Medical Epidemiologist
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Dr. Chea received his Medical Degree from the University of Health Sciences, Phnom Penh, Cambodia and a Master of Science in Emerging and Neglected Infectious Diseases from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He began his professional career in 2005 as a physician at a national children’s hospital in Phnom Penh and joined WHO Country Office in Cambodia in 2008. During his term with WHO, he provided technical assistance to the Cambodian Ministry of Health in improving IPC practices in healthcare settings across Cambodia. Dr. Chea joined the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP), CDC in 2013 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer to advance his knowledge and skills in healthcare epidemiology and took a job as a Medical Epidemiologist in the International Infection Control Program of DHQP in 2015. In this role, he assisted Ministries of Health of Senegal, Thailand, and Cambodia in setting up or strengthening their surveillance systems for antimicrobial resistant (AMR) organisms and implementing targeted interventions to reduce AMR burden. Dr. Chea jointed the Epidemiology Research and Invocations Branch of DHQP as Medical Epidemiologist in 2018. He currently serves as a principle investigator for a point prevalence survey of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial uses in U.S. acute care hospitals and a CDC's surveillance system for healthcare personnel who have COVID-19. Dr. Chea has published 20 papers and presented six abstracts in national and international conferences.