, R.V., Wang, J., Meza, E., Aschmann, H.E., Devost, S., Mooney, A., Bibbins-Domingo, K., Riley, A., Kiang, M.V., Stokes, A.C.,& Glymour, M.M.(2023).Excess Mortality Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia between March 2020 and February 2022 in the United States. JAMA Neurology. 2023

Chen, R., Calmasini, C., Swinnerton, K., Wang, J., Hirst, A.K., Haneuse, S., Ackley, S., George, K.M., Peterson, R., Soh, Y., Hayes-Larson, E., Barnes, L.L., Mayeda, E.R., Gilsanz, P., Mungas, D., Whitmer, R., Corrada, M., Glymour, M.M. (2022). Pragmatic Approaches to Handling Practice Effects in Longitudinal Cognitive Aging Research. Alzheimer’s & Dementia.19(9):4028-4036.

Chen, R., Lee, H., Wang, J., Yang, Y., Shiba, S., Nishimi, K., Kobayashi, L., Glymour, M., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2025). Independent and Joint Associations of Key Components of Social Exposome with Cognitive Aging: Triangulating Evidence through Cross-National Data. American Journal of Epidemiology. 195(2), pp.398-406.

Chen, R., Weuve, J., Misra, S., Cuevas, A., Kubzansky, L.D., Williams, D.R. (2022). Racial Disparities in Cognitive Function Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: The Roles of Cumulative Stress Exposures Across the Life Course. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 77(2), 357-364. 

Chen, R., Williams, D.R., Nishimi, K., Slopen, N., Kubzansky, L.D., Weuve, J. (2022). A Lifecourse Approach to Understanding Stress Exposures and Cognitive Function among Middle-Aged and Older Adults. Social Science and Medicine. 314:115448.

Chen, R., Posis, A.I.B, Pederson, A.M., Wang, J., Hirst, A.L., ...& Glymour M.M. (2026). Social network characteristics and cognitive function, decline, and mortality: A joint modeling approach. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 22(7). 

Chen, R., Aschmann, H.E., Chen, Y-H., Glymour, M.M., Bibbins-Domingo, K., Stokes, A.C., Kiang, M.V. (2022). Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Estimated Excess Mortality from External Causes in the United States, March to December 2020. JAMA Internal Medicine, 182(7),776-778.

Chen, R., Kessler, R., Sadikova, E., NeMoyer, A., Sampson, N., Alvarez, K., Vilsaint, C.L., Green, J., McLaughlin, K., Jackson, J.S., Alegria, M., Williams, D.R. (2019). Racial and Ethnic Differences in Individual-Level and Area-Based Socioeconomic Status and 12-Month Mental Disorders. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 119, 48-59. 

Zimmerman, S. C.*, Chen, R.*, Thoma, M., Pacca, L., Hebert, J., Riley, A., Kim, M. H., Pederson, A., Yang, Y., Buto, P., Brenowitz, W. D., Glymour, M. M., Kotwal, A.#, & Torres, J. M.# (2025). The Association of Alzheimer’s Disease Genetic Risk with Social Connectedness in Middle- and Older-Ages. American Journal of Epidemiology, 195(4), pp.894-900.