CHRISTABEL CHEUNG
Christabel K. Cheung, PhD, MSW
is a social & behavioral scientist and
user-centered health expert with over 20 years of experience
Dr. Christabel K. Cheung is a social and behavioral scientist and a recognized leader in adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology, with expertise in translational science and the development of research-informed programs across the cancer care continuum. She brings over two decades of experience improving access and outcomes in cancer care through clinical social work, academic research, user experience (UX) consulting, and program management and development across health care settings.
Dr. Cheung is an Associate Professor with tenure at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and a Member of the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is principal investigator and co-investigator of NIH- and foundation-funded studies focused on AYA cancer survivorship, patient-centered care, and healthcare access challenges. She directs the Cheung Research Lab, where she leads mixed-methods research in collaboration with patients, providers, and other stakeholders across the U.S. and internationally. Her work spans the entire continuum of care—from initial diagnosis and intervention to long-term survivorship and quality-of-life support.
Dr. Cheung also advises health systems, cancer centers, and digital health organizations on building responsive, population-specific programs. Her consulting is grounded in social and behavioral science, implementation research, and rigorous participatory design methods. She supports institutional partners in creating AYA services that are developmentally aligned, evidence-based, and informed by patient-reported experiences and real-world data.
As a two-time AYA cancer survivor and bone marrow transplant beneficiary, Dr. Cheung brings personal insight to her professional work. She is the author of the Model of Embodied Research, a qualitative method that integrates experiential knowledge as a valid component of scientific inquiry in the behavioral sciences and medicine. Her scholarship has been recognized with honors including the Camara Jones Faculty Award at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the GRASP Patient Advocate Award at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Conference—the world's largest clinical cancer research conference.
Dr. Cheung holds a PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), an MSW from UC Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She collaborates with esteemed institutions including Michigan Medicine, University of Southern California (USC), University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), University of Hawaii Cancer Center, and The Netherlands Cancer Institute.
SELECT ARTICLES IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS:
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