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Susan Hong, M.D., M.P.H., FACP, joined VCU Massey Cancer Center and VCU Health in January as the director of the Cancer Survivorship Program. She also holds the RGC Professorship in Cancer Research and is an associate professor in the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Care at the VCU School of Medicine.

In her role as director, Hong will work with hospital and cancer center leadership, clinicians, subspecialists and primary care colleagues to build and lead a robust cancer survivorship program and clinic at Massey.

“This program will immediately enhance access to specialized services for newly diagnosed cancer patients and improve the long-term outcomes of patients, especially those in underserved and minority communities,” said Robert Winn, M.D., director of Massey and senior associate dean for cancer innovation at the VCU School of Medicine. “Dr. Hong’s deep expertise in cancer survivorship is a perfect fit to implement this important new program at Massey and we’re thrilled to have her on board.”

Hong will develop and employ a comprehensive set of initiatives to address the medical needs of cancer survivors and collaborate directly with colleagues throughout the university and health system who have a focus on survivorship care and research.

“An integrated survivorship program that delivers patient-centered care will improve patient experience, satisfaction and outcomes,” said Khalid Matin, M.D., MU-NCORP principal investigator and associate medical director of the Cancer Service Line at Massey and interim chair of the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Care at the VCU School of Medicine. “This new program supports Massey’s vision of providing precision medicine throughout the continuum of care from diagnosis through survivorship and offering outreach services to underserved and minority communities.”

Additionally, Dr. Hong will be working with the Human and Molecular Genetics Department at VCU to significantly expand cancer genetics screening services in Virginia and develop a nationally accredited oncogeneralist fellowship program to train the next generation of physicians in the skills needed to care for the complex needs of cancer survivors.

Previously, Hong served as the director of the Adult Cancer Survivorship Program at the University of Illinois Cancer Center and an associate professor of medicine with tenure at the University of Illinois-Chicago. This survivorship program was the first of its kind at a federally qualified health center. Hong also developed and directed the first-ever oncogeneralist fellowship program in the country at UI Cancer Center.

Prior to the University of Illinois, Hong was an associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago where she served as the director of the breast cancer survivorship program and associate director for the center for clinical cancer genetics.  She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Barnard College, a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology from Columbia University and a medical degree from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Hong holds a maintenance certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine, is a fellow with the American College of Physicians and is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Association for Cancer Research. She received a Clinician Educator Award from the Midwest Society of General Internal Medicine and has published broadly in the area of cancer survivorship.

Hong has received more than $2.9 million in grant funding from a variety of organizations, including the American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Dr. Ralph and Marian Falk Medical Research Trust, among others.

“I’m excited to begin this new position. VCU Massey Cancer Center is a premier clinical and research institution with the infrastructure needed to build a truly holistic and comprehensive cancer survivorship program,” said Hong. “My goal is that Massey’s Survivorship Program will serve as a national model, one that is dedicated to clinical excellence for all patients, advances survivorship research through robust transdisciplinary collaborations, and educates the next generation of clinicians devoted to holistic, patient-centered, comprehensive survivorship care.”

Written by: Blake Belden