A Gift for Disruption: Visionary Roderick Wong, M’03, Gives Back to PennHealthX
Roderick Wong, M’03, came to the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) with a vision for a broader type of education and impact than the traditional physician route.
“Penn was the only place that really understood what I wanted to do,” he says.
Going on to supplement his medical degree with an MBA, Wong today is the founder and managing partner of RTW Investments, where he advocates for the next generation of life science entrepreneurs. This year, he made headlines when he gave a $6 million gift to endow the Roderick T. Wong PennHealthX Program, one of the largest single gifts to support medical education at PSOM.
“This generous gift, along with Dr. Wong’s mentorship and personal support of our students’ endeavors, impacts our students and our educational environment in exceptional ways,” adds Senior Vice Dean for Medical Education Suzi Rose, MD, MSEd. “We are very grateful to Dr. Wong for his commitment to Penn and to the Perelman School of Medicine.”
“PennHealthX embodies all the ideals that I deeply care about, and I viewed this as an incredible opportunity to be able to support that at Penn,” says Wong. “I’m proud of all the students who proved that what started out as an experiment is now a crucial complement to the education they get here. To be able to play a part in ensuring it endures feels amazing.”
Created in 2013 by entrepreneurial Penn Medicine students, PennHealthX explores the intersections of medicine, business, and technology and has become a nationally recognized and valued enhancer of the school’s curriculum. Wong, the winner of a PSOM Young Alumni Service Award, has championed — and given to — PennHealthX since its inception.
After all, PennHealthX epitomizes the creativity and ambition of Penn Medicine’s remarkable students, reflected in both the new endowed fund and in Wong’s own story. In addition to supporting PennHealthX, Wong’s gift will also create a scholarship to provide financial support to medical students who are pursuing an MBA at Wharton.
“Dr. Wong is a true philanthropist who is looking to make a difference,” says Lisa Katz, director of leadership gifts. “He is a beacon people want to follow and a bridge builder between our students and the amazing opportunities across Penn’s campus.”
In addition to spending Nov. 21 with PSOM students, signing the endowment alongside President Amy Gutmann and Dean Larry Jameson, and attending a reception to celebrate his gift, Wong also spoke at the PennHealthX’s DiscoverDesignDeliver conference on Nov. 16. The two-day event included workshops on medical device prototype design, gene therapy, and developing the next generation of human-machine interfaces as well as keynote lectures on health care venture capital and virtual reality training for surgeons.
This year, organizers made a special effort to focus on expanding the conference to students and trainees outside of the Penn community, to the greater Philadelphia and tri-state areas — and beyond. One such draw was the inaugural conference pitch competition, which inspired a slew of high caliber presentations from applicants from medical and business schools as well as programs for public health, innovation, and design.
