About

Dr. Ting-Yuan David Cheng is an associate professor in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at The Ohio State University and a member of the Cancer Control Program at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. His laboratory focuses on understanding cancer etiology and factors that influence cancer outcomes across different racial and ethnic populations. His main research areas include molecular pathological epidemiology related to energy balance and cancer, gene-environmental interactions in nutrition-related pathways, and cancer health disparities in relation to race, ethnicity, and sex. Dr. Cheng leads NIH/NCI projects investigating the role of mammalian target of rapamycin kinase (MTOR) as a molecular mechanism through which energy imbalance affects the etiology and outcomes of breast cancer. He has a strong record of research collaboration with large, national-level studies and serves as an editorial board member of JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Research topics

• Virology
• Animal science
• Biology
• Veterinary medicine
• Medicine
• Biotechnology
• Genetics
• Immunology

Selected publications

• 29.6 A 65nm CMOS Hydrogel-Based Dual Fluorescence Sensor for Bioavailable Phosphorus Detection

  2026-02-15

  article1st authorCorresponding

  A hydrogel-based single-culture dual-fluorescence sensor is presented for bioavailable phosphorus (P) detection. The sensor achieves 6.6fA sensitivity with a 15.5 dB SNR and an output noise of 1.97 mV at 182 ms integration time. A large dynamic range is enabled through high-precision automatic background calibration with a coarse and fine control loop. The sensor was validated using hydrogels embedded with a bioreporter strain and successfully detected both P limitation and cell viability.

  PublisherDOI

• Field performance of a point-of-care PCR platform for the detection of influenza A virus in growing pigs

  Veterinary and Animal Science · 2026-02-11

  articleOpen access

  • Evaluation of POC devices under field conditions in veterinary medicine is lacking • The POC PCR system provided results consistent with official laboratory results • POC PCR systems are a promising method for on-site diagnostic testing • On-site detection of viral diseases can support timely farm management decisions Point-of-care (POC) testing involves conducting diagnostic assays near patients to enable rapid decision-making and timely intervention. To date, evaluation of POC devices under field conditions in veterinary medicine has been limited. The objective of this study was to describe the use and performance of a POC system in the field and with varying sample conditions using influenza A virus in swine. Seventy oral fluid samples were collected from ten swine farms and aliquoted into five treatments: portable PCR performed on farm (FARM), while driving (RIDE), after 24 hours incubation at room temperature (RT), on ice (ICE), and as a gold standard, samples were also submitted for testing at the Ohio Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (LAB). Influenza A virus was detected at least in one oral fluid sample for six out of the ten farms sampled according to gold standard results; within-herd prevalence in positive farms varied from 16.7 to 100.0%. POC system’s Ct values were statistically associated with the gold standard results. POC tests showed high specificity, with median estimates ranging from 0.954 to 0.958 and 95% credible intervals (CrIs) consistently above 0.91. Sensitivity of POC tests varied more substantially, with the lowest observed in the ICE setting (median 0.805; 95% CrI: 0.607–0.945) and the highest in the RT setting (median 0.926; 95% CrI: 0.766–0.995). Our study showed that the POC PCR system was a promising method for on-site diagnostic testing, providing results consistent with official laboratory results.

  PublisherDOI

• Assessment of three large-scale depopulation methods for swine

  PLoS ONE · 2025-03-25 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  The threat of foreign animal disease outbreaks to U.S. swine herds warrants effective and readily available depopulation methods. Current American Veterinary Medical Association-recommendations using preferred physical methods for swine depopulation are unsuitable for large commercial swine herds. Our objectives were to assess and compare the efficacy and performance of three suggested large-scale depopulation methods: 1) medium-expansion water-based foam, 2) prototype high-expansion nitrogen foam and, 3) carbon dioxide gas for finisher pigs under field conditions. Out of 793 finisher pigs included in the study, 84 were implanted with bio-loggers recording electrocardiogram and pig movement data. Aversive pig behaviors were collected manually on a group level for each depopulation method. A subsample of pigs from each method were examined post-mortem for lesions and compared to a reference group of nine pigs euthanized with pentobarbital. Depopulation method assessments included container fill time, the number of aversive pig behaviors observed during depopulation, overall pig movement intensity, time to cessation of movement, time to and cause of cardiac arrest, and respiratory lesions. No difference in fill times between water-based foam and nitrogen foam was observed. The total number of aversive swine behaviors was higher for carbon-dioxide compared to both foam methodologies (P < 0.01). The total pig activity was higher in water-based foam compared to nitrogen foam (P = 0.02) and carbon-dioxide methods (P = 0.01). The mean time to cessation of movement was significantly shorter for water-based foam and nitrogen foam compared to carbon-dioxide (P < 0.01). No differences in cardiac activity were observed. Water-based foam pigs had increased odds of distal trachea occlusions compared to other methods. All depopulation methods demonstrated high efficacy with a 100% mortality rate. The results from this study support large-scale water-based foam, nitrogen foam and carbon dioxide as viable AVMA depopulation guideline candidates for swine.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Benchmarking hydration, navel health, and transfer of passive immunity in surplus dairy calves

  JDS Communications · 2025-02-20

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Surplus dairy calves, or calves that are not used to replace the milking herd, are often sold within the first week of life and can sometimes receive suboptimal early-life care. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of delivering benchmarking reports to source dairy farms on the health of subsequent surplus calf cohorts. Briefly, 10 farms were first blocked by herd size category, and within each block, farms were alternately assigned to intervention and control in descending order of the previously measured proportion of calves with adequate passive transfer immunity (i.e., ≥5.8 g/dL total serum protein). After the initial randomization, 3 additional farms were enrolled by convenience to increase the statistical power, and one farm was assigned to the intervention group. Overall, 13 dairy farms were recruited and assigned to intervention (n = 6) and control (n = 7) groups. The intervention group received health benchmarking reports of surplus calves delivered to calf dealers halfway through the study period, whereas the control group received no reports. Between May 2021 and June 2022, a total of 282 and 371 calves enrolled from intervention and control farms, respectively, were assessed for hydration, navel health, and transfer of passive immunity (TPI). In brief, hydration was evaluated using the skin tent test and a 4-point scale, and navel health was assessed based on the width of umbilical cords using a 4-point scale. The TPI was assessed based on the concentration of total serum protein. In November 2021, benchmarking reports containing health metrics of calves from 13 farms during the first 6 mo of the study were delivered to 6 intervention farms. Differences in health metrics of subsequent surplus calf cohorts between intervention and control farms were investigated using generalized linear mixed models specified to recognize "farm" as the experimental unit. Prevalence of dehydration was decreased in calves from intervention farms compared with control farms after receiving the benchmarking reports (odds ratio = 0.19, 95% CI = [0.04, 0.90] %). There was no evidence of any differences in navel inflammation or failure in TPI associated with benchmarking reports. Results suggest delivering benchmarking reports to dairy producers may improve hydration in surplus calves. Nevertheless, additional methods should be investigated to improve calf health within the surplus calf production chain.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Medium-expansion water-based foam depopulation of sheep and goats

  Scientific Reports · 2025-07-11

  articleOpen access

  Water-based foam (WBF) is an effective depopulation method for poultry, pigs, and cattle. We evaluated WBF as an effective means for the depopulation of sheep and goats. First, anesthetized sheep and goats (N = 6 per species) were terminated to prove lethality. Then, conscious animals (N = 58 sheep, 60 goats) were observed for distress behaviors during foam administration, with a subset of animals implanted with bio-loggers to determine time to cessation of movement (COM) and cardiac death. Two vocalizations were counted in sheep, while no distress behaviors were observed in goats. Average times (mm: ss ± SD) to COM and fatal cardiac rhythm were 03:05 ± 00:13 and 11:09 ± 04:32 in sheep, and 02:55 ± 00:14 and 11:01 ± 05:18 min in goats, respectively. In a separate trial, electroencephalogram (EEG) waveforms were captured (N = 13 per species) to determine time to cortical death. Average time from WBF application to transitional EEG and isoelectric EEG was 02:40 ± 00:12 and 04:10 ± 00:13 in sheep and 01:48 ± 00:14 and 3:28 ± 00:19 in goats, respectively. Based on our findings, we found WBF to be a reliable and efficient method for depopulating adult sheep and goats.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Evaluation of commercially available class A water-based foam concentrates for swine depopulation

  PLoS ONE · 2025-08-18 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Currently, the swine industry is lacking an efficient method for large-scale emergency depopulation. Class A water-based foam (WBF) has been demonstrated as a viable option for large-scale depopulation of pigs in all stages of development. However, these studies exclusively used the PHOS-CHEK WD881 (WD881) Class A foam concentrate based on previously demonstrated efficacy for depopulation. This study investigated the suitability of 15 other commercially available WBF concentrates for depopulation based on foaming performance, physiological effects, and efficacy. The performance of each product was evaluated and compared to WD881 at 0.5, 1.0 and 3.0% water-foam concentrations for low- and high-pressure pump systems. The time to fill an 11.5 m3 construction container and decay rate over a 10-minute dwell time were assessed for each WBF. Top-performing foams were further evaluated for behavior and short-term physiological changes and gross lesions during a 15-minute exposure test on piglets. Finally, the top-performing foams were tested for their suitability to depopulate adult swine during large-scale field conditions. Subcutaneous dataloggers recorded swine activity which was used to estimate the time to cessation of movement (COM), an approximate analog for loss of consciousness. Four WBF concentrates (FireIce Polar EcoFoam, Buckeye Platinum, National Foams Knockdown and BioFor N) were shortlisted based on performance at 1% concentration. These products had a mean (±SD) fill time of 62.4s (± 14.9) and decay rate of 0.5 (± 0.66) cm/min compared to WD881 with 50.0s (± 3.5) and 0.2 (± 0.1) cm/min, respectively. No differences between treatment groups were observed during the exposure testing and subsequent necropsy. For the large-scale field trials, the mean (±SE) time to COM was 151.5 s (±10.5). All foams achieved 100% mortality of swine. This study identified four additional WBFs suitable for swine depopulation which are commercially available on the U.S market. These additional WBF options may facilitate large-scale swine depopulation during widespread infectious disease outbreaks by mitigating potential bottlenecks resulting from product availability.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Efficacy of a Haemonchus Contortus Vaccine Under Field Conditions in Young Alpacas

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Exploring the effects of transport duration on the fecal microbial communities of surplus dairy calves

  Journal of Dairy Science · 2024-01-11 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Transportation significantly affects the health and welfare of surplus dairy calves, largely due to the various stressors and pathogen exposures encountered during the process. Concurrently, an animal's microbiome is known to correlate with its health status, with stress-induced alterations in the microbiota potentially precipitating various diseases. This study aimed to compare the effects of transportation durations of 6, 12, or 16 h on the fecal microbiota in young surplus dairy calves. We used a randomized controlled design in which surplus dairy calves aged 1 to 19 d from 5 commercial dairy farms in Ontario were allocated into 1 of 3 transportation groups (6, 12, and 16 h of continuous transportation). Health assessments were conducted before, immediately after, and for 2 wk following transportation. Fecal samples were collected before, immediately after, and at 24 and 72 h after transportation and subjected to 16S rRNA sequencing. Alpha diversity metrics showed no significant differences between the 3 transportation groups at any of the sampling time points. Although β diversity metrics revealed no clustering by transportation groups, they indicated significant differences across sampling time points within each group. The overall analysis revealed a total of 22 phyla and 353 genera, with Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Fusobacteria being the most abundant phyla. Bacteroides, Escherichia/Shigella, Lactobacillus, Collinsella, and Bifidobacterium were the most abundant genera. The reduction in Fusobacteria abundance before and after transport was significantly larger in the 16-h transportation group when compared with the 6-h transportation group. We also identified several genus-level and amplicon sequence variation-level taxa that displayed significant differences in their abundances across various transportation groups, observed at all sampling time points investigated. This research identifies microbiota changes due to varying transportation durations in surplus dairy calves, providing a broad understanding of the microbial shifts in surplus dairy calves after transportation across varying durations. Although these variations may not directly correlate with overall calf health or indicate dysbiosis, these results emphasize the importance of further investigating transportation practices to enhance calf health and well-being. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the relationship between microbiota and calf health.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Investigating the uses of machine learning algorithms to inform risk factor analyses: The example of avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in broiler chickens

  Research in Veterinary Science · 2024-02-29 · 2 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• What is “normalization” and why should we normalize PCR results?

  AASV Annual Meeting · 2024-02-11

  article
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Jeffrey J. Zimmerman

  Iowa State University

  39 shared

• Luis Giménez-Lirola

  Iowa State University

  31 shared

• David H. Baum

  Iowa State University

  22 shared

• Korakrit Poonsuk

  University of Nebraska–Lincoln

  17 shared

• Pei-Chia Fan

  National Taipei University

  16 shared

• Yuwen Wang

  Henan University of Technology

  16 shared

• Jane-Fang Yu

  Taipei Hospital

  16 shared

• Alexandra Henao-Díaz

  15 shared

Education

• Ph. D, College of Veterinary Medicine

  Iowa State University

  2021

• Master of Veterinary Medicine, Graduate College

  National Chiayi University

  2014

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Medicine

  National Chiayi University

  2011