HERSHEY, Pa. — Penn State Hershey’s Dr. Cynthia Chuang has been named a YWCA Tribute to Women of Excellence 2016 award recipient. This regionally recognized, annual event provides an opportunity for local companies, agencies and individuals to nominate central Pennsylvania's leading female professionals and community volunteers. Chuang joins Dr. Patricia Silveyra and Suzanne Graney, director of Four Diamonds, in receiving this year’s award.
Chuang is a professor of medicine and public health sciences. She is a general internist, primary care provider and health services researcher whose research helps women make better decisions about contraception and helps to prevent unintended pregnancy. Chuang is a mentor and a leader at Penn State. She serves as the associate director for research for the Division of General Internal Medicine, the research director of the Penn State K12 BIRCWH (Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health) Program and is co–leader of the Penn State CTSI Community Engagement and Research Core.
Chuang believes that academic medicine will be strengthened as more women enter the areas of leadership to provide role models and examples of success for medical students, residents and young faculty.
While Chuang’s research has spanned many areas of health, her current work is strongly grounded in patient- and community-engaged methodology. This methodology emphasizes the importance of keeping patients and communities at the forefront of health-related research. This is related to her role as the co-leader of the Community Engagement and Research Core for the Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute, which has the goal of helping Penn State researchers engage communities and relevant stakeholders in the research process.
Chuang and her family have been actively involved supporting childhood cancer research through Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and Four Diamonds/THON.