Dr. Jerry Fong joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine as an Instructor in July of 2024. He grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia before coming to Washington University in St. Louis in 2009. There, he first graduated magna cum laude with a major in Biomedical Engineering and minor in Computer Science in 2013. His undergraduate research in the Hallahan lab focused on radiation-guided targeted drug delivery conjugates to various neoplasms. He then continued at Washington University School of Medicine as a trainee in the Medical Scientist Training Program. His thesis project in the Edwards Lab involved developing a novel algorithm to deconvolve epigenetic subclones of leukemia and lymphoma from methylome sequencing data, for which he received the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F30). Dr. Fong received his combined Doctorate of Medicine and Doctorate of Philosophy in Computational and Systems Biology in 2021.
He then completed his internal medicine internship and residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University School of Medicine. His academic interests stem from wanting to learn the mechanism, the “why,” of everything, and they currently span hospital medicine, accountable care, healthcare systems, and promoting improved communication among providers and with patients, including in the palliative setting. A believer in the Socratic method, he is also interested in fostering critical thinking for all clinical trainees. In his free time, he enjoys finding new hobbies (K-pop in residency) as well as cooking and trying new foods, all the board/card/video games, and all the sports (go Atlanta Hawks!).