Ping Chen, PhD, is an advanced research scientist and social science research methodologist at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG). With interdisciplinary experience in social science and epidemiology, she specializes in conducting research to understand social, environmental, behavioral, and biological linkages in developmental and long-term health trajectories. She is also an advanced methodologist who is interested in statistical modelling of longitudinal and multilevel data, and a survey methodologist who specializes in complex survey data analysis and weighting.

As part of our FPG profile series, we recently spoke with Chen to learn more about her work at FPG. Here’s what she had to say.

Tell us a bit about your professional journey―and what brought you to FPG?

My scientific journey began at UNC as a doctoral student in Sociology, specializing in social stratification, life course studies, and advanced methodology. I then continued as a research scientist and methodologist at the Carolina Population Center, where I spent more than a decade working with the research team on the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.

I was drawn to FPG because its interdisciplinary work is at the forefront of improving children's well-being and lifelong development. This aligns with my strong interest in multidisciplinary and integrative research in social sciences and public health, striving to understand the interplay between social, environmental, behavioral, and biological factors in shaping developmental mechanisms and health trajectories from childhood into adulthood. My expertise in complex survey weighting and advanced modeling with multilevel, multi-domain, and longitudinal data can also contribute to FPG projects.

As an advanced research scientist and social science methodologist, I am a member of both the FPG Data Management and Analysis Core (DMAC) and the Carolina Survey Research Lab (CSRL). I greatly enjoy working with investigators, researchers, and staff across education, public health, psychology, psychiatry, and medicine. Through these interdisciplinary partnerships, I contribute to a diverse array of research projects aimed at advancing prevention and intervention sciences to support lifelong development from childhood onward.

What do you do at FPG—describe your job, walk us through a typical day, and tell us about the projects you're currently working on.

My work spans multiple interdisciplinary domains, where I design and implement advanced analytical plans, contribute to grant proposal writing and review, and oversee and conduct statistical analyses.

Currently, I serve as a co-investigator and methodologist on various projects that focus on education, mental health, physical health, and medicine across diverse child-to-adult populations, including:

• PASS & STAARS Projects – Longitudinal neurobiological studies examining adolescent anxiety, substance use pathways, and anhedonia by integrating fMRI, biomarkers, physiological, and psychosocial factors
• PACE Project – Adapting and evaluating an inclusive physical activity program for adults with intellectual disabilities at risk for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD)
• PROMPT Diabetes Project – Assessing provider interventions and peer support in diabetes management health services
• CSRL Medicaid & NC-PreK Projects – Surveying healthcare providers contracted with expanded Medicaid services and studying Pre-K programs in North Carolina to inform policy and practice

Through these projects, I apply advanced methodologies to support research that enhances developmental well-being, public health, and educational outcomes.

In addition, I am leading grant proposals as a Principal Investigator, collaborating with FPG and external investigators to design research projects that integrate social, environmental, behavioral, and gene-biological data from large national longitudinal studies. My goal is to examine their interplay in shaping life course health development from childhood to adulthood.

A typical day involves a mix of research and project meetings, statistical programming, writing, and collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to advance impactful research.

What do you like most about your job?

What excites me most about my job is the opportunity to collaborate with transdisciplinary investigators, researchers, and staff to drive meaningful work. I am passionate about advancing research that fosters positive impacts, helping every child and individual reach their full potential in cognitive, emotional, physical, and social development throughout their lives.

What do you find most challenging?

Working on multiple projects across diverse disciplines requires quickly shifting focus and adapting to different tasks throughout the day. While challenging, it strengthens my multitasking and collaboration skills in transdisciplinary settings.

On a broader level, conducting impactful research that informs policy change can be challenging, especially in an evolving scientific landscape where funding priorities shift unpredictably. Transforming policies and practices takes time, requiring persistence and resilience to navigate systemic challenges and ensure meaningful contributions.

How does your work further the mission of FPG?

My work aligns closely with FPG’s mission by supporting and conducting high-quality, interdisciplinary research that enhances children's well-being and lifelong development. As a methodologist at DMAC, I provide essential methodological expertise to transdisciplinary research teams, enabling rigorous investigations across diverse study designs, including clinical trials, intervention and implementation projects, multi-site repeated cross-sectional research, and large-scale longitudinal studies. By ensuring advanced survey methods, weighting techniques, and statistical modeling, my work can help generate reliable findings that inform evidence-based policies and best practices for child and adulthood development.

As an advanced research scientist, I am also committed to advancing my own multidisciplinary and integrative research to explore the interplay of social, environmental, behavioral, and biological factors in shaping lifelong developmental processes and health trajectories. My goal is to generate novel knowledge that directly contributes to FPG’s mission—promoting positive developmental outcomes for children of all backgrounds and abilities from the earliest years onward.

What do you hope to have accomplished five years from now?

I hope to continue engaging in meaningful and impactful work by collaborating on and supporting various exciting interdisciplinary projects. I will continue contributing to enhancing DMAC and CSRL’s services and support for researchers and investigators to make a positive translational impact at both the individual and community levels.

Furthermore, I aim to expand my research portfolio by leading and collaborating with FPG and external investigators in genetics, neuroimaging, biological health, epidemiology, and data science. I seek to pioneer transdisciplinary projects that leverage large, multi-disciplinary, population-level databases. One of my focuses is on prevention science, aiming to understand and improve positive—or reverse negative—trajectories of life course health development through advanced AI-based methodologies.

Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about your work/working at FPG?

FPG is a wonderful research institute to work at, with mission-driven, supportive, and collaborative colleagues!