Charissa S. L. Cheah, Ph.D.
Charissa S. L. Cheah is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Asian Studies Faculty Affiliate at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). She holds a B.A. in psychology (Honors thesis) from the University of Waterloo in Canada and a Ph.D. in Human Development (Developmental Science Specialization) from the University of Maryland. Dr. Cheah completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychology at Yale University. Before coming to UMBC, she was an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon, Canada. As a cultural developmental scientist, Dr. Cheah utilizes mixed-method approaches to explore how individual characteristics, relationships, socialization agents, and contexts interact to influence social-emotional, mental, and physical health. She is particularly interested in understanding these processes among families of racial and religious minority backgrounds, considering their minoritized, immigrant, and marginalized intersecting statuses across different countries.
Dr. Cheah is the President of the Society for Research on Adolescence. She is also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development. Dr. Cheah is a recipient of numerous fellowships, including a Fulbright Research Fellowship to Italy, a Young Scholar Award from the Foundation for Child Development’s Changing Faces of America’s Children program (https://www.fcd-us.org/about-us/young-scholars-program/), and a Visiting Scientists Fellowship award from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. Her research contributions have been recognized by an Asian American Psychological Association Distinguished Contributions Award for Scholarship and the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship.
Her past contributions to her profession include serving as Chair of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Asian Caucus and Co-Chair of the SRCD International Affairs Committee, and in editorial roles such as associate editor for the journal Child Development, and an editorial board member of the journals Development and Psychopathology, the International Journal of Behavioral Development, Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, and Parenting: Science and Practice. She regularly serves as a cultural content consultant for children’s media (e.g., Nickelodeon Jr. Television; Noggin; The WNET Group, PBS; 9 Story Media Group), and lends her expertise as a commentator and advisory board member for public media, foundations, and private corporations.
Charissa S. L. Cheah Biosketch
Contact
Email: ccheah@umbc.edu
Phone: 410-350-5455