Yen-Tyng Chen, Ph.D., M.S.


Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University; M.S., Epidemiology, National Taiwan University; B.S., Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Contact
  • Room 535, Civic Square Building
  • (848) 932-2809
  • yentyng.chen [at] rutgers.edu
  • LinkedIn
Research Interests
  • HIV status-neutral care
  • Substance use
  • Mental health
  • Social determinants of health
  • Place-based epidemiology
  • Network epidemiology


Yen-Tyng Chen, Ph.D. joined the Bloustein School in September 2022. Dr. Chen is a social determinant of health researcher and social epidemiologist. She is committed to examining how structural-level (e.g., policy, built environment, structural racism) characteristics shape health care delivery and health behaviors among under-resourced populations.

Dr. Chen uses epidemiological methods and behavioral theories to analyze and synthesize quantitative data and translate the findings into public health recommendations for downstream action or change. She has published peer-reviewed journal articles in leading public health journals such as Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, AIDS and Behavior, Journal of Urban Health, Social Science & Medicine, and the American Journal of Public Health.

Dr. Chen has received multiple awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for her research. Dr. Chen and colleagues focus on developing HIV prevention and care intervention models using a social-spatial approach among young Black men who have sex with men in Chicago, USA. Dr. Chen’s current intersections of research area and methodological expertise include: health care engagement; built and social environments; structural racism; stigma and discrimination; social network analysis.

Complete Curriculum Vitae (C.V.)

View all course offerings and related syllabi
Undergraduate
  • Urban Health

View publications on Google Scholar
Selected Publications
  • Duncan, Dustin T., Su Hyun Park, Yen-Tyng Chen, Brett Dolotina, Wilder R. Worrall, Hillary Hanson, Mainza Durrell, Gustavo Arruda Franco, Stephen S. Morse, and John A. Schneider. 2023. “HIV Care Engagement Is Not Associated with COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy during the Initial Peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Black Cisgender Sexual Minority Men and Transgender Women in the N2 COVID Study” Vaccines 11, no. 4: 787. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11040787
  • Chen YT, Duncan DT, Vecchio ND, Timmins L, Pagkas-Bather J, Knox J, Lacap S, Hanson H, Schneider JA. COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs are not barriers to HIV status neutral care among Black cisgender sexual minority men and Black transgender women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chicago, USA. AIDS Behav. 2022 June 22: 1-11. DOI: 1007/s10461-022-03720-7. PMID: 35731308; PMCID: PMC9214465
  • Chen YT, Duncan DT, Del Vecchio N, Timmins L, Pagkas-Bather J, Lacap S, Hotton A, Knox J, Hanson H, Koli K, Durrell M, Dehlin J, Schneider JA. COVID-19 related stressors, sex behaviors, and HIV status neutral care among Black men who have sex with men and transgender women in Chicago, USA. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2021 Jul 22. doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000002770. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34310447.
  • Chen YT, Duncan DT, Issema R, Goedel WC, Callander D, Bernard-Herman B, Hanson H, Eavou R, Schneider J, Hotton A. Social-Environmental Resilience, PrEP Uptake, and Viral Suppression among Young Black Men Who Have Sex with Men and Young Black Transgender Women: the Neighborhoods and Networks (N2) Study in Chicago. J Urban Health. 2020 Oct;97(5):728-738. doi: 10.1007/s11524-020-00425-x. PMID: 32468507; PMCID: PMC7560645.
  • Chen YT, Issema RS, Hotton A, Khanna AS, Ardestani BM, Schneider JA, Rudolph A. Sex Partner Behavior Variation Related to Network Position of and Residential Proximity to Sex Partners Among Young Black Men Who Have Sex with Men. AIDS Behav. 2020 Aug;24(8):2327-2335. doi: 10.1007/s10461-020-02792-7. PMID: 31970580; PMCID: PMC7375005.
  • Chen YT, Kolak M, Duncan DT, Schumm P, Michaels S, Fujimoto K, Schneider JA. Neighbourhoods, networks and pre-exposure prophylaxis awareness: a multilevel analysis of a sample of young black men who have sex with men. Sex Transm Infect. 2019 May;95(3):228-235. doi: 10.1136/sextrans-2018-053639. Epub 2018 Dec 5. PMID: 30518619.
  • Chen YT, Cooper HLF, Windle M, Haardörfer R, Crawford ND, Chen WJ, Chen CY. Residential environments, alcohol advertising, and initiation and continuation of alcohol consumption among adolescents in urban Taiwan: A prospective multilevel study. SSM Popul Health. 2016 Apr 25;2:249-258. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2016.03.003. PMID: 29349145; PMCID: PMC5757890.
  • Pagkas-Bather, J., Duncan DT., Chen, YT., Del Vecchio, N., Mayer, K., Safren, S., Wheeler, D., Knox, D., Hanson, H., Eavou, R., Schneider, J. Sleep Quality Associated with PrEP Adherence among Young Black Sexual Minority Men AIDS Behav. 2022 June 4. doi.org/10.1007/s10461-022-03711-8. PMID: 35661017
  • Timmins, L., Schneider, J.A., Chen, YT., Pagkas-Bather, J., Kim, B., Moody, R.L., Al-Ajlounia, Y.A., Lee, F., Koli, K., Durrell, M., Eavou, R. Hanson, H., Park, S.H., & Duncan, D.T. COVID-19 Stressors and Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety Among Black Cisgender Sexual Minority Men and Black Transgender Women During the Initial Peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2022 Apr 22; 1-13. doi: 0.1007/s00127-022-02282-2. PMID: 35460059. PMCID: PMC9030680
  • Moody, R., Chen, YT, Schneider, J., Knox, J., Timmins, L., Hanson, H., Koli, K., Durrell, M., Dehlin, Eavou, B., Martins, S., Duncan, D. Polysubstance Use in a Community Sample of Black Cisgender Sexual Minority Men and Transgender Women in Chicago during Initial COVID-19 Pandemic Peak. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2022 Jan 28; 17(1):4. doi: 10.1186/s13011-022-00433-x. PMID: 35090507. PMCID: PM8796750
  • Kolak, M., Chen, YT., Lin, Q., Schneider, J. Social-spatial network structures and community ties of egocentric sex and confidant networks: A Chicago Case Study. Soc Sci Med. 2021 Dec; 291:114462. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114462. PMID: 34763134. PMCID: PMC8856836
  • Kim B, Chaix B, Chen YT, Callander D, Regan SD, Duncan DT. Geographic Density and Uptake of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Among Young Gay, Bisexual and Other Sexual Minority Men: A Global Positioning System (GPS) Study. AIDS Behav. 2021 Nov; 23 (Suppl 2): 155-164. doi: 10.1007/s10461-021-03249-1. PMID: 33818642. PMCID: PMC8541942

Areas of Expertise: Epidemiology, Health Disparities, Mental Health, Public Health, Social Policy/Inequalities and Disparities, Urban and Social Theory