At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the name Dr. Ching-Hon Pui is well known.
Since 2006, Pui has been chair of the Oncology Department at the institution, and he’s played a leading role in the way children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are treated. When he joined St. Jude as a doctor in residence in 1977, the cure rate for patients with the disease was 40%.
Today, their survival rate at St. Jude is 94%.
Now, however, Pui is stepping away from his role as chair of the Oncology Department to focus on clinical research in the Asia-Pacific region for St. Jude Global. So, the hospital has found a new leader for the department: Dr. Julie R. Park, who previously served as chief medical officer of Seattle Children’s Therapeutics.
“Dr. Park brings a wealth of knowledge, deep experience, and considerable talent to St. Jude,” said James Downing, St. Jude president and CEO, in a press release. “She will play an integral role in fulfilling cancer-related strategic initiatives, shaping the future of pediatric cancer care at St. Jude, and mentoring a new generation of investigators.”
Considered an expert in refractory and recurrent pediatric cancer, Park helped develop cellular immunotherapy trials for pediatric cancer at Seattle Children’s Therapeutics. She also served as an attending physician at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and as an associate in the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.
She’s developed novel combinatorial therapies for pediatric cancer and has shown she can translate laboratory research findings into early phase clinical trials for recurrent childhood malignancies.
Now, as chair of the Oncology Department at St. Jude, Park is set to oversee innovative efforts focused on research and care for children with cancer.
In addition to this, she’ll become the first associate director for translational research on the senior leadership team at the St. Jude Comprehensive Cancer Center — which leads the nonprofit’s efforts to improve cure rates for children with cancer, while reducing the side effects of therapy.
The hiring of Park comes as St. Jude looks to implement its 2022-2027 strategic plan, a $12.9 billion commitment that’s set to support 2,300 additional jobs; provide $2.3 billion in new construction, renovation, and capital needs; and open new areas of research.
