Yuman Fong

Yuman Fong

Surgical Oncologist

Gastrointestinal Oncology

City of Hope

Location USA, Duarte

Linkedin

Dr. Yuman Fong is a surgical oncologist specializing in hepatobiliary surgery and gene/cell therapy for cancer. He currently serves as Chairman of the Department of Surgery and holds the Sangiacomo Chair in Surgical Oncology at City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, California. His work spans hepatic resection for colorectal metastases, oncolytic viral therapy, robotic surgery, and the development of novel gene editing and cell-based therapeutic platforms, contributions recognized by his election to the National Academy of Medicine, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and the American Institute of Medical and Biologic Engineering, as well as receipt of the Layton F. Rikkers Master Clinician Award and the Flance-Karl Award from the American Surgical Association.

Current Position

  • Chairman, Department of Surgery, City of Hope Cancer Center, Duarte, CA
  • Sangiacomo Family Chair in Surgical Oncology, City of Hope Cancer Center
  • Associate Director, International Medicine, City of Hope Medical Center
  • Lead, Solid Tumor Growth Strategies, City of Hope Medical Center
  • President, Clinical Robotic Surgery Association

Education

  • B.A., Medieval Literature, Brown University, 1981
  • M.D., Cornell University Medical College, 1984
  • DSc (Honorary), King George’s Medical University, 2016
  • DSc (Honorary), Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine at Northwell Health, 2022

Professional Experience

Postdoctoral Training

  • Internship and General Surgery Residency, New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center, 1984–1991
  • Chief Residency, New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center, 1990–1991 (Mentor: G.T. Shires)
  • Research Fellowship, Department of Surgery, Cornell University Medical College, 1986–1989 (Mentor: S.F. Lowry)
  • Surgical Oncology Fellowship, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), 1991–1993 (Mentor: M.F. Brennan)

Academic Appointments

  • Assistant Professor of Surgery and Cell Biology & Anatomy, Cornell University Medical College (Weill Cornell), 1993–2000
  • Professor of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, 2000–2016
  • Professor of Surgery, Downstate Medical Center, 2007–2016
  • Visiting Associate, California Institute of Technology, 2015–2020

Prior Clinical Appointments at MSKCC

  • Assistant Attending Surgeon / Assistant Member, 1993–1997
  • Associate Attending Surgeon / Associate Member, 1997–2000
  • Member (Tenured), Department of Surgery (HPB) and Department of Radiology (IR), 2000–2014
  • Murray F. Brennan Chair in Surgery, 2001–2014
  • Chief, Gastric and Mixed Tumor Service, 2004–2008
  • Vice Chair for Technology Development, 2006–2012
  • Co-Director, Center for Image Guided Intervention, 2010–2014

Board Certifications and Licensure

  • American Board of Surgery, certified 1992; recertified 2002, 2013, 2024
  • Licensed in New York, California, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Georgia

Research Activity

  • Gene and oncolytic viral therapy: Pioneer in intravascular administration of recombinant viruses for cancer treatment; founding Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Therapy Oncolytics (Cell Press / ASGCT); Chair, NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC), 2011–2013
  • CAR-T and combination immunotherapy: Demonstrated that oncolytic viruses can be used as an adjunct to CAR-T therapy for solid tumors; ongoing research in CAR-T/oncolytic virus combination strategies for pancreatic, ovarian, and breast cancers
  • Hepatobiliary surgery and colorectal metastases: Established staging systems for hepatic colorectal metastases and gallbladder cancer; defined the role of regional and systemic chemotherapy after liver resection
  • Robotic and minimally invasive surgery: Leader in robotic liver resection outcomes research; part of the team demonstrating feasibility of remote robotic surgery to the International Space Station; editor of The SAGES Atlas in Robotic Surgery
  • Medical engineering and cell culture: Current work focuses on high-density cell respirator technology to make gene and cell therapies affordable and globally accessible; elected to the American Institute of Medical and Biologic Engineering (AIMBE)
  • Perioperative digital health: Led the first randomized trial demonstrating that remote health monitoring improves perioperative outcomes (npj Digital Medicine, 2025)
    Total research funding: >$40,000,000 over career, including NIH, DOD, PCORI, CIRM, and industry-sponsored awards

Academic Impact

  • Trained more than 60 postdoctoral surgical oncology and laboratory fellows, many of whom hold academic faculty or leadership positions at major institutions
  • Supervised graduate students and doctoral committees at City of Hope, University of Amsterdam, University of Utrecht, and University of Würzburg
  • Served on external promotions committees for the University of Hong Kong, Harvard University, University of Zurich, University of Ottawa, Johns Hopkins University, NYU, and UCSF
  • Chair, Breakthrough and Research Grants Review Committees, Canadian Cancer Society, 2022 and 2024
  • Chair, NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, 2011–2013
  • Member, National Cancer Database Hepatobiliary and Upper GI Committees; AJCC Cancer Staging Panel for Liver Cancers
  • Delivered more than 200 named and invited lectureships worldwide, including the Joseph Lister Lecture at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (2025) and keynote addresses at the
  • Hamlyn Symposium on Robotics, London (2025), and the World Digital Forum, Beijing (2026)

Memberships / Honors / Awards

Select Honors and Awards

  • Layton F. Rikkers Master Clinician Award, Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), 2019
  • Flance-Karl Award, American Surgical Association, 2022
  • Election to the National Academy of Medicine, 2021
  • Election to the American Institute of Medical and Biologic Engineering (AIMBE), 2018
  • Election to the American Society for Clinical Investigation, 2003
  • Honorary Degree (DSc), King George’s Medical University, 2016
  • Honorary Degree (DSc), Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine, Northwell Health, 2022
  • Honorary Professor, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 2024
  • Franklin Martin Faculty Fellowship, American College of Surgeons, 1994
  • Shipley Award, Southern Surgical Association, 2002
  • James IV Surgical Traveler, James IV Association of Surgeons, 1999
  • Clinical Fellowship, American Cancer Society, 1987
  • Stanley Dudrick Research Scholar, ASPEN, 1994

Honorary Memberships

  • Chinese American Medical Association (2004)
  • Brazilian Society of Surgical Oncology (2010)
  • Mexican Association of Digestive Surgery (2019)
  • Chinese Chapter, International Hepatopancreaticobiliary Association (2024)
  • International Surgical Group (2025)

Select Society Memberships and Leadership

  • Clinical Robotic Surgery Association: President (2025), President-Elect (2024), Vice-President (2023), Board of Directors (2022)
  • International Surgical Group: President (2018–2019), Vice-President (2017–2018), Treasurer (2015–present)
  • American Surgical Association: Honorary Fellow Selection Committee (2013–2019)
  • American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy: Publications Committee (2022–present); Clinical Training Committee (2025–present)
  • AIMBE: Chair, Clinical Practice, Healthcare Systems, and Medical Informatics Review Committee (2023–present)
  • Society for Surgical Oncology, Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, SAGES, American College of Surgeons, American Society of
  • Clinical Oncology, and numerous other national and international surgical and oncologic societies

Editorial Roles (current, selected)

  • Molecular Therapy Oncolytics – Founding Editor-in-Chief (2014–2022)
  • Molecular Therapy – Deputy Editor (2014–2022)
  • JAMA Surgery – Editorial Board (2017–present)
  • Cancer Gene Therapy – Associate Editor (2013–present)
  • Surgical Infection – Editorial Board (2001–present)

Areas of Specialization

  • Hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgical oncology (HPB surgery)
  • Surgical treatment of colorectal liver metastases
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma
  • Gallbladder cancer
  • Gene therapy and oncolytic viral therapy for cancer
  • CAR-T and combination cancer immunotherapy
  • Robotic and minimally invasive liver, biliary, and pancreatic surgery
  • Remote robotic surgery and surgical innovation
  • Perioperative digital health and remote patient monitoring
  • Medical engineering and cell-based biologic production technologies

Publications

  • Total publications: >1,000
  • Total citations: >100,000
  • h-index: 159
  • i10-index: 752
  • Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.il/citations?hl=en&user=dBKT6y8AAAAJ

Select landmark publications:

  • First demonstration that regional chemotherapy improves outcome after liver resection for metastatic colorectal cancer (N Engl J Med 341:2039, 1999)
  • Devised the clinical scoring system for hepatic colorectal metastases (Ann Surg 230:309, 1999)
  • Validated staging system for gallbladder cancer using the National Cancer Database (Ann Surg 243:767, 2006)
  • First intravascular administration of recombinant viruses for treatment of cancer (Human Gene Therapy 17:1214, 2006)
  • First imaging of viral replication in vivo (Nature Medicine 7:859, 2001)
  • Demonstration that oncolytic viruses synergize with CAR-T therapy (Science Translational Medicine 12:eaaz1863, 2020)
  • Demonstration of superior outcomes with robotic liver resection (World J Surg 40:1422, 2016)
  • First randomized trial of remote health monitoring to improve perioperative outcome (npj Digital Medicine, 2025)

Textbooks (selected, as editor or co-editor):

  • Surgery of the Liver and Biliary Tract (Blumgart & Fong), 3rd Edition, W.B. Saunders, 2000
  • Atlas of Upper Gastrointestinal and Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery (Clavien, Sarr & Fong), Springer, 2007 and 2nd Edition, 2014
  • SAGES Atlas of Robotic Surgery (Fong et al.), Springer, 2018
  • Textbook of Cancer Regional Therapy (Fong et al.), Springer, 2020
  • NK Cells in Cancer Immunotherapy (Jewett & Fong), Elsevier, 2022

Patents issued (selected):

  • Oncolytic virus expressing a CAR T cell target (Patent No. 12364724, 2025)
  • Chimeric poxvirus compositions for cancer therapy (Patent No. 12084687, 2024)
  • Cancer detection and ablation system using Raman spectroscopy (Patent No. 11754567, 2023)
  • High-density cell respirator for AAV and cell-based production (Patent No. 11981885, 2024)
  • DNA methylation diagnostic test for breast cancer (Patent No. 11242568, 2022)