Meet Erika Cheung, one of the key individuals who exposed Theranos to health regulators. She has also been portrayed in Hulu’s The Dropout. So, outside of her work in Theranos and her battle, there are a few things outside of her professional life that you should learn about her.
Here we cover her family, her current whereabouts, husband or boyfriend detail, and her age.
Who Plays Erika Cheung On Hulu’s The Dropout?
Erika Cheung takes pride as one of the first whistleblowers of the unethical work that was going on in Theranos. Since then, she has attended several major events including TEDxBerkeley, appeared on 60 minutes, and other TV shows. Now in 2022, Hulu released a TV show titled The Dropout based on the Holmes family.
In the series, the role of Erika is played by actress Camryn Mi-Young. In the show, the role of Elizabeth Holmes is played by actress Amanda Seyfried, Sam Waterston played George Shultz who served under President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, his grandson Tyler Schultz is played by actor Dylan Minnette, Ebon Moss-Bachrach played former WSJ journalist John Carreyrou, Nicky Endres portrayed Ana Arriola, and Elizabeth Marvel played Theranos’s founder’s mother Noel Holmes among other casts.
Erika Cheung At Theranos
Erika Cheung had joined Theranos as an entry-level associate and worked for several months in 2013 and 2014. Her job was to test the patient’s sample and report the result. In the lab, they often did lab data reviewing to confirm whether the machine worked or not.
Erika had begun noticing anomalies whereby she would run a test on the thyroid status of a patient and get three different sets of results. But, once she saw the red flag on how they were tampering with the results, he chose to speak with someone who was in the decision-making power, hence George Schultz, grandfather of Tyler Schultz.
Eventually, Erika approached the company’s COO, Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani. “I said, ‘I think we need to pay attention and stop processing samples.’ His response was, ‘What makes you think you are qualified? You need to do what I’m paying you for.’ I quit the next day.”
Then, Erika was reached out by WSJ journalist John Carreyrou who had also heard about similar issues in the company. And the rest was history.
Furthermore, in September 2021, Erika spent three days testifying in court as one of the former employees of the company. During the trial, she shared how the blood tests which the company conducted were problematic. She explained that the blood test was cheaper than other tests but that did not mean “you should give people false information about their health status.”
Erika also said, “We had people sleeping in the car because it was taking too long.”
She had reported the lab testing problems to federal agents in 2015. She said her concerns had begun about a month into her employment.
During cross-examination, Lance Wade, a lawyer for Ms. Holmes, quizzed Ms. Cheung on the processes, procedures, and organizational chart of Theranos’s labs. The apparent point was to show that the issues Ms. Cheung raised about inaccurate lab results applied to only one small area of the company.
She also opened up about Theranos’s lawyer sending a letter to her in 2015 threatening litigation against her for discussing Theranos with WSJ journalist John John Carreyrou.
Where Is Erika Cheung Now?
Erika Cheung is now based in Hong Kong, where she is working to expand Asia’s entrepreneurial environment and is a member of the Betatron start-up accelerator’s founding team. She also founded Ethics in Entrepreneurship, a non-profit that provides materials and best practices to help entrepreneurs and tech workers better prepare for ethical difficulties that may occur in their businesses.
She is currently serving as the advisor in Betatron.
Her LinkedIn bio reads, “A medical researcher turned technology and innovation ecosystem builder. I am passionate about technology, healthcare, science, and empowering low-income communities. I am currently committed to growing entrepreneurial ecosystems. Currently working on two projects, one to foster a proactive ethical culture amongst startups founders with Ethics in Entrepreneurship and two ensuring high caliber founders get access to capital and strategic partnerships in the APAC region with Spiral Bio. ”
Erika Cheung Age
As of February 2022, Erika Cheung must above 30 years old.
Does Erika Cheung Have A Husband Or A Boyfriend?
Erika Cheung is private about her relationship status. She hasn’t tied the knots so surely doesn’t have a husband. On her Instagram, she was spotted with a guy named Jeffrey Gomez (@jeffreygoemz.us) who she might be dating.
Erika also mentioned Jeffrey on her IG post, “then and now, what a better way to celebrate 10-years of friendship than wandering about my dumpling paradise. Remember Jefe, today is a fruit day.”
They are friends but whether they are dating one another or not is unclear.
Erika Cheung Parents
Because Erika Cheung has a White mother, she likely has an Asian father. Her mother has appeared once on her brother’s Instagram. Besides that, her parents remain anonymous.
During her TEXxBerkeley speech, Erika had explained that she came from a family of six who lived in 1 bedroom trailer. She has at least one sister and a brother named Evan Cheung (@bigcheung).
Evan graduated from Bonita High School in 2020 and now attends the University of California, Los Angeles where he is studying Applied Science – BASc, Computer Science and is set to graduate in 2024.
Evan also took computer science courses at Harvard Extension School and has been coding with for almost 11 years. His interests are Video Game Design/Development and Education Technologies. He celebrates his birthday on 11 October.
Erika Cheung Net Worth
Erika Cheung has a total net worth of under $300 thousand.
According to her LinkedIn, Antibody Solutions is a Research and Development Associate. After moving to Hong Kong, she worked for Betatron Startup Accelerator as an Entrepreneur In Residence.
Erika has obtained a dual degree in Linguistics and Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley.
Related FAQs
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What Is Erika Cheung Ethnicity?
Erika Cheung is of Asian-American ethnicity.
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When Is Erika Cheung’s Birthday?
Erika’s birthday remains unshared as of this writing.
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Is Erika Cheung On Instagram?
Erika is on several social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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