Email wenjiach@nus.edu.sg

Heterogeneity in phenotypes and multi-morbidity are common challenges in the management of chronic diseases. Dr Chen and her colleagues are interested in addressing the complexity of care and treatment in chronic diseases to ensure the sustainability of our healthcare system. Big health data such as electronic health records enable us to thoroughly investigate the complete picture of chronic conditions, health services use, medication pattern and outcomes of each individual in the population.

Dr Chen’s research program aims to apply big data analytics to generate cutting-edge evidence to support personalised, ‘systems’ care of chronic disease and multi-morbidity. She integrates principles of health economics, statistics and health policy, and use knowledge translation to empower policy and clinical decision making.   

• NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health

• Economic burden of chronic diseases and multimorbidity
• Trajectory of disease, health care and treatment
• Comparative and costs effectiveness analyses
• Personalised predictive modelling

• Health services use, costs and health outcomes
• Real-world big data methods
• Applied longitudinal analysis

• PhD in Health Economics and Outcomes (2016), University of British Columbia, Canada
• MPH in Health Economics (2010), University of Pennsylvania, US
• MSc in Neuroscience (2008), University of Iowa, US
• BSc in Biotechnology (2005), Sun Yat-Sen University, China

• Canadian Respiratory Research Network Studentship Award (2016-2017)
• UBC Mitchell-Dwivedi Graduate Award in Pharmaceutical Sciences (2016)
• UBC Teaching Assistant Appreciation Award in Pharmaceutical Sciences (2016)

• Post-doctoral fellow, University of British Columbia, Canada (2018 – 2020)
• Post-doctoral fellow, University of Toronto, Canada (2017 – 2018)
• Research fellow, Merck & Co., Inc, US (2010 – 2012)

• Chen W, Sin DD, FitzGerald JM, Safari A, Adibi A, Sadatsafavi M. An Individualized Prediction Model for Long-term Lung Function Trajectory and Risk of COPD in the General Population. Chest. 2020 Mar;157(3):547-557.
• Ng BC., Leslie W., Johnson KM, FitzGerald FM, Sadatsafavi M, Chen W. Effects of long-term inhaled corticosteroid treatment on fragility fractures in older women: the Manitoba BMD registry study. Osteoporos Int. 2020 Jun;31(6):1155-1162.
• Chen W, Safari A, FitzGerald JM, Sin DD, Tavakoli H, Sadatsafavi M. Economic burden of multimorbidity in patients with severe asthma: a 20-year population-based study. Thorax. 2019 Dec;74(12):1113-1119.
• Chen W, Sin DD, FitzGerald JM, Sadatsafavi M. The impact of care specialty on survival-adjusted medical costs of COPD patients after a hospitalization: a longitudinal analysis. Journal of General Internal Medicine.2018; 1-8.
• Chen W, FitzGerald JM, Lynd LD, Sin DD, Sadatsafavi M. Long-term trajectories of mild asthma in adulthood and risk factors of progression. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. 2018 Nov – Dec;6(6):2024-2032.e5.
• Chen W, Thomas J, Sadatsafavi M, Fitzgerald JM. Risk of cardiovascular comorbidity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Respiratory Medicine. 2015; 3(8):631-9.