Joe Wong

Joe Wong (; born February 16, 1970; academically known as Huang Xi ) is a Chinese American comedian and former biochemistry researcher. He received a PhD degree in biochemistry from Rice University in 2000. He started his comedy career in Boston in 2001.

Early life Wong was born in the city of Baishan, Jilin, northeastern China, into an ethnic Korean family. His family had emigrated from Korea three generations previously. He graduated from Jilin University with a bachelor's degree and pursued a master's degree at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, before he went for doctoral studies in chemistry at Rice University in Texas in 1994. He graduated from Rice University in 2000 with a PhD in biochemistry. Wong's doctoral dissertation was titled "The Drosophila inebriated/rosA transporter: Dual roles in the control of neuronal excitability and osmotic stress response". His multiple appearances on TV, courtesy of Ellen DeGeneres, boosted his reputation further. On February 10, 2010, Wong made his second appearance on the Late Show, and appeared again on March 30, 2012. He returned to the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on December 14, 2018.

On St. Patrick’s Day, 2010, he headlined the annual dinner hosted by the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association. On June 19, 2010, he placed first in the Third Annual Great American Comedy Festival.

In 2013, he moved back to Beijing, hosting television shows, such as Is it true? , a MythBusters-like program, on China Central Television.

Awards Date Title Source May 2003 Finalist at the Boston International Comedy and Film Festival March 2003 Best Short Film award at the Cambridge Fringe Fest Six-time winner of Standup Comedy Contest at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA