Yen-Tyng Chen

Dr. Yen-Tyng Chen is an Assistant Professor at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University. She holds a Ph.D. in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from Emory University, and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Epidemiology and Public Health from National Taiwan University. Her research focuses on social determinants of health, with an emphasis on structural racism, HIV prevention, and public health interventions targeting under-resourced populations.

Dr. Chen employs epidemiological methods and social network analysis to study how structural-level factors (e.g., policy, built environment, stigma) influence healthcare engagement and health behaviors. Her work often involves the N2 Cohort Study in Chicago, examining HIV prevention strategies among Black cisgender sexual minority men and transgender women. She has received multiple NIH awards for her research.

Her research interests include health care engagement, built/social environments, structural racism, stigma, social network analysis, and place-based epidemiology. She has published in leading journals such as American Journal of Public Health and Social Science & Medicine.

• Awards: NIH Research Awards
• Key Projects: HIV status-neutral care interventions, social-spatial network analyses, and pandemic-related health disparities

Her work bridges epidemiology and social policy, aiming to translate findings into actionable public health recommendations. She collaborates on projects addressing systemic barriers to healthcare and substance use among marginalized communities.