With mixed emotions, I write today to announce the retirement of Dr. Koong-Nah Chung, effective January 3rd, following an exceptional career of nearly three decades at WashU Medicine. During this time, she has served as the Assistant Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs, and as our Associate Dean for Medical Student Research, Director of the Office of Medical Student Research, and Co-Lead of the Explore Research Pathway.
Dr. Chung’s academic journey began with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, followed by a doctorate in molecular biology and biochemistry from Washington University. She joined the School of Medicine in 1996 after a distinguished research career, which included a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley and a senior staff fellow position at the National Cancer Institute.
Throughout her tenure, Dr. Chung has left a lasting impact on medical education, from spearheading summer research programs for historically underrepresented students in medicine to being the driving force behind the highly successful medical student Summer Research Program. Under her leadership, the program secured over $5.2 million in grant funding and evolved into today’s Year-Long Research Program within the Gateway Curriculum. Her visionary leadership has significantly expanded research opportunities across disciplines and elevated our students’ participation and success. Importantly, she has touched the life of almost every student at WashU Medicine with any interest in pursuing research, while also supporting their career goals and helping them develop important and lasting mentoring relationships. We are profoundly grateful for Dr. Chung’s unwavering dedication to our students, their research, and medical education. While her presence will be deeply missed, we wish her the best in her well-deserved retirement. She is looking forward to spending more time with her family.