Dr. Sandra L. Wong, a surgical oncologist and researcher, was named the new dean of Emory University School of Medicine on Thursday. She will be the first woman to lead Emory’s medical school in its 108-year history.
Wong will also serve as the chief academic officer for Emory Healthcare when she joins Emory in March 2024.
She will succeed Dr. Carlos del Rio, who was named interim dean in January 2023. The Emory School of Medicine has more than 3,400 faculty, nearly 1,400 residents and 1,000 students.
“Dr. Sandra Wong brings tremendous experience and expertise with her to Emory,” said Emory University President Gregory L. Fenves in a statement. “As a surgeon and academic leader, Dr. Wong has saved lives, mentored generations of doctors, and worked to eliminate health disparities in underserved populations.”
Wong specializes in the management of soft tissue sarcomas, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. Currently chair in the department of surgery at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, she is responsible for all aspects of research, education and clinical operations. She also serves as a professor of surgery at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
During her tenure at Dartmouth, she focused on efforts to eliminate rural health disparities. Her efforts helped spur the creation of the federally funded Center for Rural Health Care Delivery Science, which provides infrastructure to train junior investigators who focus on understanding and solving challenges associated with providing equitable health care.
Wong’s selection was announced Thursday following an extensive national search.
Credit: © Stephen Nowland/Emory Univers
Credit: © Stephen Nowland/Emory Univers
Dr. Ravi Thadhani, Emory’s executive vice president for health affairs, executive director for the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, and vice chair of the Emory Healthcare Board of Directors, said in a statement, “We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Wong to our community. Not only is she an exceptional leader, physician and clinical investigator, she is a champion for those underrepresented in medicine, which will be vital for instilling the values of health equity and innovation into our next generation of clinicians.”
Wong has an extensive record of research funding and more than 250 peer-reviewed studies to her credit. She has held leadership positions in the Society of Surgical Oncology, the Society of University Surgeons and the Society of Surgical Chairs, among other organizations. She is also an editorial board member of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and the Journal of Surgical Oncology.
“I am honored and humbled to be named the Dean at Emory University School of Medicine and am excited to work with the immensely talented and dedicated team at Emory University and Emory Healthcare to continue to build world-class patient care, research and education,” Wong said in a statement.
A native of Stockton, Calif., Wong completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of California Berkeley. After receiving her medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School in 1997, she completed a surgical residency at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and a surgical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Wong also spent a decade at the University of Michigan as an attending physician and professor.
