Tina Cheng Receives American Academy of Pediatrics’ Highest Honor
Post Date: September 17, 2026 | Publish Date:
Key Takeaways
- Tina Cheng, MD, MPH, has been selected to receive the 2026 Clifford G. Grulee Award, the highest recognition bestowed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
- The Clifford G. Grulee Award recognizes long-term service to the AAP and contributions to the health and well-being of children and families.
- Cheng is chair of Pediatrics, director of the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation and chief medical officer at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
- A nationally recognized pediatric leader and health equity researcher, Cheng has more than 40 years of experience spanning clinical care, research, education, advocacy and community engagement.
The Clifford G. Grulee Award recognizes Cheng’s long-term service to the Academy and contributions to the health and well-being of children and families.
Tina Cheng, MD, MPH, the top research and medical leader at Cincinnati Children’s and a longtime advocate for child health and well-being, has been selected to receive the highest honor given by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
The 2026 Clifford G. Grulee Award recognizes extraordinary long-term service to the Academy and dedication to improving child health. The award was established in 1951 in honor of an Academy co-founder and its first executive secretary and represents the ultimate career tribute for pediatric leaders.
The award also has a Cincinnati connection. Clifford G. Grulee Jr., MD, FAAP, son of the award’s namesake, served as dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine from 1963 to 1973. During his tenure, he helped lead the effort that brought Shriners Hospital for Children to Cincinnati in 1963, strengthening the city’s position as a center for pediatric care and research. His granddaughter, Mary Eileen “Meg” Grulee, MD, later graduated from the UC College of Medicine and completed her ophthalmology residency at UC.
Cheng’s selection reflects more than four decades of work in pediatrics spanning clinical care, research, education, advocacy and community engagement.
Since 1983, Cheng has focused on improving health outcomes for children and families, with particular attention to health disparities and other factors that often begin in childhood but can shape an entire lifespan. For more than 15 years, she co-led the National Institutes of Health-funded DC-Baltimore Research Center on Child Health Disparities, focused on understanding and addressing disparities affecting children. She has built enduring, award-winning care delivery models and innovation centers.
Early in her career, Cheng founded the Generations Program at Children’s National Medical Center, a comprehensive, family centered health care and support program for teen parents and their children. The program has served more than 2,000 young families, received recognition from the White House and designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as an evidenced-based program to prevent repeat teen pregnancy. While at Johns Hopkins she co-founded the Rales Center for the Integration of Health and Education (Rales Center), which works to fundamentally reimagine school health to improve student health and wellbeing and reduce health and educational inequality, and Centro SOL (Center for Health and Opportunity for Latinxs) by advancing clinical care, research, education, and advocacy in active partnership with our Latino neighbors.
Her work has also included national efforts to advance pediatric research and health policy, including successful public awareness campaigns and state and federal child health legislation. She has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications and has contributed to national initiatives addressing child health, health equity, mental health, health care delivery and lifelong health.
“Children are 21% of our population but they are 100% of our future. Children are the message that we send to the future,” says Cheng, who serves as Cincinnati Children’s/University of Cincinnati chair of Pediatrics, director of the Research Foundation and chief medical officer. Since joining the institution in 2020, she has led initiatives spanning clinical care, research, education and community health, including work in child health equity, mental and behavioral health and research innovation. She finds great fulfillment in caring for patients and families and in precepting trainees in the Pediatric Primary Care Clinic – both important perspectives in her work as a health care leader.
Cheng has also held leadership positions in several national pediatric organizations. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and president-elect of the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs. She is a past president of the Academic Pediatric Association and past chair of the AAP Committee on Pediatric Research. She also has contributed to National Academies work on child health, including serving as co-chair of the 2024 consensus study Launching Lifelong Health. As a resident, she co-founded and was an early President of the AAP Section of Pediatric Trainees, the largest section of the AAP.
Another Cincinnati Children’s physician, Ana Catalina Arce-Clachar, MD, also received a 2026 AAP award: the Mitchell B. Cohen Early to Mid-Career Leadership Award from the AAP Section on Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.
Cheng will receive the award on Oct. 4, 2026, during the AAP National Conference in San Diego, California.
Read more about this year’s AAP awardees
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The Research Horizons blog features news and insights about the latest discoveries and innovations developed by the scientists of Cincinnati Children's. This blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Email researchnews@cchmc.org with questions or ideas.
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