Rate My Professor Melissa Cheng

Melissa Cheng, MD, MOH, MHS, FACOEM, is an Associate Professor (Clinical) in the Division of Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She serves as Director of the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health Occupational Medicine Program and Medical Director of the University of Utah Occupational Medicine Clinic. Cheng earned her B.S. in Medical Technology from the University of Utah in 2001, M.H.S. in International Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2003, M.D. from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 2008, and M.O.H. from the University of Utah in 2010. She completed an internship in Internal Medicine (2009-2010), residency in Occupational Medicine (2010-2011), and fellowship in Addiction Medicine (2020-2021) at the University of Utah. Board-certified in Occupational Medicine since 2013 and Addiction Medicine since 2022 by the American Board of Preventive Medicine, she practices full-spectrum occupational medicine and consults for organizations including Biofire Diagnostics, Union Pacific Railroad, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Cheng's research focuses on opioid use in workers' compensation, substance use screening via SBIRT, chronic pain management, and workplace safety. Key publications include "Relationship between opioid use and pain severity rating in workers with low back pain" (Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2019) and "Comparison of opioid-related deaths by work-related injury" (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2013). She contributed to ACOEM Practice Guidelines on upper extremity disorders (2010). Joining RMCOEH post-residency in 2011, she advanced from Assistant Professor (2012-2021) to Associate Professor and directed University of Utah and Utah SBIRT programs (2015-2020). Awards include Masters of Occupational Health Faculty Teaching Award (2018-2019) and Vice President's Clinical and Translational Research Scholar (2014-2015). She presents on workplace opioids and serves on the Health Sciences Center Opioids Taskforce.