Podcast Summary: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

Guest: Dr. Edward Kim, Vice Physician-in-Chief at City of Hope National Medical Center & Physician-in-Chief at City of Hope Orange County
Host: Elizabeth Gregerson
Date: February 3, 2026
Episode Focus: National expansion, innovation in clinical trials, organizational culture, and the future of comprehensive cancer care at City of Hope.

Episode Overview

This episode features Dr. Edward Kim, a key clinical and operational leader at City of Hope, discussing the organization’s journey in expanding its nationwide cancer care footprint, streamlining clinical trials, leveraging AI, and pushing forward holistic and integrative cancer care. Listeners gain insights into the unique organizational strategy, successes and learning moments of 2025, as well as the key priorities and challenges facing City of Hope in 2026.

Introduction & Dr. Kim’s Background ([01:10]–[04:04])

• Dr. Ed Kim’s Role:

  • Medical oncologist specializing in lung and head/neck cancers.
  • Leadership responsibilities in building City of Hope’s Orange County campus and system-wide clinical trials.

• City of Hope Overview:

  • Over 100 years old; pivotal in synthetic insulin, CAR T platforms, and bone marrow transplants.
  • Network spans 30+ sites in California, as well as campuses in Atlanta, Phoenix, and Northern Chicago.
  • Focus: Expanding patient access to cancer expertise and research nationwide.

  Quote:

  “We have now opened the full campus with the outpatient center in 2022 and the inpatient hospital just this past December, first in 25 and had a joy of recruiting over 100 physicians and over 700 staff to really take care of the patients in Orange County.”
  — Dr. Kim ([01:46])

Major 2025 Initiatives: Clinical Trials Expansion & Organizational Culture ([04:31]–[08:59])

• National Clinical Trials Network:

  • Dr. Kim led the creation of a unique, multi-state clinical trials infrastructure with a single IRB, PI, and contract.
  • First trials were launched simultaneously across five major campuses and all City of Hope regional sites.
  • Achieved a 90-day activation time (vs. 8–12 months typical in other institutions).
  • Reached 86 million lives within 90 minutes of 40 sites.

  Quote:

  “There’s really no other academic center in this country that has a singularly connected clinical trials footprint across multiple states. And we created that.”
  — Dr. Kim ([04:51])

  • Metrics:
    • 1st patient consent within two weeks of activation, enrolment within 30 days.
    • Broader clinical research access reduces patient travel and expands trial participation.

• Workforce Growth & Culture:

  • Opened new inpatient hospital in Orange County; doubling medical staff.
  • Focused on maintaining a people-centered culture through hiring and onboarding.

  Quote:

  “People will comment how special our culture is here... everyone is friendly, from our front desk person to our valet, to our custodial service, to our... people in the cafeteria.”
  — Dr. Kim ([08:14])

2026 Priorities: Decentralization, AI Integration, & Access ([09:49]–[14:05])

• Relentless Innovation:

  • Continual push to build momentum and innovate as cancer incidence remains high.

• Decentralizing Clinical Trials:

  • Implementing remote monitoring, telemedicine, and decentralized lab draws to increase patient convenience.

• Broader Eligibility for Trials:

  • Dr. Kim is a long-time advocate for reducing exclusionary criteria in trials.

  Quote:

  “We talk about access, we want to open it in more places, but if the eligibility criteria remain very restrictive... we are excluding patients unnecessarily. And that's ironic because it's a scientific study, but we're not using science to determine who's eligible for these studies.”
  — Dr. Kim ([11:31])

• Leveraging Artificial Intelligence:

  • AI feasibility program searches EHRs to identify where patient pools exist and direct clinical trials accordingly.
  • AI-driven clinical trial matching tools cross-reference patient records and eligibility to inform clinical trial opportunities.

  Quote:

  “Let’s make note of the time I said the word AI...AI is not going to fix everything. But we do know there are some real pragmatic tools that AI can help us with.”
  — Dr. Kim ([12:30])

• Workforce Efficiency:

  • Technology adoption aims to scale research and care with fewer resources while maintaining quality.

Biggest Challenge & Greatest Opportunity for 2026 ([14:52]–[18:26])

• Challenges:

  • Systemic bureaucracy—including regulatory hurdles and prior authorization—slows clinical and research progress.
  • Variability across insurance payers and regulatory frameworks in different states complicates national operations.
  • Increasing cancer screening rates, especially for lung cancer, remains a persistent gap.

  Quote:

  “There’s a lot of bureaucracy...whether that's through clinical trials or even trying to treat patients and getting prior authorization, there seems to be a lot of steps or hurdles placed in front of our providers to try and deliver the care that they want.”
  — Dr. Kim ([14:55])

• Opportunities:

  • The national clinical trial network facilitates rapid, efficient testing and scaling of new treatments and care models.
  • New collaborations and partnerships are expanding due to the unique scale and reach of City of Hope's network.

  Quote:

  “Our physicians, our investigators, our scientists see this as a huge canvas in which now they can dream about implementing something quickly, efficiently, and get an answer quickly... we’ll be able to fast fail or accelerate quicker based on those results.”
  — Dr. Kim ([17:27])

• Expansion of Integrative Oncology:

  • Plans to scale holistic care nationally, combining eastern and western medicine, aiming for high-quality, data-driven evidence for supportive therapies.
  • Integrative oncology clinical trials launching as a national initiative.

Memorable Closing & Vision for the Future ([18:26]–End)

• Evidence-Based Integrative Care:

  • Commitment to scientifically evaluating integrative therapies to provide meaningful, healing experiences for patients.

  Quote:

  “We’re going to test it with level one data. Should we move forward or should we put it off to the side?”
  — Dr. Kim ([19:05])

• Final Message:

  • Dr. Kim remains focused on patient-centered innovation, scaling best practices, and advancing whole-person care.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “We were able to do that [open clinical trials] simultaneously... our trial activation time is still around 90 days, which most places it's 8 to 12 months.” — Dr. Kim ([06:24])
• “If you can scale an office, provide access to patients where they live...they will engage in clinical trials.” — Dr. Kim ([07:13])
• “The only way we're going to improve our career, improve the standard of care, is by clinical trial opportunity.” — Dr. Kim ([07:26])
• “We need to continue to build momentum on what we've done and continue to iterate, continue to rethink, reimagine.” — Dr. Kim ([10:18])
• “I want to continue to see people do well and treat them holistically, not just try and cure their cancer, but also help calm and heal their mind, their body, and their spirit.” — Dr. Kim ([13:58])
• “We do have a program of integrative oncology... this coming year, we're going to scale that nationally as well.” — Dr. Kim ([18:07])

Key Takeaways

• City of Hope’s national expansion of clinical research infrastructure is uniquely comprehensive and nimble, setting rapid activation benchmarks for the industry.
• Decentralization, technology (especially AI), and broader eligibility are central strategies to make trials—and care—more accessible and equitable.
• Despite systemic and operational challenges, Dr. Kim and his team remain committed to patient-centric innovation and holistic care, scaling both cutting-edge therapies and integrative approaches.
• The organization is poised to further transform cancer care and research, with transparent evaluation and ambitious plans for nationwide impact in 2026.