Hojong Yoon, PHD
Department of Experimental Therapeutics, Division of Cancer Medicine
Present Title & Affiliation
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Assistant Professor, Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2021 | Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, US, Chemical Biology, PhD |
| 2012 | Seoul National University (SNU), Seoul, KR, Pharmaceutical Science, MS |
| 2010 | Seoul National University (SNU), Seoul, KR, Pharmacy, BS |
Postgraduate Training
| 2021-2024 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA |
| 2021-2024 | Postgraduate Fellow, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA |
Experience & Service
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Assistant Member, James P. Allison Institute, Houston, Texas, 2025 - Present
Research Scientist, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, 2012 - 2016
Honors & Awards
| 2025 - Present | UT System STARs Award, The University of Texas System |
| 2024 - Present | Recruitment of First-Time, Tenure Track Faculty Member, Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas |
| 2024 - Present | NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Outstanding Early Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00) |
| 2023 - Present | KSEA Postdoctoral Fellowship, Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA) |
| 2021 - Present | Mogam Science Scholarship, Mogam Foundation |
| 2020 - Present | NCI Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00) |
| 2020 - Present | Keystone Symposia Future of Science Fund Scholarship, Keystone Symposia |
| 2019 - Present | Chleck Fellowship, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute |
| 2017 - Present | Asan Scholarship, Asan Foundation |
| 2010 - Present | Brain Korea 21 Scholarship, Korean Ministry of Education |
| 2010 - Present | SNU Development Fund Scholarship, Seoul National University |
| 2008 - Present | Superior Academic Performance, Seoul National University |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Li, YD, Ma, MW, Hassan, MM, Hunkeler, M, Teng, M, Puvar, K, Rutter, JC, Lumpkin, RJ, Sandoval, B, Jin, CY, Schmoker, AM, Ficarro, S, Cheong, H, Metivier, RJ, Wang, MY, Xu, S, Byun, WS, Groendyke, BJ, You, I, Sigua, LH, Tavares, I, Zou, C, Tsai, JM, Park, PM, Yoon, H, Majewski, FC, Sperling, HT, Marto, JA, Qi, J, Nowak, RP, Donovan, KA, Słabicki, M, Gray, NS, Fischer, ES, Ebert, BL. Template-assisted covalent modification underlies activity of covalent molecular glues. Nature Chemical Biology 20(12):1640-1649, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39075252.
- Park, PM, Park, J, Brown, J, Hunkeler, M, Roy Burman, SS, Donovan, KA, Yoon, H, Nowak, RP, Słabicki, M, Ebert, BL, Fischer, ES. Polymerization of ZBTB transcription factors regulates chromatin occupancy. Molecular cell 84(13):2511-2524.e8, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38996460.
- Yoon, H, Rutter, JC, Li, YD, Ebert, BL. Induced protein degradation for therapeutics. Journal of Clinical Investigation 134(1), 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38165043.
- Wu, G, Yoshida, N, Liu, J, Zhang, X, Xiong, Y, Heavican-Foral, TB, Mandato, E, Liu, H, Nelson, GM, Yang, L, Chen, R, Donovan, KA, Jones, MK, Roshal, M, Zhang, Y, Xu, R, Nirmal, AJ, Jain, S, Leahy, C, Jones, KL, Stevenson, KE, Galasso, N, Ganesan, N, Chang, T, Wu, WC, Louissaint, A, Debaize, L, Yoon, H, Cin, PD, Chan, WC, Sui, SJ, Ng, S, Feldman, AL, Horwitz, SM, Adelman, K, Fischer, ES, Chen, CW, Weinstock, DM, Brown, M. TP63 fusions drive multicomplex enhancer rewiring, lymphomagenesis, and EZH2 dependence. Science translational medicine 15(714), 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37729434.
- Zou, C, Yoon, H, Park, PM, Patten, JJ, Pellman, J, Carreiro, J, Tsai, JM, Li, YD, Roy Burman, SS, Donovan, KA, Gasser, JA, Sperling, AS, Nowak, RP, Fischer, ES, Davey, RA, Ebert, BL, Słabicki, M. The human E3 ligase RNF185 is a regulator of the SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein. iScience 26(5), 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37095859.
- Du, G, Jiang, J, Henning, NJ, Safaee, N, Koide, E, Nowak, RP, Donovan, KA, Yoon, H, You, I, Yue, H, Eleuteri, NA, He, Z, Li, Z, Huang, HT, Che, J, Nabet, B, Zhang, T, Fischer, ES, Gray, NS. Exploring the target scope of KEAP1 E3 ligase-based PROTACs. Cell Chemical Biology 29(10):1470-1481.e31, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36070758.
- Nitsch, L, Jensen, P, Yoon, H, Koeppel, J, Roy Burman, SS, Fischer, ES, Scholl, C, Fröhling, S, Słabicki, M. BTBBCL6 dimers as building blocks for reversible drug-induced protein oligomerization. Cell Reports Methods 2(4), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35497498.
Selected Presentations & Talks
Local Presentations
- 2024. “Small, yet mighty - How degraders push proteins towards destruction”. Invited. James P. Allison Institute Seminar. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2023. Small-molecule-induced polymerization triggers degradation of BCL6. Invited. Cancer Chemical Biology & Metabolism retreat. Boston, Massachusetts, US.
- 2022. Small-molecule-induced polymerization triggers degradation of BCL6. Invited. Boston Symposium on Organic & Bioorganic Chemistry. Boston, Massachusetts, US.
- 2022. Structure-based design of proximity inducing molecules. Invited. 2nd Induced Proximity Based Drug Discovery Summit. Boston, Massachusetts, US.
- 2022. Subtle modification of solvent-exposed moiety confers molecular glue activity for targeted protein degradation. Invited. 2nd Ligase Targeting Drug Development Summit. Boston, Massachusetts, US.
- 2021. Small-molecule-induced protein polymerization. Invited. Boehringer Ingelheim-DFCI Joint Seminar. Boston, Massachusetts, US.
- 2020. Small-molecule-induced protein polymerization. Invited. Dana-Farber Targeted Protein Degradation Webinar Series. Boston, Massachusetts, US.
- 2020. Small-molecule-induced polymerization triggers degradation of BCL6. Invited. Translational Chemical Biology. Boston, Massachusetts, US.
- 2019. DCAF15: A new ubiquitin E3 ligase for targeted protein degradation. Invited. Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology Data Club. Boston, Massachusetts, US.
- Small-molecule-induced polymerization triggers degradation of BCL6. Invited. DFCI Chemical Biology Symposium. Boston, Massachusetts, US.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2025 - 2030 |
| Title: | Discovery of Molecular Glue Degraders Targeting the Undruggable Cancer Proteome |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Insitute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | RR240076 |
| Date: | 2025 - 2028 |
| Title: | A Chemoproteomic Approach to Identify Molecular Glues for Targeted Cancer Therapy |
| Funding Source: | NHI/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | R00CA287069 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2026 |
| Title: | A Chemoproteomic Approach to Identify Molecular Glues for Targeted Cancer Therapy |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | K99CA287069 |
| Date: | 2021 - 2025 |
| Title: | Expanding pharmacological modalities for targeted cancer therapy |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | K00CA253754 |
| Date: | 2020 - 2021 |
| Title: | Expanding pharmacological modalities for targeted cancer therapy |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | F99CA253754 |
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 11, 2025