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 examines how social determinants across the life course contribute to healthy aging and health inequities. 

Dr. Chen's research focuses on four interconnected areas: (1) understanding how social and behavioral determinants across the life course contribute to cognitive aging and dementia risk; (2) examining how social isolation, loneliness, social networks, and other dimensions of social connection influence health and well-being in later life; (3) identifying the behavioral and biological pathways through which social determinants influence aging; and (4) evaluating the impact of social policies and programs on improving health and reducing disparities among older adults, as well as improving the well-being of their caregivers. Across these areas, she applies innovative quantitative methods to address methodological challenges in social epidemiology, including causal inference methods, cross-cohort harmonization, and approaches to measurement and analytic uncertainty.

Her research draws on large longitudinal population-based cohorts in the United States and internationally, as well as Medicare claims and electronic health records. A main goal of her research is to translate population-level evidence into actionable targets for interventions and policies that promote healthy aging and reduce health inequities.

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 and 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 (PNAS), 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.