Yuman Fong, MD

PCSA Member: 9 years

Biographical Information: 

I am a graduate of Brown University (1981) and Cornell University Medical College (1983). I spent over 20 years as faculty at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer until I relocated to California in 2014 to become Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the City of Hope Medical Center. Since arriving in California, I have been fortunate enough to assemble one of the most talented and diverse groups of cancer surgeons in the world.
I am a liver surgeon by practice and also run a well-funded laboratory that designs gene and cell therapies for cancer. I have collaborated in writing over 1000 academic papers cited more than 100,000 times. These have resulted in the Flance-Karl Award from the American Surgical Association, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Great Britain and Ireland HPBA, and election to the National Academy of Medicine.
The most rewarding parts of my career, however, have been the privilege of mentoring young surgeons, and helping growth of academic enterprises including surgical societies. I am in the “giving back” portion of my career.
Since my transplantation to California, I joined the PCSA in 2016 when I was first eligible. I was asked to serve as representative to the editorial board of JAMA Surgery in 2017 and have served for the last 9 years in that capacity. I am honored to have been nominated as a candidate for leadership in the PCSA. I see the most important on-going steps for this wonderful organization to be 1) attracting the best clinical and translational science for meeting content, 2) growing membership in these challenging times for academic funding, 3) improving industrial relations and financial support, and 4) enhancing relationship with our highly-successful official journal JAMA Surgery.
I bring with me experience as past board member of the SSAT, SUS Foundation, and James the 4th Society of Surgery. I have also served on membership committees and program committees of many societies. I have experience as past President of the International Surgical Group, and the Clinical Robotics Surgery Association. I am clinical advisor to many surgical equipment and robotics companies. I hope this experience will contribute to program setting, membership recruitment, and fundraising for the PCSA. I am looking to contribute my time to help steward this society of long and great history into the future. I see the PCSA as a wonderful place to discuss data and grow friendships, to enhance surgery and surgeons.

Leadership roles within PCSA:

• Representative to JAMA Surgery Editorial Board 2017-present