From left, USC Provost Michael Quick, David Lee, Terence Sanger, USC President C. L. Max Nikias, and Rohit Varma are seen at the installation of the David L. Lee and Simon Ramo Chair in Health Science and Technology, held Sept. 29 at the Broad CIRM Center Auditorium.

A new chair named in honor of two pioneers in the fields of business and engineering will help strengthen bridges between technology and the health sciences at USC.

Terence Sanger, MD, PhD, was named the David L. Lee and Simon Ramo Chair in Health Science and Technology at a ceremony Sept. 29 on the Health Sciences Campus at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC.

A provost associate professor of biomedical engineering, neurology and biokinesiology at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and Keck School of Medicine of USC, Sanger also is an electrical engineer, computational neuroscientist and child neurologist specializing in research and treatment of movement disorders in children.

“Today, we honor three people who embody what USC stands for: turning new knowledge and lofty vision into life-changing reality,” said USC President C. L. Max Nikias, PhD, at an event celebrating Sanger’s installation. “David L. Lee — a transformational force in finance, health care, and the life of our university. Simon Ramo — a legendary titan of engineering, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and Provost Professor Terry Sanger — a trailblazing leader in biomedical engineering, caregiving, and teaching.”

Sanger is the founder of the USC Health, Technology and Engineering Program and the Sanger Lab, which uses engineering principles to understand childhood movement and to discover new treatments and enabling devices to improve motor function in children with developmental disorders of movement.

“Like David and Simon, Dr. Sanger doesn’t see boundaries as much as possibilities,” Nikias said. “I can think of no one better to serve as our inaugural chair than Dr. Sanger.”

Lee is a co-founder and managing general partner of Clarity Partners, a private equity firm, and a founding member of the Keck School’s Board of Overseers. Ramo was a USC professor and former chief scientist and technical director of the U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile program. He died this year on June 27 at the age of 103.

“I am honored for the opportunity to further the vision of David Lee and Simon Ramo,” Sanger said. “When we bring together the fields of engineering and medicine, we are uniting two languages, two ways of thinking and two types of skills that, together, provide great force to improve health care and the lives of patients.”

by Douglas Morino