2003 Perelman School of Medicine graduate Roderick Wong gifted $6 million to the school's PennHealthX program to endow the program in his name, according to a Medical School press release.
PennHealthX is a student-led organization that integrates business and medicine for students who are interested in health care management and entrepreneurship. The organization facilitates networking, educational events, and financial support for medical students.
Wong, who serves on the advisory board of PennHealthX, said he made the donation because he wanted to help PennHealthX influence the careers of students interested in business and medicine. Wong previously donated $300,000 to PennHealthX in 2014.
“The program embodies the values that paved the way for me to find my own career path,” Wong wrote in an email to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Photo from Roderick Wong
Pictured from left to right: President Gutmann, Dean Jameson of Perelman School of Medicine, and Senior Vice Dean Suzanne Rose for Medical Education.
PennHealthX offers different opportunities to medical students, such as the ability to participate in interdisciplinary conferences, events, and program-funded labs. They also produce a podcast and blog.
The podcast was founded in 2017 by Penn Medicine student Ryan O'Keefe to highlight innovation in the healthcare industry.
"The founders of PennHealthX and the amazing teams that have followed have taken their own passion for innovation, technology, and business and created a wonderful way for many more students to get exposure to exciting things happening in and around medicine," Wong wrote.
With the aid of his donation, Wong said he hopes the benefits PennHealthX offers will be available to students for many years to come.
“I’m simply excited for PennHealthX to be one enduring platform that gives students the ability to shape their own education and potentially impact medicine early in their careers,” Wong wrote. “Every year I look forward to the amazing ideas that emerge from each new group, and get to watch as students inspire each other to think about how they can impact medicine in new and interesting ways.”
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