Receiving her First-Class Honours Degree in Biochemistry from the National University Malaysia (UKM), she studies the mechanisms underlying cancer development, particularly focusing on head and neck cancers and utilizing this understanding for the development of novel therapies. Professor Cheong has also developed innovative tools for the early detection and follow-up of patients with high-risk oral lesions and oral cancer.

Professor Cheong has won many international awards. These include the Norman Rowe Educational Trust (2005), L’Oreal For Women in Science Award (2008), the Union for International Cancer Control Fellowships (2006, 2008), Top Research Scientist Malaysia Award (2017), the International Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathologists President’s Award (2020), and the TWAS Medal (2022), amongst others. She is highly sought after as a Keynote or Plenary Speaker at international, regional, and local conferences.

She was appointed Adjunct Professor at Universiti Malaya since 2009, Full Professor (Dr. Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali Professorial Chair) at Universiti Malaya in 2019 and Visiting Professor at the Technology University of Malaysia (UTM; 2017). Internationally, she was a Visiting Professor at the University of Khon Kaen, Thailand (2012, 2015), and an Adjunct Professor at Airlangga University, Indonesia (2022). She was appointed as a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia in 2019.