Dr. Edward “Ed” Kim, physician-in-chief at City of Hope Orange County, has been instrumental in developing a clinical trial network spanning 39 sites across five states. This innovative system aims to expand patient access to advanced cancer treatments, earning Dr. Kim recognition as one of the Business Journal’s Innovator of the Year honorees on October 7 at the Irvine Marriott.
Since City of Hope opened in Orange County in 2020 to meet increasing local demand for cancer care, it has served more than 50,000 patients. Dr. Kim’s work has extended this reach significantly by establishing the first academic center with a nationwide clinical trial system of its kind. Launched last March, its “just-in-time” model allows City of Hope to quickly open clinical trials across its network, including sites in Orange County, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, and Phoenix. This means a trial available in one state can be opened at another site in as few as 10 business days for a qualifying patient.
The system is already demonstrating results, with City of Hope enrolling a record 1,800-plus patients in treatment clinical trials and 1,400 in interventional clinical trials last year. The institution is currently conducting 800 active clinical studies. “Our job is to continue to push boundaries,” Kim said of the initiative. Beyond the physical network, Dr. Kim also helped develop Hope Pathways, a cloud-based platform designed to speed up trial matching and reduce administrative hurdles for clinicians. By establishing sites across multiple states, City of Hope has expanded its potential reach to 86 million people living within 90 minutes of one of its clinical trial sites.
Dr. Kim’s career path was profoundly influenced by personal experience. He initially did not envision a career in medicine, but this changed in the eighth grade following the sudden passing of his younger brother, Donald, from a heart ailment related to Kawasaki disease. This loss refocused his career aspirations toward medicine.
While he began in an accelerated medical program at Northwestern University aiming for pediatric cardiology, a rotation in pediatrics later convinced him it was not the right fit. His trajectory shifted again during an oncology rotation in Houston, where he was inspired by the bravery and grounded outlook of three terminally ill patients. This led him to pursue further training through a fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, a highly ranked institution for cancer care. Kim noted that training at such prestigious institutions prepared him to serve Orange County’s 3.2 million residents. He observes a nationwide troubling trend of rising cancer diagnoses among younger adults, including lung, breast, and colon cancer in patients in their 30s and 40s, signaling a need to reevaluate cancer interception strategies.
Outside of his professional accomplishments, Kim considers his 29-year marriage and two children his proudest achievements. His daughter, Elyssa, is a third-year medical student, following in her parents' footsteps, while his son, Alex, is a junior at Stanford University. Kim also contributes to the community by serving as a board member for the Pacific Symphony and the nonprofit business accelerator Octane, and partners with organizations such as the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance, OC API Task Force, and Asian American Senior Citizens Service.
