Zhi Fong, M.D.

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SUMMARY

Zhi Fong, M.D., is a surgical oncologist at Mayo Clinic. His research focuses on population sciences and health services. He uses administrative datasets to improve the delivery of patient-centered and clinical outcomes. The National Institutes of Health funds his work.

Dr. Fong has over 100 peer-reviewed publications in prominent journals. He directs the pancreatic cancer database at Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. He has access to multiple large databases, such as the SEER-Medicare and the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project state registries.

Focus areas

• Impact of unpaid caregiving on those who care for patients with cancer.
• Impact of state-specific paid leave policies on patients' ability to receive care.
• Patient and caregiver priorities and considerations when selecting a hospital for complex cancer care.
• Long-term functional outcomes and quality of life in patients undergoing a pancreatectomy.
• Long-term healthcare use and financial toxicity after pancreatectomy.
• Short and long-term outcomes after robotic versus open Whipple procedure.
• Clinical trials to treat pancreatic, liver and biliary cancers.

Significance to patient care

As systemic chemotherapy and the understanding of treatment sequencing improve, patients with cancer are living longer. But what patients and their caregivers experience beyond the initial period after a cancer operation receives little attention. By shifting the concept of healthcare beyond just the four walls of the hospital, Dr. Fong aims to better help patients and their families adapt and thrive after cancer treatment.

Professional highlights

• Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association:
  • Member, Program Committee, 2023-present.
  • Member, Publications Committee, 2018-2022.
  • Member, Research Committee, 2015-2019.
• Society of Asian Academic Surgeons:
  • Member, Program Committee, 2023-present.
  • Member, Scholarship Committee, 2023-present.
  • Highest-Scoring Abstract and Travel Award, 2018.
• Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Cancer, 2021-present.
• Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract:
  • Member, Virtual Education Program Subcommittee, 2021-present.
  • Member, Communications Committee, 2018-2020.
  • Member, Strategic Planning Task Force, 2018-2020.
  • Writer's Workshop Scholarship, 2016.
• Member, International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, 2014-present.
• Member, American College of Surgeons, 2010-present.
• Chair, Fellows and Young Attendings Committee, Society of Surgical Oncology, 2023-2024.
• Chair, Surgical and Perioperative Care Interest Group, AcademyHealth, 2023-2024.
• National Cancer Institute F32 Grant Award, National Institutes of Health, 2017-2019.
• Francis Torrens Stewart, M.D., Clinical Surgery Prize for general excellence in clinical surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, 2012.