George Yoo, M.D., FACS, chief medical officer (CMO) at Karmanos Cancer Hospital, was again listed on Becker’s Hospital Review’s Chief Medical Officers to Know. The 2025 list includes over 180 CMOs nationwide who “play a pivotal role in advancing patient safety, maintaining high-quality standards, bridging the gap between leadership and medical staff, and managing risk.” The CMOs named are leaders who are continually driven for improvement, leading to multiple quality and safety accolades for their organizations.
Dr. Yoo became Karmanos' CMO in October 2008. He oversees Karmanos’ comprehensive medical operations and spearheads strategic initiatives. As CMO, Dr. Yoo is a pivotal senior executive team member, managing medical directors, multidisciplinary teams of specialists, and the entire medical staff. He’s active in numerous Karmanos Cancer Hospital and Wayne State University (WSU) committees, many of which he holds board positions.
With Karmanos’ robust research partnership with WSU, as CMO, Dr. Yoo contributes to academia at the School of Medicine, as well as clinical research and securing investigational funds for cancer care development. He joined the faculty in 1996 and has significantly contributed to the Department of Oncology as a tenured professor. Dr. Yoo's dedication to education is reflected in his training and mentoring with otolaryngology residents and head and neck fellows.
He was also one of the champions behind initiating the oncology service line within McLaren Health Care shortly after the corporation acquired Karmanos in 2014. This service line became known as the Karmanos Cancer Network.
In addition to being the CMO at Karmanos, Dr. Yoo is an ear, nose and throat specialist (otolaryngologist), surgical oncologist, and a member of the Head and Neck Oncology and Melanoma Multidisciplinary Teams. He sees patients not only at the Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit but also at Karmanos Cancer Institute at the Weisberg Cancer Center in Farmington Hills and Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Flint. He is also a member of the Molecular Therapeutics Research Program.
Dr. Yoo has been recognized for his practice and bedside manner. He was named to the HOUR Detroit Magazine’s Top Doc List 15 times between 2005 and 2025 and was named one of America’s Top Doctors and America’s Top Doctors for Cancer by Castle Connolly Medical, Ltd. multiple times between 2012 and 2025.
Read the complete list of Becker’s 2025 CMOs to Know here.