Cheong Sok Ching

Cheong is a translational cancer scientist working on cancers that are prevalent in Asian populations, such as head and neck cancers. Her work integrates functional genomics, immunotherapy, and implementation within real-world health systems. She established one of the largest collections of Asian-derived oral cancer models and applied genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screens to identify essential genes and therapeutic vulnerabilities. She has advanced cancer vaccine candidates towards clinical translation, and co-led investigator-initiated trials evaluating treatment strategies suited to Asian and low-resource settings. She also developed MeMoSA, an AI-enabled platform for community-based oral cancer screening in underserved communities. Cheong is the chief scientific officer of Cancer Research Malaysia, leading more than 80 scientific staff. She has led multi-country grants and works closely with the Malaysian Ministry of Health on clinical trials and implementation. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Malaya, a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, and chairs the Asia-Pacific Oral Cancer Network.