University of Pennsylvania · Mathematics & StatisticsChen Lab
Aimin Chen · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Research Focus
Dr. Aimin Chen's lab at the University of Pennsylvania focuses on the impact of environmental toxicants, such as pesticides and heavy metals, on the cognitive health of both children and adults. The research aims to understand how exposure to these substances during critical developmental periods may lead to diseases like Alzheimer's and impact children's behavior and brain development. By analyzing extensive longitudinal studies and employing advanced statistical methods, the lab seeks to uncover the biological mechanisms behind these effects and address disparities in health outcomes related to race and social factors.
environmental toxicantsAlzheimer's Diseaseneurodevelopmentchemical mixturesepigeneticshealth disparitiescognitive declineneuroimagingsocial determinants of healthchildren's behavior
Research Aims
4AIM 01Investigate the relationship between environmental toxicant exposure and the risk of Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias.
AIM 02Analyze the impact of prenatal and postnatal exposure to chemical mixtures on child neurobehavior and neuroimaging outcomes.
AIM 03Identify epigenomic biomarkers associated with environmental toxicant exposures and cognitive decline.
AIM 04Examine how social determinants of health interact with environmental exposures to influence health outcomes in diverse populations.
Skills the Lab Values
statistical analysisepigenetic techniquesneuroimaging analysislongitudinal study designbioinformaticsdata visualizationchemical exposure assessmentBayesian modelingmachine learning for health datapublic health research
Output against the department
Publications498top 14% of dept.18th of 131
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations15ktop 31% of dept.40th of 131
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.