Lehigh computer science alumnus named IEEE Fellow
Stephen T.C. Wong '89G '91PhD, an internationally acclaimed bioengineer and imaging scientist with the Houston Methodist health network in Texas, has been awarded the distinction of fellow from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Chosen for his leadership in drug discovery, systems biology, bioinformatics and health analytics, Wong, who earned master’s and doctoral degrees from Lehigh in Computer Science, holds the John S. Dunn Sr. Presidential Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Engineering at Houston Methodist and is a professor of radiology, neuroscience, pathology and laboratory medicine of Cornell University. He also serves as founding chair and professor of the Department of Systems Medicine and Bioengineering in the Houston Methodist Research Institute. Houston Methodist is home to some of the world’s most innovative physician-scientists, working in a collaborative environment on more than 800 clinical trials in cardiovascular disease, cancer, infectious disease, neurosciences, diabetes and more.
Wong’s research focuses on understanding health and disease from a systems perspective in order to generate cost-effective strategies and solutions for disease management. His research approaches combine both experimental and high throughput biology with rigorous computational, bioinformatics, biophysics, and imaging methods to achieve a deep understanding of the functions of each component in biological systems and integration of them with multilevel systems analysis. For example, the consequences of genetic variation, cell-cell interactions and environmental factors are included to reflect the circumstances and microenvironments of the disease condition. His team is also creating systemic solutions to improve data liquidity, drug discovery, physician productivity and health care value.
"I take a cross-disciplinary, systems approach to problem solving that offers a more holistic perspective,” he says, “because finding solutions requires a systematic integration of concepts, methods and tools from several fields."
One of the most prestigious honors of the IEEE, fellowships are bestowed upon a limited number of senior members who have contributed to the advancement or application of engineering, science and technology by bringing significant value to society. The number of IEEE fellows elevated each year is no more than one-tenth of 1 percent of the total IEEE voting membership.
IEEE is the largest technical professional organization in the world, dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Its 423,000 members across the globe have played key roles in the digital age in such areas as electricity, computers, telecommunications, the internet, lasers, databases, artificial intelligence, robotics and medical imaging.
February 26, 2018
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