
Bobby Kyungbeom Cheon, Ph.D.
Stadtman Investigator
Social and Behavioral Sciences Branch
NICHD/DIPHR
Research Topics
Dr. Cheon's work examines the contributions of psychosocial factors to eating behaviors, food preferences, and diet-related chronic diseases (e.g., obesity).
Biography
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., cooperation/competition).
Selected Publications
- Siroty MB, Bittner JMP, Howell JL, Cheon BK. Food-related implicit associations predict self-reported eating behaviors and dietary habits in large US samples. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2025;33(4):796-806.
- Bittner JMP, Gilman SE, Chen Z, Perkins NJ, Cheon BK. Socioeconomic mobility, metabolic health, and diet: mediation via subjective socioeconomic status. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2024;32(11):2035-2044.
- Cheon BK, Brown A, Bittner JMP, Saha A, Smith MR, Bloomer BF, Te-Vazquez JA, Adekola PE, Jones JL, Brady SM, Yang SB, Turner SA, Tanofsky-Kraff M, Yanovski JA. Lower subjective status is associated with reduced satiation and satiety among children and adolescents: A laboratory study. Appetite. 2025;206:107811.
- Pink AE, Teo R, Chua B, Kong F, Nadarajan R, Pei JY, Tan CHY, Toh JY, Chong YS, Tan KH, Yap F, Meaney MJ, Broekman BFP, Cheon BK. The effects of acute social ostracism on subsequent snacking behavior and future body mass index in children. Int J Obes (Lond). 2024;48(6):867-875.
- Bittner JMP, Gilman SE, Zhang C, Chen Z, Cheon BK. Relationships between early-life family poverty and relative socioeconomic status with gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy later in life. Ann Epidemiol. 2023;86:8-15.
Related Scientific Focus Areas
Social and Behavioral Sciences
View additional Principal Investigators in Social and Behavioral Sciences
This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 26, 2025