Upon completing her graduate degree in public health at the
University of California, Berkeley, followed by a research fellowship at the
University of Massachusetts, Cheng worked at the
Children's National Hospital in
Washington, D.C. and founded the Generations Clinic. She remained there for eight years before being recruited to become the director of
Johns Hopkins University's Children's Center Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. In 2013, Cheng and colleagues established Centro SOL (Salud and Opportunity for Latinos) to partner with the community in addressing the needs of a growing immigrant community. In 2014, Cheng and colleague Sara Johnson founded the Ruth and Norman Rales Center for the Integration of Health and Education which serves over 1,500 students at two
Baltimore charter schools. and was honored as a Trailblazing Women in Business at the 2016 annual Women in Business Trailblazers in Healthcare Awards Dinner. The following year, she was appointed to the Given Foundation Professorship and director of the Department of Pediatrics and was elected to the
National Academy of Medicine. In 2018, Cheng was recognized by the
Daily Record as one of the
Most Influential Marylanders for her dedication and commitment to children's health. In 2020, Cheng was named the B.K. Rachford Memorial Chair in Pediatrics, Chief Medical Officer, and Research Foundation Director of
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The following year, Johns Hopkins recognized her work with a Portrait Honor. ==Personal life==