Announcing the Next Dean of Emory School of Medicine
Dear Colleagues:
After an extensive nationwide search, we are pleased to announce that Sandra L. Wong, MD, MS, has been named the new dean of Emory School of Medicine. She will also serve as the chief academic officer for Emory Healthcare. Dr. Wong will join Emory in March 2024.
Dr. Wong is currently chair of the Department of Surgery at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where she is responsible for overseeing all aspects of research, education, and clinical operations, and a professor of surgery in the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. She is an international leader in surgical oncology, specializing in the management of soft tissue sarcomas, melanoma, and non-melanoma skin cancers.
Dr. Wong is a globally recognized health services researcher with an extensive record of research funding and more than 250 peer-reviewed studies to her credit. She has held leadership positions in several prominent professional organizations including the Society of Surgical Oncology, the Society of University Surgeons, and the Society of Surgical Chairs. She is also an editorial board member of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and the Journal of Surgical Oncology, a deputy editor for Annals of Surgical Oncology, and an associate editor for Annals of Surgery. Dr. Wong has been honored with numerous medical student and resident teaching awards.
A native of Stockton, California, Dr. Wong completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of California Berkeley. After receiving an MD 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.
After joining the faculty of the University of Michigan, Dr. Wong took on multiple administrative leadership roles including serving as associate chief of staff and vice chair of academic affairs. In 2015, she joined Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, where she developed cross-disciplinary mentorship and research programs. She also developed an interest in studying and eliminating 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 the provision of equitable health care. Dr. Wong has also served in national leadership roles focused on diversity and inclusion. This experience will be vital as the School of Medicine continues its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, nurturing a vibrant educational mission that aligns with the needs of an evolving health care system and diverse patient population.
She succeeds Dr. Carlos del Rio, who has provided outstanding leadership and commitment to our medical school students, faculty and staff as interim dean over the past year. In March he will transition to executive associate dean for clinical and faculty affairs and continue his roles as the Leon L. Haley Jr. MD Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory School of Medicine and professor of global health and epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health. Dr. del Rio and former dean Dr. Vikas Sukhatme have laid an exceptional foundation for future success, and we look forward to a new era of continued growth and excellence under Dr. Wong.
Please join us in welcoming Sandra Wong to Emory.
Ravi I. Thadhani, MD, MPH
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, Executive Director of Woodruff Health Sciences Center, and Vice Chair, Emory Healthcare Board of Directors
Ravi V. Bellamkonda Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs