Katherine Laura Chen

Katherine Laura Chen is an Assistant Professor-in-residence in the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she contributes to medical education, clinical care, and health services research. Her academic home is within the Department of Medicine, and she maintains an active research profile focusing on social determinants of health, particularly the intersection of housing policy and health outcomes.

Dr. Chen received her BA in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from Yale University in 2010, followed by her MD from UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in 2015. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency & Chief Residency at UCLA Health in 2019, participated in the National Clinician Scholars Program at UCLA in 2021, and earned her PhD in Health Policy & Management from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health in 2023.

Her research program investigates how housing instability, affordability, and policy interventions impact health outcomes across diverse populations. With over 17 publications spanning from 2012 to 2025, her work demonstrates an evolving focus from cancer prevention behaviors to comprehensive analyses of housing as a social determinant of health. Her recent publications (2023-2025) reveal a concentrated effort examining housing instability's effects on chronic disease management, maternal and child health, cancer care access, and health disparities, often using California health data.

Dr. Chen's scholarly work has been featured in high-impact journals including JAMA Network Open, JAMA Pediatrics, and Journal of General Internal Medicine, with several articles gaining significant attention in policy circles and news outlets. Her research demonstrates methodological diversity, employing retrospective cohort studies, systematic reviews, and policy analyses to address critical questions at the intersection of housing and health.

As an active member of the UCLA academic community, Dr. Chen collaborates with researchers across multiple departments and institutions, including notable co-authors such as Katherine Kahn, Paul Shekelle, and Teryl Nuckols. Her work has implications for health policy development, particularly regarding housing interventions as health promotion strategies.