1. Dr. Kwak, you are a world-renowned
physician and cancer research scientist. What was the reason for attending medical
school? What motivated you to become a physician?
- I give a lot of credit to my
family background. I have a wonderful Korean heritage of service to mankind. My
maternal grandfather, Oh Chung Soo, was the first Korean to graduate from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1927, and he later returned to
Korea to serve in the government as Minister of Commerce. My parents were both
educators. My father, Kwak No Whan, came to the U.S.A. to earn his Ph.D. degree
in Physics, and my mother, Oh Chang Sook, came to the U.S.A. for undergraduate
college on a piano performance scholarship. As a child, my parents encouraged
me to pursue a profession in which I could enhance the welfare of mankind and
instilled in me the values of hard work and motivation.
I became interested in medical
research at a very young age. Actually, it was a pivotal experience during a
summer high school internship. I was given a job doing some menial tasks in a
hospital clinical laboratory. But my mentor, a pathologist, would invite me
into his office every day after work and show me slides under the microscope of
cancer cells. Interspersed with those cancer cells were normal immune cells and
he would challenge me to think about why those cells – the normal immune cells
– were there and if they could one day be harnessed to fight cancer. That
exposure sparked my interest in cancer research. From that point on, my
education and training were aimed towards that ultimate goal of being able to
make discoveries in the laboratory as a scientist and then as a physician to be
able to walk over to the clinic and offer those cutting-edge treatments to
patients.
2. During more than 20 years of
commitment in oncology research, you may have gone through various obstacles;
can you share some of the most difficult moments in your career?
- My first job was at age
thirty-four after I finished my M.D. and Ph.D. degrees and clinical residency
and subspecialty oncology fellowship at Stanford. I was offered a position to
lead my own research program at the National Cancer Institute. It was a
wonderful decade at the National Cancer Institute– that’s where some of the
earliest discoveries were made by my laboratory in developing one of the first
cancer vaccines. We optimized it in laboratory animals and then ultimately were
able to take it to patients through the different phases of clinical trials,
starting with phase 1 and eventually to phase 3 clinical trial, the last phase
in clinical development for a drug, which was ultimately positive.
But it was during the early
groundbreaking pivotal work 20 years ago that we encountered obstacles to the
idea of harnessing the immune system. When we first tested cancer vaccines in
the traditional phase 1 clinical trial model; i.e., in patients with advanced cancer
burdens, they failed to show any real effectiveness, and this generated many
naysayers in the oncology community. But we went back to the drawing board, and
testing in mice, we observed that the most effective setting for vaccines was
against a minimal cancer burden. In other words, when we combined chemotherapy
first, to shrink 90% of the cancer, then gave the vaccine to mop up the
remaining microscopic cancer cells, most of the mice were cured. When this
principle of combining chemotherapy with the vaccine was then applied to
lymphoma patients, the length of their remissions was doubled on average,
compared with chemotherapy alone, with some patients staying in remission for
15 years after receiving the vaccine.
So, to me, this is the true meaning of
the Ho-Am Prize in Medicine - perseverance. My wife and I traveled to Seoul at
the end of May last year to accept the award. And with several Nobel laureates
in the audience, it was this message of faith and persistence that I shared to
describe my journey in my acceptance speech.
3. We see that you have been named
as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2010 along with former
President Barack Obama and Steve Jobs, to name a few. This list includes people
who are recognized for affecting the world. Can you share with our readers some
of the major achievements and outcomes you have accomplished during your
professional life?
- First, I need to tell you a funny
story: I remember receiving an email from the Time Corporation and I didn’t
open it right away, because I get a lot of emails and I thought it was a form
of spam. And frankly I’d never heard of the Time 100, but I did end up opening
it a few days later and I ran it by our communications department. They said,
“Oh my goodness, this is a major thing and you should definitely go accept it.”
So, my wife and I both attended the ceremony in New York City - there were so
many famous people there (including three other persons of Korean heritage,
including Yuna Kim). They roll out a red carpet there at the Lincoln Center.
Adam Sandler was in line in front of us and the paparazzi were all there
snapping his photo; the cameras were going off all the time. And then it was
our turn. Our host said, “This is Dr. Larry Kwak” and everything stopped, and
you could hear everybody whispering, “Who’s that, who’s that?” And then a few
seconds later all the cameras just started going off again- it turns out that
it didn’t matter who it was after all!
I was honored for my 20 year-long
commitment to the science of cancer vaccines. I was fortunate to be recognized,
as I think a major component of any recognition is the right timing. I’ve been
working in this field of cancer immunotherapy for most of my life, and just now
we’re starting to see the fruits of these labors. Specifically, we now have
treatments which are approved by the FDA in this field and it has opened a
whole new area of cancer research (known as Immuno-Oncology) which is very
promising. So, I was fortunate that the committee recognized some of my early
work as seminal. I was involved in the beginning and was one of the scientists
whose research set the groundwork for the successes that we’re seeing today in
the clinic.
4. Dr. Kwak, you are the Vice
President and Associate Director for Translational Research and Developmental
Therapeutics at City of Hope. What are your key roles, responsibilities, and
principles of leading in one of the most comprehensive cancer centers? Also,
what are the long-term goals and visions that you hope to see the City of Hope
to achieve?
- As Vice-President and Associate
Director for Translational Research and Developmental Therapeutics, my primary
responsibility is to shape the next generation of research and treatments for
cancer, in general, and lymphoma and hematologic malignancies, in particular,
at City of Hope. In my combined roles as a physician, scientist, and mentor, my
vision is to assemble and lead research teams to integrate and accelerate basic
discoveries from laboratories to clinical development and first in-human
clinical trials of novel “homegrown” therapeutics, such as next generation
cancer immunotherapies. I play a key role in the future direction of City of
Hope’s precision medicine and teamwork science initiatives.
5. We see that you are an eminent
opinion leader in translational cancer researches. Translational research is a
relatively new research discipline which applies findings from basic and
fundamental sciences into medical practices. What do you think is the current
status, trends, and challenges in translational research? Also, what do you
forecast the major changes would be in translational research in the next five
years?
- I’m glad you asked, because
translational research is what really energizes me. I like to point out that
I’ve actually been engaging in this discipline long before the term was coined
and before it became popular. True translational research is the idea of taking
discoveries from the laboratory and applying them directly to patients. Having
training and expertise as a scientist and the perspective and compassion of a
physician is one path to such a career, but it’s not the only way. My passion
is to inspire the next generation of young physician-scientists with the same
vision to see their own research applied in their lifetime, as well as patients
to have faith and courage.
My own professional path has allowed
me to experience the personal satisfaction of the first two “d’s” in the
therapeutics development triad; namely, discovery and development. But to
achieve the last “d”; namely, delivery, I believe academic medical centers need
to collaborate more with commercial biotech and pharma companies to achieve the
ultimate goal of getting innovative therapies out to the general public. For
example, in my leadership role at City of Hope, I oversee several resources
that are actively collaborating with commercial entities in advancing new
therapies and technologies, such as clinical-grade (GMP) manufacturing
facilities which have some external clients, and we have recruited several
members from industry to our internal committee which makes “go” and “no go”
decisions about investment in our own products with commercialization
potential.
Here is also where I see a lot of
potential in Korea, with the growing excitement and corresponding investment in
biotechnology that is taking place now. To give back to my Korean heritage, I
have a deep interest in making myself available to provide advice and guidance
to the Korean biotechnology community to help catalyze growing collaborations
with academic medical centers.
6. What would be your advice or
comments for current medical students as well as those who aspire to become a
doctor?
- Well, I think the wonderful thing
about living in America is that you can still be recognized for your
achievements, and so the advice that I give when I talk with young people is
three things. The first is to make sure that in everything you undertake, you
strive for excellence. Aristotle defined excellence as something that you do as
a habit, so it’s not just a one-time event and it becomes a part of your core
values. One component of excellence is the perseverance I spoke of earlier.
Unfortunately, perseverance is becoming less popular among young persons – I
see it even in my own children; one anecdote is that when I told my family
about the TIME100 award, my second son’s response was, “Gee, that’s great Dad,
but who would want to work on the same thing for 20 years?!” Second, seek out
wise mentors. It’s very difficult to walk any road alone and I look at my own
experience beginning with my high school summer internship experience as
pivotal. I’ve had other mentors along the way at every step in my career that
have really helped guide me, most recently Dr. Waun Ki Hong, Samsung
Distinguished University Chair Emeritus Professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Third, especially for young families, my advice is to maintain proper
perspective and be committed to your family. Several years ago, my wife and I
authored a book (see photo) in Korea focused on the importance of teamwork in
parenting. In it, we describe several examples from my own life making
intentional choices to be a father that was involved in the lives of my four
children. I can still recall deliberately turning off my mobile phone as soon
as I arrived home each evening when our children were young to give them my
undivided attention until they went to bed.
7. WKMJ has readers from more than
10 countries globally. Please share your final words with our readers.
- I feel like the most fortunate
person in this world, not only because of a wonderfully supportive wife and
family, but also because I believe everyone has a purpose on this Earth, and my
God-given, unique design happens to be my occupation. I love my job, because I
wake up every morning anticipating that today is another day we might make a
laboratory discovery that will make an immediate impact for cancer patients. In
other words, I feel like I’m operating in my sweet spot, and I even get paid
for it! One of my close friends, who founded a nonprofit leadership training
organization, called Xealots, promotes the idea that we all have a universal
calling; namely, to enhance the welfare of others. In the medical profession we
benefit from having so many choices of primary care or specialties to choose
among, so my hope for my fellow physicians of Korean heritage is that we all
have maximum impact in our respective spheres of influence.
Larry W. Kwak, MD, PhD
Vice President and Cancer Center
Associate Director, Translational Research & Developmental Therapeutics
City of Hope National Medical Center
Dr. Kwak is currently a Vice President and Cancer
Center Associate Director of Translational Research and Developmental
Therapeutics, Dr. Michael Friedman Professor for Translational Medicine,
Director of Toni Stephenson Lymphoma Center at City of Hope National Medical
Center. Dr. Kwak served as Head of the Vaccine Biology Section, Experimental
Transplantation and Immunology Branch, at the National Cancer Institute (NCI)
for 12 years. His NCI laboratory is credited with the pioneering
bench-to-clinic development of a therapeutic cancer vaccine for B-cell
malignancies, which was recently reported as positive in a landmark national
Phase III clinical trial. From 2004-2014 Dr. Kwak served as Chairman of the
Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma and Co-Director of the Center for Cancer
Immunology Research at the University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in
Houston, Texas, where he also held the Justin Distinguished Chair in Leukemia
Research. Under his leadership, his department successfully captured extensive
research support, including large team science grants, such as two SPORE grants
in Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma, respectively, from the NCI and a SCOR program
project grant awarded by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. A committed
physician, scientist, and mentor, his vision is to assemble and lead research
teams to integrate basic discoveries from academic laboratories with
translational clinical development to first-in-human clinical trials of novel
“homegrown” therapeutics, such as next generation cancer immunotherapies. In
2010 Dr. Kwak was named to the TIME100, one of the world’s 100 most influential
people by TIME magazine, for his 20-year commitment to the science of cancer
immunotherapy. In 2016 he was awarded the Ho-Am Prize in Medicine for his
pioneering research in cancer immunotherapy.