Waun Ki Hong, MD, died on January 2, 2019, in Newport Beach, California. Dr. Hong was born in Korea on August 13, 1942, the son of the late Sung Koo Hong and Bok Young Shin. He was the brother of the late Dr. Suk Ki Hong, the late Bong Ki Hong, the late Chul Ki Hong, and the late Sung Ki Hong. Dr. Hong was a loving husband, father to two sons, and grandfather (aka “Poopa”) to four grandchildren. Dr. Hong was the true example of the American dream. Born during World War II, growing up as a young child in the Korean War, and serving in the Vietnam War, Dr. Hong grew up “tough” and developed a foundation of perseverance and passion that would serve him throughout his life.
On September 6, 1969, Dr. Hong married the love of his life, Mi Hwa. In June 1970, the couple made a bold step to immigrate to the United States with $451 in their pockets and a baby on the way. America gave Dr. Hong a better opportunity to launch his medical career, and it all started in New York City. Toughness, perseverance, and passion were essential as Dr. Hong started as a foreign medical intern in the Bronx at a community hospital trying to learn a new culture, a new language, and parenthood. He would tell you that his internship was a very different experience. Most people would have packed their bags and returned to Korea, but he and Mi Hwa persevered. After applying to hundreds of hospitals for a medical residency without success, Dr. Hong finally caught a break when a residency position opened up at the last minute at the Boston VA Medical Center. While Boston was not initially in Dr. Hong’s plan, he felt God’s hand in this opportunity and immediately accepted. At the Boston VA, Dr. Hong took care of many cancer patients and felt that surely more could be done for these patients, triggering his interest in oncology.
After his residency, Dr. Hong received a prestigious fellowship opportunity at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. After the fellowship, Dr. Hong came back to the Boston VA to be Chief of Medical Oncology. In Boston, he created a new energy for medical oncology. Dr. Hong’s biggest goal was to improve the quality of life for patients who had lost so much to cancer. One of Dr. Hong’s earliest breakthroughs was developing a way to treat laryngeal cancer patients without surgical removal of the voice box, which was the standard treatment. Dr. Hong simply found it unacceptable for patients to lose their ability to talk. Dr. Hong developed the research that showed chemotherapy and radiation could work just as effectively as surgical removal of the voice box without compromising a patient’s survival.
In 1984, Dr. Hong moved to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he started to make more history in the treatment of cancer and to help MD Anderson become the world-renowned cancer center that it is today. Dr. Hong pioneered a new chapter in translational research. He was a revolutionary leader in the field of chemoprevention and will always be known as one of the founding fathers of a new branch of cancer therapeutics, establishing initiatives to advance personalized targeted therapy to identify and treat those who are at high risk of cancer. Dr. Hong demonstrated that high-dose retinoic acid can reverse oral premalignant lesions and prevent the development of a second wave of primary tumors. He also led the charge in advancing personalized lung cancer treatment. His Biomarker-based Approaches of Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer Elimination project (BATTLE) assigns patients to treatments to which they are most likely to respond based on analyses of their tumor samples. Dr. Hong retired from MD Anderson in 2014 as the Head of the Division of Cancer Medicine. In his 30-year career at MD Anderson, the list of Dr. Hong’s awards and achievements are almost countless. Here are some highlights:
• Published over 660 scientific publications
• Awarded over $70 million in research funding
• President of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (2001-2002)
• Editor of 11 major books
• Member of Editorial Boards of 17 scientific journals
• Recipient of the AACR Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Memorial Award and the AACR Joseph H. Burchenal Memorial Award
• Recipient of the American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professorship
• Member of the National Academy of Medicine
• Recipient of the Ho‐Am Prize in Medicine from the Samsung Foundation in Korea
• Recipient of the Gold Medal of Paris from the International Congress on Anti‐Cancer Treatment
• Recipient of the American Society of Clinical Oncology's most prestigious award, the David A. Karnofsky Award
• Recipient of the Medal of Honor for Clinical Research from the American Cancer Society (2012)
Despite the many accolades and awards he received, Dr. Hong would tell you his greatest professional achievements were the hundreds of oncologists that he trained and impacted during his career. His professional achievements would not have been possible without the help and mentorship of his oldest brother, the late Suk Ki Hong, to whom he was forever indebted. He felt the best way to honor him would be to mentor the next generation of scientists. The award and accomplishment of which he was most proud was the one named in his honor, the American Association for Cancer Research Waun Ki Hong Award for Outstanding Achievement in Translational and Clinical Cancer Research, which is awarded to a worthy young cancer researcher. Dr. Hong had two passions outside the hospital. As Dr. Hong was establishing his professional career in Boston, he developed a passion for Boston sports teams, most notably, the Boston Red Sox. While in Boston, he shared season tickets to the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, and Boston Celtics. Sports became a big part of Dr. Hong’s life and he often used sports analogies in his fatherhood, in his work, and in his teaching of the next generation of scientists. On May 22, 2015, Dr. Hong was honored by the Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch. It was only fitting that the last Red Sox game he watched was Game 5 of the 2018 World Series when the Red Sox became World Champions. Dr. Hong’s other great passion was tennis. Dr. Hong never turned down a tennis match. He loved playing tennis with colleagues but especially loved taking the court with his two sons. Dr. Hong is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Mi Hwa; his sons Ed Hong (Carol Anne) of Atlanta; Burt Hong (Audrey Cheng) of Newport Beach, California; and his grandchildren, Elizabeth and Daniel Hong and William and Vivienne Hong. He is also survived by his sister Keun Ki Kwon of Los Angeles and his brother Poong Ki Hong of New York City.
There will be two family visitations. The first visitation will be held Friday January 11 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Pacific View Memorial Park & Mortuary in Corona del Mar, CA. The second visitation will be held on Saturday January 12 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m at Irvine Onnuri Church in Irvine, CA. A memorial service will be held thereafter at 10:00 a.m. at Irvine Onnuri Church. A reception for family and friends will be held after the memorial service at Newport Beach Country Club. A memorial service will also take place in Houston, TX at a later date. Further details of the Houston service will be announced shortly.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Severance Medical School Alumni Association for Drs. Suk Ki & Waun Ki Hong Scholarship Fund, 26 Wimbledon Drive, Roslyn, NY 11576; the American Association for Cancer Research in memory of Waun Ki Hong; or MD Anderson Cancer Center in memory of Waun Ki Hong.
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