Hojong Yoon, PHD
Department of Experimental Therapeutics, Division of Cancer Medicine
Present Title & Affiliation
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Assistant Professor, Department of Experimental Therapeutics Assistant Member, James P. Allison Institute The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Education & Training
Postgraduate Training
| 2021-2024 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Cancer Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Houston, Texas |
| 2016-2021 | PhD Student, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), Houston, Texas |
| 2010-2012 | Master student, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University (SNU), Houston, Texas |
Experience & Service
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Research Scientist, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), 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 09, 2025