Suk Ki Hong was born in South Korea on 16 October 1928. He received his medical degree from Yonsei University (then Severance Union Medical College) and his doctorate in physiology from the University of Rochester.

A visiting instructor at the University at Buffalo (UB) from 1956-1959, Hong then spent nine years at Yonsei University, the last two as chair of the physiology department. He joined the University of Hawaii physiology faculty in 1969, was named chair in 1971, and served in that capacity until coming to UB as professor of physiology in 1975. He was named State University of New York Distinguished Professor in 1995.

Hong spend much of his research career studying the body's response to deep-water diving, particularly of ama, and had a lengthy publication record in the field. He also served on the editorial board for Undersea Biomedical Research.

Hong was United States coordinator for Unites States-Japan Cooperative Research on Diving from 1975-1987 and chaired the organizing committee for the International Symposium on "Man in the Sea" sponsored by the University of Hawaii in 1975.

In addition to his teaching and research activities, Hong was director of graduate studies in physiology from 1984-1994 and prior to that directed UB's Graduate Group in Experimental Nephrology.

He Received several awards during his lifetime, including the Stockton Kimball Award from the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences for excellence in research, education, and service.

Suk Ki Hong retired from teaching in 1997 and died after a long illness on 4 October 1999.

--Adapted from Hong's obituary in the UB Reporter, 7 October 1999.