Yingxi (Cimo) Chen, M.D., Ph.D.

Biography

Dr. Yingxi (Cimo) Chen earned her medical degree in 2011 from Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, and an M.P.H. and a Ph.D. in epidemiology from Australian National University, Canberra, in 2013 and 2017, respectively. She joined the Radiation Epidemiology Branch as a Cancer Research Training Award postdoctoral fellow in 2017. In 2020, she transitioned to a staff scientist in the Metabolic Epidemiology Branch. She has received several awards, including the NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence, NCI Director's Award, NIH Summer Research Mentor Awards, NCI Director's Innovation Career Development Award, and the Hubert H. Humphrey Award for Service to America. 

Research Interests

Dr. Chen is a clinical epidemiologist who uses innovative descriptive and analytical methods to investigate the etiology and risk factors of cancer, with a primary focus on esophageal cancer and lung cancer. Leveraging macro-level data and geographic information, Dr. Chen’s descriptive work aims to identify high-risk populations and explore macro-level factors contributing to cancer risk and population-level disparities. Guided by descriptive evidence, Dr. Chen uses well-powered longitudinal studies to investigate cancer susceptibility and disease risk factors, considering the interplay between genetic background, biological vulnerabilities, environment, lifestyle and behavior factors, and geolocation. Her research goal is to identify at-risk populations and individuals, providing evidence to inform tailored prevention and intervention strategies. 
Dr. Chen collaborates with several large consortia, including the African Esophageal Cancer Consortium (AfrECC) and the International Lung Cancer Consortium (ILCCO).