For 15 years, she co-led the National Institutes of Health-funded DC-Baltimore Research Center on Child Health Disparities, the only center focused on children at the time. At Cincinnati Children’s she helped to establish the Michael Fisher Child Health Equity Center and the Mental and Behavioral Health Institute. Early in her career she co-founded the Resident Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the largest section of the AAP. 

An author of over 200 publications, Tina has been the principal investigator on numerous federal and foundation grants, including grants from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

A leader in policy and education, she has led initiatives to strengthen investments in all children, adolescents, and families and develop the next generation of diverse child health researchers. She led the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) “Seven Great Achievements in Pediatric Research” campaign and wrote successful legislation in Maryland leading to maternal child health named as a state population health priority.

An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, she also serves on the Forum for Children’s Well-Being and is Vice Chair of the maternal child health section. 

She co-leads the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) committee Improving the Health and Wellbeing of Children and Youth through Health Care System Transformation that developed a recent 616-page consensus study report, titled "Launching Lifelong Health By Improving Health Care of Children, Youth and Families.” She was also a member of NASEM's committee on Addressing the Long-Term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Families.

She leads advocacy and coalition-building efforts to address the current threats to child health and wellbeing. A past president of the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) and past chair of the AAP Committee on Pediatric Research, Tina has held numerous leadership roles in organizations including the AAP, APA, Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs, Children’s Hospital Association and National Academy of Medicine. 

Tina serves as the current consulting editor for the Pediatric Clinics of North America.

She has been recognized with the AAP Education Award, Job Lewis Smith Award for Community Pediatrics, and the APA Public Policy and Advocacy Award. 

Notable achievements:

• 1986 New England Pediatric Prize (given to a promising medical student).

• 1986 Janet M. Glasgow Memorial Achievement Citation, American Medical Women's Association.

• 1987 Housestaff Teaching Award, University of California, San Francisco.

• 1990 Bank of Canton of California Fellowship, Univ of California, Berkeley.

• 1990 Donald P. Donahue Scholarship, University of California, Berkeley.

• 1992 Faculty Teaching Award, Department of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts.

• 1995, 1996, 2001 Golden Apple Teaching Award presented to Department of General Pediatrics, Children's National Medical Center.

• 1996 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Generalist Faculty Scholar.

• 1999 Rochester Child Health Congress “New Leader.”

• 2000 Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Award to Generations (founded by Cheng) Program presented at the White House February 2000.

• 2001 For the Love of Children (FLOC) Beverly Langford-Dugger Award to Generations Program (founded by Cheng) for Outstanding Community Support.

• 2003 National Organization of Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention (NOAPPP) Spirit of Service Award to the DC Secondary Prevention Coalition (founded by Cheng).

• 2005 District of Columbia Hospital Association Haynes Rice Community Service Award to Generations Program (founded by Cheng), November 2005.

• 2008 Johns Hopkins University Diversity Leadership Award.

• 2009 Nomination for Maryland AAP Chapter Special Achievement Award.

• 2011 "Best of 2011 Violence Research" by Psychology of Violence for manuscript: Lindstrom Johnson S, Finigan N, Bradshaw C, Haynie D, Cheng TL.  Examining the Link between Neighborhood Context and Parental Messages to their Adolescent Children About Violence. J Adol Health, 2011;49(1):58-63.

• 2012 Academic Pediatric Association Public Policy and Advocacy Award to Cheng, recognizes “the cumulative contributions of an individual, pediatric department, or program whose public policy advocacy efforts…have improved the health and well-being of infants, children, and/or adolescents.”  Presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting, May 2012, Boston, MA

• 2012 American Academy of Pediatrics Job Lewis Smith Award, “recognizes career-long outstanding service in community pediatrics.”  Presented at the American Academy of Pediatric National Conference and Exhibition, October 2012, New Orleans, LA

• 2013 Academic Pediatric Association Healthcare Delivery Award to the Harriet Lane Clinic recognizes “an innovative and effective program that provides health care in the context of a teaching setting.”  Presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting, May 2013, Washington, DC                                                             

• 2014 American Academy of Pediatrics Education Special Recognition Certificate for “contributions to education in pediatrics.”

• 2014 Iowa City West High School Distinguished Alumni Award

• 2015 Vice Dean’s Award for the Advancement of Women Faculty “recognizes an individual who has demonstrated commitment to recruitment, mentoring and advancement of women faculty at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine”

• 2015 American Academy of Pediatrics Education Award “recognizes one member of the Academy whose career reflects educational contributions that have had a broad and positive impact on the health and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.” Presented at the American Academy of Pediatric National Conference and Exhibition Opening Session, October 2015, Washington, DC

• 2016 The Center Club’s Women in Business “Trailblazers in Healthcare Award.”  May 3, 2016, Baltimore, MD

• 2016 Johns Hopkins Medicine Clinical Awards, Innovation in Clinical Care awarded to Centro SOL

• 2017 Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Writing Residency Program, May 2017

• 2018 National Academy of Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine), elected

• 2018 2018 Influential Marylander Award from The Daily Record

• 2018 Johns Hopkins Medicine Clinical Awards, Innovation in Clinical Care awarded to the Rales Health Center

• 2019 International Community Service Award, Chabad at Johns Hopkins

• 2020 Maryland Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics 2020 Special Achievement Award “given to a physician, currently a Maryland resident, who over an entire career has made an outstanding contribution to child health through research, service or educational endeavors.” 

• 2021 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Portrait Unveiling of the 9th Director of the Department of Pediatrics, May 2021,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne9PmadM-UU

• 2024, 2025 Chief Medical Officers to Know, Becker’s Hospital Review

• 2024 Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives

• 2024 Cincinnati Business Journal 2024 Women Who Mean Business

Dr. Audrey Evans inspires me because she devoted her life to our most precious resource, our children.  She was a role model as a woman leader who made enduring contributions as the “mother of neuroblastoma,” founder of a school, and co-founder of the Ronald McDonald House. Like Dr. Evans, children’s health has been the focus of my career, which has included clinical work, teaching, research and advocacy. I’ve taken child, adolescent and family perspectives on improving health, created community-integrated models to interrupt the intergenerational cycle of disadvantage and innovated to achieve excellent and equitable health outcomes for all children.

I want my legacy to be like that of Dr. Evans—a devoted child advocate who inspired lasting programs and trained dedicated professionals committed to improving the lives of children, adolescents, and families.  I am proud of the enduring programs I have founded focused on child health and am so fortunate to have worked with wonderful trainees who will carry the torch.