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ARIEL HOLLINSHEAD HYUN Obituary

HYUN Dr. Ariel Hollinshead HYUN Pioneering Cancer Scientist Ariel Cahill Hollinshead Hyun, distinguished Professor of Medicine Emerita at The George Washington University School of Medicine, died on September 10, 2019 at the age of 90. She was a pioneering scientist in the field of cancer research, a former national president of Graduate Women in Science, and a respected fellow and member of numerous research societies, including AACR, ASCO, and AAAS. A loving mother and grandmother, she was married to Montgomery K. Hyun for nearly 60 years until his death in 2016.

Dr. Hollinshead, as she was known professionally, carried out groundbreaking clinical research in the area of tumor antigens, cancer vaccines and immunotherapy, much of which is of ongoing foundational significance today. Throughout her career and retirement, she was a popular professor and sought-after advisor to countless doctors and scientists, and was particularly passionate about the advancement of women in science. She began her career when few women, especially mothers, pursued the demands of fulltime scientific research, absorbing a healthy share of institutional and societal challenges, but never abandoned her trademark warmth and positivity. In an interview, she once said, "the life of a scientist is demanding, and there are often 12-hour work days...but I really enjoy what I do, and-after-what I hurry home to."

Dr. Hollinshead grew up in the Pittsburg suburb of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. At the age of 15, she read Paul de Kruif's seminal book, Microbe Hunters, about the lives of early bacteriologists, and used money from her summer jobs to purchase a Zeiss microscope. She matriculated at Swarthmore College, where she met her future husband, but transferred to, and earned her AB from, Ohio University. She earned masters and doctoral degrees in pharmacology from The George Washington University (GW), and completed post-doctoral work in virology and epidemiology at Baylor University Medical Center, working closely with Dr. Joseph Melnick. In 1959, she joined the GW faculty, teaching classes in pharmacology, virology, immunology, and oncology, and, in 1964, established the Laboratory for Virus and Cancer Research.

Dr. Hollinshead published more than 275 research articles and directed 17 clinical trials involving some 19 forms of human cancer, including in lung, colon, and ovarian cancer patients. She made significant contributions to her field, including discovering purine and pyrimidine analogues for the treatment of cancer and viral infection, with notable early work on poliomyelitis. She was one of the first to develop and test antibodies to various cancer neo-antigens that have the ability to induce long-lasting cell-mediated immunity. Embracing the most advanced laboratory technology of the day, she and Dr. T.H.M. Stewart of the University of Ottawa collaborated to first identify induced dormancy in human lung tumors. Select patients in the United States and Canada receiving their vaccines achieved greater than 12-year survival terms.

Peers in the scientific research community widely regard Dr. Hollinshead as the "mother of immunotherapy." Amongst many honors, she was named the USA Bicentennial Medical Woman of the Year in 1976 by the Joint Board of Medical Colleges, which described her as "one of the few women in our country who...will receive lasting distinction by applying the principles of basic research to the diseases of humanity." The same year, she received the Marion Spencer Fay Award for distinction, innovation, and leadership in medicine and science. In 1980, she received the Star of Europe Medal from the Ministers of Health of Italy, Germany, and England and was honored at the White House by President Jimmy Carter. She twice received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, in 1985 and 1996.

Dr. Hollinshead loved to sing and play the piano and participated in community choirs well into her eighties. As a respite from professional life in Washington, she often spent weekends with family and friends in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, where she loved to paint wildflowers, humming birds, and the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. She was a life-long Quaker and long-time member of the Friends Meeting of Washington, before moving to the retirement community of Medford Leas, Medford, NJ and the Medford Friends Meeting.

Dr. Hollinshead is survived by son, William Hyun (San Francisco); son and daughter-in-law, Christopher Hyun and Maria Pallante (Washington, DC); grandchildren, Stephanie, Isabella, and Spenser Hyun, numerous beloved nieces and nephews, and countless friends, colleagues, and former students.

She is preceded in death by her beloved husband and best friend Montgomery (Monty) Hyun, who arrived in the United States from war-torn Korea in 1947, and went on to become an American antitrust lawyer and distinguished Chief Judge of the Federal Trade Commission. Together, they witnessed history, raised a family, and left Washington and the world a better place.

The family invites friends and colleagues to a memorial service and Meeting for Worship on September 29, at 3 p.m. in the Holly Room at Medford Leas, One Medford Leas Way, Medford, NJ 08055. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Graduate Women in Science, P.O. Box 7, Mullica Hill, NJ, 08062 or through the website at gwis.org.

Published by The Washington Post on Sep. 13, 2019.
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My dad spoke highly of Dr Hollinshead. They went to school together in Bethel Park. What a pioneer for women she was! In sympathy, June Renton Harley.

June Renton Harley

Other

December 28, 2023

a loved one

September 24, 2019

I could not love the Hollinshead family more, and Aunt Ariel (who insisted I call her that) and Uncle Monty and their beautiful boys welcome me like the rest of their amazing family. My dear friend Kimbo, and her siblings and all other Hollinsheads wherever they are: hugging you close. Peace to Aunt Ariel's soul, and love to all of you.

Mary Donovan

September 15, 2019

A most outstanding woman of science, of whom we have far too few.

Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams

September 13, 2019

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29

Memorial service

3:00 p.m.

Holly Room at Medford Leas

One Medford Leas Way, Medford, NJ 08055

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