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Cincinnati Children’s chief medical officer named one of nation’s 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives

Tina Cheng, MD, recognized by Modern Healthcare

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Tina L. Cheng, MD, MPH

Tina Cheng, MD, MPH, chief medical officer, chair of Pediatrics and director of the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, has been named one of America’s 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives by the trade publication Modern Healthcare.

Cheng helps drive innovations at Cincinnati Children’s that accelerate excellence in clinical care, scientific research, educational programs and community impact. Modern Healthcare noted that Cheng recently led the launch of the Cincinnati Children’s Mental and Behavioral Health Institute, which coordinates the organization’s many initiatives and programs to help address the pediatric mental health crisis.

As chief medical officer, Cheng is responsible for clinical services, which includes over 1.7 million patient encounters annually. As director of the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, which received more than $300 million in research grants and contracts in fiscal 2023, she oversees nearly 500 researchers and over 5,000 research staff. Cheng also serves as chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where she oversees more than 1,000 faculty and medical staff.

The Modern Healthcare program honors licensed clinicians in executive roles who are deemed by their peers and the publication’s senior editors to be paving the way to better health through their executive responsibility, leadership qualities, innovation, community service and achievements inside and outside of their respective organizations. Those honored were selected based on actions taken in the past year to help the organization achieve or exceed financial, operational and clinical goals, and the measurable results that were recorded. Also considered were examples of how those honored have improved community health, addressed sector-wide challenges and otherwise influenced the healthcare industry at the local or national level.

“Our 2024 honorees work in all corners of the industry and at organizations and companies of all sizes,” said Mary Ellen Podmolik, editor in chief at Modern Healthcare. “Yet one thing they share is a commitment to improving their organizations inside and out. They are leading workforce strategies, expanding access to care and improving the bottom line. At the same time, our 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives also are finding time to be part of their communities, a critical part of understanding the patient’s needs and redefining healthcare.”

A champion for children and families, Cheng is also an advocate for faculty and a visionary in her field. Cheng is an elected member of the prestigious National Academy of Medicine and co-author of many research publications, including The Next 7 Great Achievements in Pediatric Research, published in 2017 in Pediatrics.

Before joining Cincinnati Children’s in 2020, Cheng was pediatrician in chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital and director of the Department of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She also co-led the National Institutes of Health-funded D.C.-Baltimore Research Center on Child Health Disparities for 15 years.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, Cheng grew up in Coralville, Iowa. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology as well as her medical degree from Brown University. Cheng completed a pediatric residency at the University of California, San Francisco, including a year as chief resident at San Francisco General Hospital. She earned a master’s in public health (Epidemiology) and did a preventive medicine residency at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as a fellowship in general academic pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.