Biography

Kim K. Cheung, MD, PhD, is a distinguished pediatrician, educator, and child health advocate with more than three decades of experience in academic medicine, clinical care, and public health. She currently serves as an associate professor in the Division of General and Community Pediatrics at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and as medical director of the Harris County Resources for Children and Adults Integrated Health Services Clinic. In 2024, she was appointed State Medical Director for Reach Out and Read Texas.

Dr. Cheung earned her PhD in Biochemistry from Princeton University and her MD from Tulane University School of Medicine. Her postgraduate training includes pediatric residencies at Louisiana State University and Rutgers Medical School. She is board-certified in pediatrics and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, with a longstanding focus on child abuse prevention, foster care, and child health equity.

Throughout her career, Dr. Cheung has held numerous academic and clinical appointments, including leadership roles in child protection centers in New Jersey and Texas. She has been instrumental in developing and directing programs that address the medical and mental health needs of children in foster care, and she has served on multiple state and national committees, including the Texas State Child Fatality Review Team and the Texas Pediatric Society’s Committees on child abuse and foster care.

A prolific educator, Dr. Cheung has mentored generations of medical students, residents, and fellows, and has developed innovative curricula in pediatrics and child protection. Her research and publications span topics such as child abuse, foster care health, injury prevention, and pediatric mental health. She is also a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences and has been recognized with numerous awards for teaching excellence, community service, and advocacy.

Dr. Cheung’s unwavering commitment to vulnerable children and her leadership in pediatric health policy and education have made her a respected voice in child welfare and a champion for children’s rights and well-being.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy
Biochemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Doctor of Medicine
Tulane University, School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, 1983
Pediatric Residency
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
Pediatric Residency
Rutgers Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, 1985-1986

Areas of Interest

Clinical Interests

General pediatrics

Medical education

Medical care for children in foster care

Fatality review

Research Interests

Child abuse

Foster care

Injury prevention

Child fatality review

Health care disparities

Publications

  • Cheung, KK and Newton, A:  Patterns and protein synthesis during development of Caulobacter Crescentus.  Developmental Biology 1977;  56:417-425
  • Cheung, KK and Newton, A:  Polyadenylic acid synthesis activity of purified DNA-dependent RNA polymerase from Caulobacter.  Journal of Biological Chemistry 1978; 253(7): 2254-61.
  • Cheung, KK:  Child Abuse – Infant Case Studies.  Trends in Health Care, Law and Ethics 1983; 8(2): 64-65
  • Ewing-Cobbs L, Kramer, Prasad M, Canales, Louis, Fletcher J, Vollero, Landry S, and Cheung K:  Neuroimaging, Physical and Developmental Findings Follow-Up Inflicted and Non-inflicted.  Traumatic Brain Injury in Young Children.  Pediatrics 1998;  102:300-306
  • Cheung, KK:  Practice Guidelines:  Child Abuse and Neglect.  Journal Pediatric Health Care 1999; 13, 142-143
  • McClain N, Girardet R, Lahoti S, Cheung K, Berger K and McNeese M:  Evaluation of Sexual Abuse in the Pediatric Patient.  Journal Pediatric Health Care 2000: 14:93-102.
  • Lahoti S, McClain N, Girardet R, McNeese M, and Cheung K:  Practice Guidelines:  Screening and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Part 1: Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Bacterial Vaginosis.  Journal Pediatric health Care 2000; 14, 34-36.
  • McClain N, Cheung K, Girardet R, Lahoti S, and McNeese M:  Practice Guidelines:  Screening and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Part 2:  Trichomonas, Human Papillomavirus Infection, and Genital Herpes Simplex Virus.  Journal Pediatric Health Care 2000; 14: 130-132
  • Lahoti S, McClain N, Girardet R, McNeese M, and Cheung K:  Evaluating the child for sexual abuse. American Family Physicians 2001; 63:883 – 892.
  • Girardet R, McClain N. McNeese M, Lahoti S, Cheung K, Hartwell E, Berger K.  Comparison of the urine-base ligase chain reaction test to culture for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhea in pediatric sexual abuse victims.  Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 2001; 20(2): 144 – 147.
  • Cheung, KK., Montgomery, D., and Benjamins, L.  Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Ad9olescents Entering Child Protective Services. Journal of pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. 2015 October; 28(5): 324-326.  Published on line, September 2014.