Bobby Cheon, Ph.D.

Bobby Cheon, Ph.D., is an Earl Stadtman Investigator in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Branch within the Division of Intramural Population Health Research. His research investigates the health impacts of psychological experiences associated with disparities, such as perceived low social status, stigma, and economic/resource insecurities. His work examines contributions of such psychosocial factors to eating behaviors, food preferences, and diet-related chronic diseases (e.g., obesity). His current initiatives seek to identify: 1) the mechanisms through which perceived socioeconomic disadvantage generates risk of excess energy intake among individuals and families; 2) the relative contribution of status-related threats (e.g., social rejection) to trajectories of obesity and metabolic disease; and 3) psychosocially based interventions that may buffer vulnerable individuals against harmful effects of perceived disadvantage and disparities.

Prior to joining NICHD, Dr. Cheon was an associate professor in the psychology department of Nanyang Technological University, in Singapore, and a principal investigator at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences within the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR).

Dr. Cheon received his bachelor’s degree in cognitive science from the University of Virginia and his Ph.D. in psychology from Northwestern University. He completed postdoctoral training at the Business School of Nanyang Technological University, focusing on inter-cultural and inter-group processes (e.g., cultural diversity, discrimination, and cooperation/competition).

Selected Publications

Low subjective socioeconomic status alters taste-based perceptual sensitivity to the energy density of beverages.
Lim EX, Forde CG, Cheon BK.
Physiol Behav. 2020 Sep 1;223:112989. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112989. Epub 2020 Jun 2. PMID: 32502527.

Subjective socioeconomic status modulates perceptual discrimination between beverages with different energy densities.
B.K.Cheon, E.X.Lim, K.McCrickerd, D.Zaihan, C.G.Forde.
Food Quality and Preference. Volume 68, September 2018, Pages 258-266.

Low subjective socioeconomic status stimulates orexigenic hormone ghrelin - A randomised trial.
Sim AY, Lim EX, Leow MK, Cheon BK.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2018 Mar;89:103-112. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.01.006. Epub 2018 Jan 12. PMID: 29358119.

Personal relative deprivation increases self-selected portion sizes and food intake.
Sim AY, Lim EX, Forde CG, Cheon BK.
Appetite. 2018 Feb 1;121:268-274. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.11.100. Epub 2017 Nov 21. PMID: 29170121.

Mere experience of low subjective socioeconomic status stimulates appetite and food intake.
Cheon BK, Hong YY.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Jan 3;114(1):72-77. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1607330114. Epub 2016 Dec 19. PMID: 27994148; PMCID: PMC5224403.