He graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a B.Sc. in 1977, and obtained his Ph.D. in biochemistry and cell biology at the University of Newcastle, Australia, in 1981. He came to New York as a Population Council post-doctoral trainee in 1981, studying in the laboratory of Drs. Wayne Bardin, Neal Musto, and Glen Gunsalus and was appointed as a research investigator in December 1982.
Cheng's research focuses on the development of a novel contraceptive for human males. These studies currently are supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the CONRAD Program, and the Andrew Mellon Foundation.