CHRISTABEL CHEUNG

Dr. Christabel K. Cheung is a social and behavioral scientist and nationally recognized leader in psychosocial oncology, specializing in long-term cancer survivorship among adolescent and young adult (AYA) and early-onset cancer populations. Her work sits at the intersection of science, practice, and innovation—helping health systems, cancer centers, and technology partners design care models that respond to how people actually live, age, and recover after serious illness.

With more than two decades of experience across clinical social work, academic research, program leadership, and consulting, Dr. Cheung brings a rare combination of systems-level thinking and grounded, real-world insight. She has led and contributed to NIH- and foundation-funded studies examining survivorship care, patient-centered outcomes, and access to supportive services across the cancer continuum, from diagnosis through long-term survivorship. Her work emphasizes translating research into actionable strategies that improve engagement, equity, and quality of life within complex health systems.

Dr. Cheung is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and a Member of the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center. She directs the Cheung Research Lab, where she leads mixed-methods research in collaboration with patients, clinicians, health system leaders, and community partners across the U.S. and internationally. Bridging social work, medicine, population aging, and disability justice frameworks, her projects span oncology care delivery, financial navigation, patient-reported outcomes, and the design of preventive survivorship models tailored to diverse populations.

In parallel, Dr. Cheung advises health systems, cancer centers, and digital health organizations on building responsive, population-specific programs. Her consulting draws on social and behavioral science, implementation research, and participatory design methods to support organizations in developing user experiences for products and services that are developmentally appropriate, evidence-informed, and aligned with real-world patient experience and data infrastructure. She collaborates with academic and clinical partners including Michigan Medicine, the University of Southern California, the University of California, San Francisco, the University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center, and The Netherlands Cancer Institute.

As a two-time AYA cancer survivor and bone marrow transplant recipient, Dr. Cheung brings lived experience to her professional work through structured, reproducible research methods that strengthen validity and relevance. She is the architect of Embodied Research Methods, a qualitative and mixed-methods approach that integrates experiential knowledge as a transparent and systematic component of scientific inquiry in the behavioral sciences and medicine (Cheung, 2025). Her work has been recognized with honors including the Camara Jones Faculty Award at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and the GRASP Patient Advocate Award presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

Dr. Cheung holds a PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Master of Social Welfare (MSW) in Gerontology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri–Columbia.

SELECT PUBLICATIONS IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS:

Zebrack, B. J., Duan, F., Cole, S. W., Gareen, I., Prasad, P., Sicks, J., Cheung, C. K., Evens, A. M., Ghazal, L., Dinner, S., Duvall, A., Parsons, S. K., Salsman, J. M., Kahl, B. S., Simon, M. A., & Wagner, L. I. (2025). Social Genomic Mechanisms of Health Disparities Among Adolescent/Young Adult Survivors of Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: ECOG-ACRIN E. Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology. https://doi.org/10.1177/21565333251399057

Choi, E., Berkman, A. M., Anderson, C. R., Salsman, J. M., Betts, A. C., Milam, J., Miller, K. A., Peterson, S. K., Lu, Q., Cheung, C. K., Ghazal, L., Livingston, J. A., Hildebrandt, M. A. T, Parsons, S. K., Freyer, D., & Roth, M. E. (2025). Cancer screening uptake and usual source of care among Hispanic survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer. https://doi.org/10.1177/21565333251361619

Causadias, J. M., Betz, G., Gupta, N., Tang, T., & Cheung, C. K. (2025). Protocol for a Systematic Review of Recommendations to Promote Editorial Equity in Psychology. Open Science Framework. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/mt2rg_v1

Waters, A. R., Wheeler, S. B., Fine, J., Cheung, C. K., Tan, K. R., Rosenstein, D. L., Roberson, M. L., & Kent, E. E. (2025). An intersectional analysis of behavioral financial hardship and healthcare utilization among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus cancer survivors. JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, djae350. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djae350

Cheung, C. K., Lee, H., Levin, N. J., Ross, V. A., Geng, Y. M., Thomas, B. N., & Roth, M. E. (2024). Provider preparedness to care for sexual and gender minority adolescent and young adult cancer patients: A scoping review. PEC Innovation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecinn.2024.100343

Berkman, A. M.,† Choi, E.,† Cheung, C. K., Salsman, J. M., Peterson, S. K., Lu, Q., Livingston, J. A., Hildebrandt, M. A. T, Parsons, S. K., Roth, M. E., (2024). Socioeconomic status and chronic health conditions in Asian survivors of adolescent and young adult cancers. Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology, 13(2), 262-270. https://doi.org/10.1089/jayao.2023.0083

Cheung, C. K., Miller, K. A., Thomas, B. N., Lee, H., Goings, T. C., Brandon, R. E., Katerere-Virima, T., Helbling, L. E., Simmons, C. D., Ross, V. A., Causadias, J. M., Roth, M. E., Berthaud, F. M., Jones, L. P., Betz, G. D., Carter, J., Davies, S., Gilman, M., Lewis, M. A., Lopes, G., & Tucker-Seeley, R. D. (2024). BIPOC experiences of (anti-)racist patient engagement in adolescent & young adult oncology research and advocacy: An e-Delphi study. Future Oncology, 20(9), 547-561. https://doi.org/10.2217/fon-2023-0771

Choi, E.,† Berkman, A. M.,† Cheung, C. K., Salsman, J. M., Peterson, S. K., Anderson, M. S., Lu, Q., Livingston, J. A., Hildebrandt, M. A. T, Parsons, S. K., Roth, M. E., (2024). Psychological distress and mental health care utilization among lesbian, gay, and bisexual survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer. Supportive Care in Cancer, 32(9), 585. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-024-08778-8

Choi, E.,† Berkman, A. M.,† Battle, A., Betts, A. C., Salsman, J. M., Milam, J., Andersen, C. R., Miller, K. A., Peterson, S. K., Lu, Q., Cheung, C. K., Livingston, J. A., Hildebrandt, M. A. T., Parsons, S. K., Freyer, D., & Roth, M. E. (2024). Psychological distress and mental health care utilization among Black survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer. Cancer, 130(17), 3011-3022. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.35348

Berkman, A. M.,† Choi, E.,† Salsman, J. M., Cheung, C. K., Peterson, S. K., Lu, Q., Livingston, J. A., Hildebrandt, M. A. T, Parsons, S. K., Roth, M. E. (2024). Excess risk of chronic health conditions in Hispanic survivors of adolescent and young adult cancers. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 18(3), 907-916. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-023-01342-z

Berkman, A. M.,† Choi, E.,† Cheung, C. K., Salsman, J. M., Peterson, S. K., Anderson, M. S., Lu, Q., Livingston, J. A., Hildebrandt, M. A. T, Parsons, S. K., Roth, M. E., (2024). Risk of chronic health conditions in lesbian, gay, and bisexual survivors of adolescent and young adult cancers. Cancer, 130(4) 553-562. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.35015

Husson, O., Janssen, S. H .M., Reeve, B. R., Sodergren, S., Cheung, C. K., McCabe, M. G., Salsman, J. M., van der Graaf, W., & Darlington, A. S. (2024). Protocol for the development of a core outcome set (COS) for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer. BMC Cancer, 24(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-023-11716-2

Marchese, V., Brockmeyer, A., McCarthy, E., Saeed G. M., Gorman, E. F., Cheung, C. K., & Felter, C. (2024). Psychosocial barriers and physical activity in children with neuromotor impairments: A scoping review. Physical Therapy Reviews, 29(1-3), 30-46. https://doi.org/10.1080/10833196.2024.2362043

Cheung, C.K., Jones, L. P., Lee, H., Bridges, J. N., Tucker-Seeley, R., Vyfhuis, M. A. L., Gianelle, M., Thomas, B. N., Betz, G. D., Waldo, L., Hirsch, A. S., & Ntiri, S. O. (2023). Anticipatory guidance: Developing a patient navigation pathway to reduce the financial toxicity of cancer. Medical Research Archives, 11(10). https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v11i10.4582

Berkman, A. M.,† Choi, E.,† Cheung, C. K., Salsman, J. M., Peterson, S. K., Lu, Q., Livingston, J. A., Hildebrandt, M. A. T, Parsons, S. K., Roth, M. E., (2023). Excess risk of chronic health conditions in Black adolescent and young adult cancer survivors. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-023-01433-x

Choi, E.,† Berkman, A. M.,† Cheung, C. K., Betts, A. C., Salsman, J. M., Andersen, C. R., Ochoa-Dominguez, C., Miller, K. A., Milam, J., Shah, A., Peterson, S. K., Lu, Q., Livingston, J. A., Hildebrandt, M.A.T, Parsons, S.K., Freyer, D., & Roth, M.E. (2023). Psychological distress and mental health care utilization among Hispanic/Latino survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 32(12), 1918-1929. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.6248

Cheung, C. K., Lee, H., Levin, N. J., Ross, V. A., Geng, Y. M., Thomas, B. N., & Roth, M. E. (2023). Disparities in cancer care among sexual and gender minority adolescent and young adult patients: A scoping review. Cancer Medicine, 12(13), 14674-14693. https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.6090

Cheung, C. K., Nishimoto, P. W., Katerere-Virima, T., Helbling, L. E., Thomas, B. N., & Tucker-Seeley, R. (2022). Capturing the financial hardship of cancer in military adolescent and young adult patients: A conceptual framework. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 40(4), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/07347332.2021.1937771

Ghazal, L. V., Cole, S., Salsman, J. M., Wagner, L., Duan, F., Gareen, I., Lux, L., Parsons, S. K., Cheung, C.K., Loeb, D. M., Prasad, P., Dinner, S., & Zebrack, B. (2022). Social genomics as a framework for understanding health disparities among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors: A commentary. JCO Precision Oncology, 6, e2100462. https://doi.org/10.1200/PO.21.00462

Husson, O., Reeve, B. R., Darlington, A. S., Cheung, C. K., Sodergren, S., van der Graaf, W., & Salsman, J. M. (2022). The next step for global adolescent and young adult oncology: Development of a core patient-centered outcome set. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 114(4), 496-502. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djab217

Masuda, C., Aggarwal, L., Bray, M. L., Cheung, C. K., Kim, B. J., Aida Wen, A., Okamoto, L., Uechi, M., Lee, Y. J. & Kamal Masaki,K. (2022). Preventive care and outcomes of interprofessional Medicare annual wellness visits for older patients.” International Journal of Environmental Research Public Health, 19(24), 16752. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416752

Cheung, C. K., Norlander, M. G., Vest, A. N., Thomas, B. N. & Zebrack, B. J. (2022). A thin line between helpful and harmful Internet usage: Embodied research on Internet experiences among adolescent and young adult cancer patients. Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology, 11(5), 478-485. https://doi.org/10.1089/jayao.2021.0113

Cheung, C. K., Tucker-Seeley, R., Davies, S., Gilman, M., Miller, K. A., Lopes, G., Betz, G. D., Katerere-Virima, T., Helbling, L. E., Thomas, B. N., & Lewis, M. A. (2021). A call to action: Antiracist patient engagement in adolescent and young adult oncology research and advocacy. Future Oncology, 17(28), 3743–3756. https://doi.org/10.2217/fon-2020-1213

Cheung, C. K. & Simmons, C. D. (2021). Centering black swans: Embodied research in adolescent and young adult oncology. Oppositional Conversations, (5). http://www.oppositionalconversations.org/issue-v-contestations/2021/5/5/centering-black-swans-embodied-research-in-adolescent-and-young-adult-oncology

Unger, J. M., Moseley, A. B., Cheung, C. K., Osarogiagbon, R. U., Symington, B., Ramsey, S. D., & Hershman, D. L. (2021). Persistent disparity: Socioeconomic deprivation and cancer outcomes in patients treated in clinical trials. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 39(12), 1339-1348. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.20.02602

Salsman, J. M., Danhauer, S. C., Moore, J. B., Ip, E. H., McLouth, L. E., Nightingale, C. L., Cheung, C. K., Bingen, K. M., Tucker‐Seeley, R. D., Little‐Greene, D., Howard, D. S., & Reeve, B. B. (2021). Systematic review of financial burden assessment in cancer: Evaluation of measures and utility among adolescents and young adults and caregivers. Cancer, 127(11), 1739-1748. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33559

SELECT BOOK CHAPTERS:

Cheung, C.K. (2025). Embodied research methods: The empiricism of lived experiences to advance health equity. In N. Rezaei (Ed.), Cancers in Different Conditions, Cancer Research Methods and Diagnosis: An Interdisciplinary Approach (Vol. 19, pp. 201–228). Springer Nature: Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/16833_2024_432

Cheung, C.K. & Wiener, L. (2022). Adolescents and young adults living with serious illness. In T. Altilio, S. Otis-Green & J. Cagle (Eds.), Oxford textbook of palliative social work (2nd ed., pp. 141–152). Oxford University Press: New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780197537855.001.0001

Cheung, C.K., Santacroce, S. J., Zebrack, B.J. (2021). Adolescent and young adult patients. In W. Breitbart (Ed.), Psycho-oncology (4th ed., pp. 715–724). Oxford University Press: New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780190097653.003.0089

† Contributed equally as co-first authors and early