Cheung Research Lab

Christabel K. Cheung, PhD, MSW is a social and behavioral scientist, health equity strategist, and UX researcher with over 25 years of professional experience. 

RESEARCH IMPACT

• 19 publications in academic journals
• 236 citations of her research
• 54 conference presentations
• 2 chapters in scientific textbooks
• 7 non-academic articles
• 15 awards
• 6 fellowships
• Over $9 million in grant funding
• National Institutes of Health funded researcher
• Media coverage in 4 in-depth interviews
  (including 2 podcasts)

IMPACT AWARDS

• Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Faculty Award, University of Maryland, 2023
• GRASP Advocate Choice Award American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), 2022
• Dean’s Teaching Award, University of Maryland, 2020
• Best Research Poster for Discussion, International Society for Paediatric Oncology, 2017
• Favorite Teacher Award, Kappa Alpha Theta, University of California Los Angeles, 2017
• First Place Research Prize, UC San Diego Clinical Geriatrics Interprofessional Symposium, 2016

Bria is from Baltimore, Maryland is an alumn of Loyola University of Maryland with a degree in Bio-Psychology. She currently attends Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine as a Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) student. Bria joined forces with Dr. Cheung’s Research Lab when she matched with Dr. Cheung as her mentee in the National Cancer Institute’s Nathan Schnaper Internship Program.

She has continued at Cheung Research Lab ever since. As a senior lab member, Bria has been instrumental on numerous projects and resulting publications including, “Capturing the financial hardship of cancer in military adolescent and young adult patients: A conceptual framework,” “A thin line between helpful and harmful Internet usage: Embodied research on Internet experiences among adolescent and young adult cancer patients”, and “A call to action: Antiracist patient engagement in adolescent and young adult oncology research and advocacy.”

In her free time, she enjoys painting, volunteering within the Baltimore community, and cooking. Bria also loves to volunteer! Currently, she is a crisis counselor with The Crisis Text Line and previously she co-led the McChicken Project – an organization that supported disenfranchised niches in Baltimore city by providing food, clothing, and sanitary supplies. 

Haelim is a doctoral student at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She received her BA in Social Welfare from Chung-Ang University and her MSW from Yonsei University. Haelim worked as a post-adoption services social worker in a child welfare organization following her graduate studies. Haelim’s current research interests are focused on racial and ethnic health disparities, interaction of child welfare and health disparities in minoritized children, and adverse childhood experiences. She is currently working with Dr. Cheung to conduct research on the impact of financial hardship and disparities among BIPOC and LGBTQ+ cancer patients including studies centered on best practices for BIPOC patient engagement in the conduct of research. 

Khrystin is an MSW student at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work, where she is concentrating her studies on clinical social work. She also holds a BA degree in Sociology from American Public University. Her current research interests include developmental disabilities, adolescent and young adult cancer survivorship, and psychosocial oncology primarily focused on adolescent and young adult cancer patients in the domains of financial hardship, social determinants of health, disparities, and mental health. She is currently working with Dr. Cheung on a project centered on financial navigation in oncology. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games, going on hikes, and watching movies. 

Shanice Harris is a licensed social worker in Maryland and DC practicing psychotherapy. She holds a BA in Psychology from The City University of New York at Brooklyn College, and received her Masters in Social Work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Shanice is a full-spectrum doula, Reiki Master, and Zumba instructor, and hopes to continue developing as a researcher and practitioner within the field of medicine. She currently serves as a Research Scholar in Dr. Cheung's lab supporting "Patient centered navigation strategies to reduce financial hardship across cancer treatment and survival."

Shanice is a native New Yorker of Caribbean descent, living in Baltimore, and is passionate about contributing to healing the effects of systemic oppression on the black body, mind and spirit. Shanice is a proud millennial and enjoys spending her free time rewatching 90s/00s sitcoms, eating good food, and reading about people’s birth charts.

Jordan is an MSW student at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She holds a BA in Sociology and Family Science from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her current research interests include racial and ethnic disparities in health care, and the disproportionate impacts of discrimination on the health and well-being of minority populations in child welfare. She interns in the Foster Care unit with the Prince George’s Department of Social Services. She currently works with Dr. Cheung, pursuing research on the psychological impacts of cancer survivorship with a concentration on financial hardship, the social determinants of health, and antiracist, gender affirming practice. During her free time, she enjoys reading, collecting vinyls, and running. 

Valentina graduated with a MSW from the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 2022. Valentina aspires to earn her PhD in Social Work and conduct research on how stigma and conceptualizations of mental illness impact treatment experiences. Currently, Valentina works as a dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) therapist at the DBT Center of Greater Washington. She has contributed to Dr. Cheung’s studies focused on best practices for antiracist patient engagement; disparities among sexual/gender minority patients in oncology, and financial navigation. In her free time, Valentina enjoys writing music, visiting art museums, and trying new recipes.

Rachel grew up in Nashville, TN. She received her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the College of Wooster in Ohio and her master’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland Baltimore. She now works as an oncology social worker with Life with Cancer at Inova Schar Cancer Institute. Rachel has assisted with Dr. Cheung’s study and resulting publication: “A call to action: Antiracist patient engagement in adolescent and young adult oncology research and advocacy.” She enjoys reading young adult novels, hiking with her partner Henry, and snuggling with her two cats — Oliver and Ellie — and her young pup — Riley.

Monica joined the Cheung Research Lab after meeting Dr. Cheung at the National Cancer Institute's Minority Training Program in Cancer Control Research, co-sponsored by UCSF-UCLA in June 2018. Her research interests include adolescent and young adult cancer survivorship in relation to work and support systems. She has served as project director and project manager for multi-million-dollar National Institute of Health grants on health equity and cancer disparities in Chicago, IL. Before pursuing her research interests, she was a management and operations consultant at Stanford Health Care's Cancer Center. Monica has a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and master’s degrees and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Los Angeles. Monica is a Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Survivor since date of diagnosis, April 24, 2017.

Thuli is originally Zimbabwean, but she has grown up all over the United States. She is at the University of Maryland School of Social Work PhD program focused on culturally responsive mental health care. With Dr. Cheung, Thuli has co-authored: “The impact of a cancer diagnosis on siblings across the lifespan: A systematic review,” “Capturing the financial hardship of cancer in military adolescent and young adult patients: A conceptual framework,” and “A call to action: Antiracist patient engagement in adolescent and young adult oncology research and advocacy.” Outside of school and work, Thuli enjoys playing with her young son, reading fiction not at all related to her studies, and watching British television as escapism. 

Laura is an MSW alum of the University of Maryland School of Social Work, where she concentrated her studies on clinical behavioral health. She holds a BA in psychology from the University of Maryland, where she also assisted with research in psychotherapeutic interventions and worked for her school's peer-support and crisis intervention hotline. Laura's current research and practice interests are in psychotherapy, suicide prevention, and crisis intervention. Laura's most significant research contributions to Cheung Research Lab have been helping to develop a systematic review of the scientific literature on the impact of a cancer diagnosis on sibling relationships from childhood through young adulthood and a study focused on the financial hardship of cancer in military adolescent and young adult patients. In her free time, she enjoys weightlifting, listening to musical comedy, and dancing in her kitchen.