Prof. Cheng has a PhD in Bioengineering and is a Professor at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland, an Adjunct Research Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Riddet Institute (a New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence hosted by Massey University).
Prof. Cheng leads research in the area of gastrointestinal motility and electrophysiology. In particular, he seeks to use a combined experimental and mathematical modelling approach to determine links between the electrophysiological events in the gastrointestinal tract to peristalsis patterns and the resultant digestion and breakdown of ingested foods. Prof. Cheng is also interested in developing methods and medical devices for minimally invasive and non-invasively recording and interpreting the weak electrical and magnetic fields that result from gastrointestinal electrical activity for the diagnosis and classification of gastrointestinal disorders.
In 2015, Prof. Cheng was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Fraunhofer-Bessel Research Award and in 2016 was awarded the University of Auckland Vice Chancellors Research Medal. As part of the Fraunhofer-Bessel Research award he spent 9 months in Germany with the Fraunhofer IPA in Stuttgart, and the University of Stuttgart. He continues to maintains close links with both institutions.