Research Summary

Dr. Cheng is a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. She is also co-Investigator of the SEER Greater Bay Area Cancer Registry. She is a cancer and genetic epidemiologist, and Principal Investigator of multiple NIH- and foundation-funded projects aimed at examining genetics, lifestyle factors, and neighborhood characteristics in relation to cancer risk. She has an extensive research program investigating racial/ethnic differences in cancer risk and has expertise in leading population-based cancer surveillance studies that document the variation in cancer incidence and mortality patterns across race/ethnicity.

Research Funding

  • August 21, 2025 - July 31, 2030 - Persistent Poverty and Colorectal Cancer Risk: Elucidating biological, behavioral, and place-based pathways , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA303699
  • July 8, 2024 - June 30, 2029 - A national Asian American cohort for assessing multi-level determinants in cancer etiology: the ASPIRE Cohort , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U01CA290831
  • September 24, 2022 - June 30, 2027 - Understanding the impact of area-based composite measures on population differences in mortality: The Multiethnic Cohort Study , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01MD017762
  • July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2027 - Understanding the role of area-level factors, smoking, and epigenetics in lung cancer risk across populations groups , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA262540
  • September 1, 2022 - May 31, 2027 - Impact of Extreme Heat and Wildfire Smoke on Life Expectancy , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01AG075739
  • December 1, 2004 - June 30, 2025 - Training in the Molecular & Genetic Epidemiology of Cancer , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: T32CA112355
  • February 1, 2020 - November 30, 2024 - Elucidating Lung Cancer Etiology Among Asian American Female Never Smokers , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01MD014859
  • March 1, 2019 - February 29, 2024 - The Role of 27-hydroxycholesterol in Breast Cancer: A Population-Based Multiethnic Study , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA229815
  • September 30, 2016 - August 31, 2021 - A cohort study of air pollution, lung cancer, and COPD in Los Angeles County , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01ES026171
  • May 11, 2016 - April 30, 2020 - Lung cancer in never smokers: incidence, risk factors, and molecular characteristics in Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanderfemales , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA204070
  • September 24, 2013 - August 31, 2016 - Mitochondrial Genetic Susceptibility to Breast and Prostate Cancers , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R03CA173782
  • September 1, 2011 - August 31, 2016 - Obesogenic environment: impact on breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer risk , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA154644
  • September 28, 2009 - July 31, 2015 - Characterizing Mitochondrial DNA Susceptibility to Breast, Colorectal, and Prosta , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA140636

Education

University of California, Davis, BS, 1990 – 1994, Physiology
Yale University, MPH, 1999 - 2001, Chronic Disease Epidemiology
University of Southern California, PhD, 2001 - 2005, Epidemiology
University of California, San Francisco, Postdoc, 2006 - 2008, Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology

Honors & Awards

  • 2007
    American Association for Cancer Research Scholar-in-Training Award
  • 2007
    National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Award
  • 2009
    National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Renewal Award
  • 2011
    American Association for Cancer Research Faculty Scholar Award
  • 2011
    National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Renewal Award
  • 2013
    American Journal of Epidemiology/Society of Epidemiology Research Top 10 manuscripts
  • 2014
    Cancer Prevention Institute of California Mentoring Award
  • 2015
    American Society of Human Genetics Top poster

Selected Publications

  1. Yan PY, Chen LH, Chiu LD, Huang YD, Cheng IC, Chen JZ. Performance Improvement by Adding Reduced Graphene Oxides in Brush-Painted NiMoO4 Nanowires-Polyaniline-Chitosan Composite Flexible Supercapacitor. Langmuir. 2026 Jul 07; 42(26):19015-19028. View on PubMed
  2. Wu AH, Tseng C, Park SY, Stram DO, White K, Wu J, Vigen C, Setiawan VW, Yu X, Gazal S, Haiman C, Wilkens L, Le Marchand L, Cheng I, Stohl W. Late-Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis and Air Pollution in a Multiethnic Cohort. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2026 Jul; 78(7):1425-1436. View on PubMed
  3. Wu HC, Yu SE, Cheng IC, Chen JZ. Argon Microwave Plasma Processed Electrodeposited FeCo Catalysts on Ti Paper as an Anode Porous Transport Layer (PTL) for Cathode-Dry Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis (AEMWE). ACS Omega. 2026 Mar 24; 11(11):17292-17301. View on PubMed
  4. Van Blarigan EL, Canchola AJ, Zhu L, Shariff-Marco S, DeRouen MC, Cheng I, McKinley M, Oh DL, Lin K, Gomez SL. Assessment of Rebound in Cancer Diagnoses in California in 2022, by Stage, Sociodemographic Factors, and Rurality. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2026 Mar 02; 35(3):415-419. View on PubMed
  5. L'Espérance K, Lin K, Lichtensztajn D, Christoph Soerensen SJ, Gulati S, Deng Z, Leppert JT, Oh DY, Sakoda LC, Washington SL, Meng MV, Chan JM, Langston ME, Cheng I, Chung BI, Graff RE. Renal cell carcinoma incidence and mortality in California: a population-based study of sociodemographic patterns and temporal trends from 1988 through 2019. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2026 Apr; 56:101430. View on PubMed
  6. Van Deventer D, Park SL, Cheng I, Wu AH, Chen Y, Yang J, Stram DO, Le Marchand L, Ritz B, Heck JE. Exposure to Industrial Air Toxics and Risk of Breast Cancer in California: The Multiethnic Cohort Study. J Occup Environ Med. 2026 Jul 01; 68(7):513-521. View on PubMed
  7. Wu AH, Wu J, Tseng C, Darst BF, Park SY, Stram DO, Larson T, Fruin S, Setiawan VW, Yu X, Wilkens LR, Hu H, Haiman C, Ritz B, Crimmins EM, Lim U, Cheng I, Marchand LL. Racial and ethnic differences in the impact of air pollution on the risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in the Multiethnic Cohort Study. Environ Int. 2026 Mar; 209:110169. View on PubMed
  8. Swami N, Hong JH, Kho S, Kang HM, Chun-Chia Lin L, Ni SC, Florez N, Lan Q, Rothman N, Dee EC, Gomez SL, Cheng I. Associations Between Prior Lung Diseases and Risk of Lung Cancer in Populations With No Smoking History: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Chest. 2026 Jun; 169(6):1717-1731. View on PubMed
  9. Wang SS, Wu J, Wu AH, Cheng I. Associations of Proximity to Superfund Sites and Air Pollution with Breast Cancer Subtypes: Clues from a Case-Case Study and Call for Longitudinal Studies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2026 Jan 09; 35(1):7-9. View on PubMed
  10. Su CC, Ding VY, Ten Haaf K, Wu JT, Freedman ND, Backhus LM, Leung AN, Lui NS, Haiman CA, Park SL, Neal JW, Meza R, Tammemägi MC, Cheng I, Le Marchand L, Wakelee HA, Choi E, Han SS. Eligibility and Prognostic Performance of Smoking Duration-Based Versus Pack-Year-Based U.S. National Lung Cancer Screening Criteria Across Racial and Ethnic Groups. Ann Intern Med. 2026 02; 179(2):196-206. View on PubMed
  11. Iyer HS, Cheng I, Gomez SL, Rebbeck TR. RE: Associations of self-identified race and ethnicity and genetic ancestry with mortality among cancer survivors. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2025 Nov 01; 117(11):2399-2400. View on PubMed
  12. Bouras E, Yu R, Kim AE, Markozannes G, Murphy N, Albanes D, Anderson LN, Barry EL, Berndt SI, Bishop DT, Brenner H, Burnett-Hartman A, Campbell PT, Carreras-Torres R, Chan AT, Cheng I, Devall MA, Diez-Obrero V, Dimou N, Drew DA, Gruber SB, Gsur A, Hoffmeister M, Hsu L, Huyghe JR, Kawaguchi E, Keku TO, Kundaje A, Küry S, Le Marchand L, Lewinger JP, Li L, Lynch BM, Moreno V, Morrison JL, Newton CC, Obón-Santacana M, Palmer JR, Papadimitriou N, Pellatt AJ, Peoples AR, Pharoah PDP, Platz EA, Qu C, Ruiz-Narvaez E, Mendez JS, Schoen RE, Stern MC, Thomas CE, Tian Y, Um CY, Visvanathan K, Vodicka P, Vymetalkova V, White E, Wolk A, Woods MO, Wu AH, Gunter MJ, Gauderman WJ, Peters U, Evangelou M, Tsilidis KK. Using gene-environment interactions to explore pathways for colorectal cancer risk. EBioMedicine. 2025 Nov; 121:105964. View on PubMed
  13. Sangaramoorthy M, Li Y, Gibbons J, Yang J, Ihenacho U, Lin K, Inamdar PP, Chen F, Wu AH, Haiman CA, Le Marchand L, Wilkens LR, Shariff-Marco S, Cheng I. Neighborhood racial and ethnic composition typology and breast cancer risk: the Multiethnic Cohort Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 10 07; 194(10):2775-2786. View on PubMed
  14. Asiimwe E, Tolstykh I, Chan JM, Kenfield SA, Wilkens LR, Park SY, Le Marchand L, Huang BZ, Haiman CA, Cheng I, Van Blarigan EL. Adherence to World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research Guidelines and Mortality among Participants with Colorectal Cancer in the MEC. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2025 Sep 02; 34(9):1558-1565. View on PubMed
  15. John EM, Koo J, Keegan TH, Gomez SL, Ingles SA, Kurian AW, Kwan ML, Neuhausen SL, Shariff-Marco S, Cheng I, Wu AH. Reproductive factors and risk of contralateral breast cancer by age and hormone receptor status: The California Breast Cancer Survivorship Consortium. Int J Cancer. 2026 Feb 01; 158(3):560-573. View on PubMed
  16. John EM, Koo J, Keegan TH, Gomez SL, Ingles SA, Kurian AW, Neuhausen SL, Shariff-Marco S, Wu AH, Cheng I, Kwan ML. Overall and central adiposity and risk of contralateral breast cancer: The California Breast Cancer Survivorship Consortium. Int J Cancer. 2026 Jan 01; 158(1):69-83. View on PubMed
  17. Chen F, Paik A, Sheng X, Cheng I, Shariff-Marco S, Wilkens LR, Le Marchand L, Conti DV, Haiman CA, Setiawan VW. Risk of aggressive prostate cancer with successive generations in the US among Latino men. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2025 Aug 01; 117(8):1699-1706. View on PubMed
  18. Moosavi D, Curtis KR, Randolph TW, Kahsai OJ, Ammar H, Lim U, Cheng I, Wilkens LR, Le Marchand L, Lampe JW, Hullar MAJ. Stability and Variability of the Human Fecal Microbiome over 2 Years in the Multiethnic Cohort Study: A Metagenomic Analysis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2025 Aug 01; 34(8):1386-1394. View on PubMed
  19. Wheeler SB, Iasonos A, Cheng I, Craddock C, Miller KD. Guidance for JCO Authors on Subgroup Representation and Reporting. J Clin Oncol. 2025 Sep; 43(25):2759-2762. View on PubMed
  20. Ogbenna BT, He X, Wu AH, Le Marchand L, Wilkens LR, Butler J, Dyer T, Cheng I, Dallal CM. Healthy Lifestyle Index and Breast Cancer Risk among Postmenopausal Women: The Multiethnic Cohort Study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2025 Jun 03; 34(6):875-884. View on PubMed

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