Ruijia Chen, ScD
In the News
Link between loneliness, heart disease persists across different cultures
Penn State University | May 29, 2025
Data from South Korea and the United States suggests that the link between loneliness and cardiovascular disease exists outside different cultural and social norms.
NIA F99/K00 Fellow Spotlight: Ruijia Chen on Conducting Meaningful Research
National Institute on Aging (LinkedIn) | Apr 18, 2024
Ruijia Chen shares career advice on the importance of understanding research subjects directly, how early qualitative work with older immigrants shaped her research approach, and the value of interdisciplinary collaboration across epidemiology, biostatistics, psychology, demography, and economics.
After 2020 Increase, Excess Mortality among People with Dementia Drops in Year 2 of COVID
Boston University | Sep 8, 2023
Excess deaths associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias dropped substantially among adults 65 and older in nursing homes, but remained high for those living at home.
COVID-19 Vaccines Saved Dementia Patients’ Lives in Nursing Homes
UC San Francisco | Jul 17, 2023
Deaths among older adults with dementia fell starkly in nursing homes and long-term care centers after COVID-19 vaccinations became available, yet remained high for those living at home.
Social network characteristics and cognitive function, decline, and mortality: A joint modeling approach
Alzheimer’s & Dementia | July 2026
In a new study of adults aged 90 and older from the multi-ethnic LifeAfter90 cohort, stronger social networks were associated with better executive function and verbal episodic memory, with consistent findings across sex and gender. Social networks were not associated with short-term cognitive decline or mortality.