Hong Chen

Email Address(es)  hong.chen@oahpp.ca

Office Phone         (647) 260-7109

Office Address      480 University Avenue, Suite 300 Toronto, Ontario M5G 1V2

Website(s)             Public Health Ontario

Division(s)/Office   Occupational & Environmental Health Division

Position                  Assistant Professor

Appointments

·       Assistant professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

·       Adjunct scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences

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

Areas of expertise

·       Environmental epidemiology

·       Environmental exposure assessment

·       Biostatistics

·       Environmental exposure assessment using geographic information systems (GIS)

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.

Current 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.

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY & APPOINTMENTS

Assistant Professor, Occupational and Environmental Health Division, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto (2012-Present)

Scientist, Environmental Health Assessment, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario (2013-Present)

Adjunct Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (2013-Present)

Environmental Epidemiologist, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario (2010-2012)

HONOURS & AWARDS

New Principal Investigator Best Poster Award, Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) (2014)

Graduate Research Enhancement and Travel Award, McGill University (2010)

Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) Doctoral Research Award (2008)

Principal’s Graduate Fellowship, McGill University (2008)

Fonds de recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ) Doctoral Training Award (2008)

Research Institute of McGill University Health Centre Studentship, McGill University (2007)

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

Currently, I am principal investigator of ONtario Population Health and Environment Cohort (ONPHEC), a large, population-based cohort in the province of Ontario, Canada focusing on understanding the independent and combined effects of various environmental exposures (e.g., air pollution, traffic-related noise, green space) on the development and progression of chronic diseases. Another objective of ONPHEC is to evaluate public health impacts of environmental-related policies and programs. Funded by Health Canada and CIHR, the overarching goal of ONPHEC is to gain new insights into the environmental burden of chronic diseases and to provide policy-relevant research findings. Currently, five major projects are underway in the context of ONPHEC as follows:

To determine the associations between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and noise and the development of cardiovascular disease and diabetes;

To investigate the effects of air pollution on the development of major neurodegenerative diseases, especially dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis;

To quantify the health burden of ambient temperatures on mortality and morbidity;

To examine the effects of environmental exposures (e.g., air pollution, greenspace, etc) on the long-term survival and other outcomes of adults living with major chronic diseases; and

To evaluate public health impacts of environmental health programs, such as smog advisories and extreme cold warnings, using novel causal inference methodologies.

* Potential opportunities are available for postdoctoral research fellows, doctoral students, and summer practicum students. Inquires to these opportunities are welcome.