Kenny Wong

Dr. Kenny Wong is a Teaching Associate Professor and Associate Chair for Graduate Studies in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Stevens Institute of Technology. He joined Stevens in 2017 after 23 years at Merck & Co. Inc., where he held roles such as Director of Pharmacology and led drug discovery teams across diabetes, cardiometabolic disorders, cancer, antibacterial, and neuroscience research. He holds a PhD in Biochemistry from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and a BS in Chemistry from New York University.

His research focuses on mechanistic enzymology, metabolic pathways (e.g., bile acid and cholesterol metabolism), drug discovery, pharmacology, human genetics, and RNA biology. He has pioneered studies on enzyme mechanisms, including glutathione reductase and nitric oxide synthase, and contributed to drug development pipelines at Merck.

Dr. Wong has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and co-invented 5 patents. His work spans cutting-edge technologies like transcriptomics, RNA interference, and human genomics. He actively reviews NIH grants and serves on academic committees for graduate education and curriculum development.

• Education: PhD (Biochemistry, 1990), MS (Biochemistry, 1987) – Albert Einstein College of Medicine; BS (Chemistry, 1985) – New York University.
• Grants: NIH National Research Service Award (1990–1993).
• Patents: Includes methods for characterizing drug agonists, bacterial cell wall biosynthesis inhibitors, and metabolic assay techniques.
• Professional Roles: NIH study section member (2017–present), Sofia Pharm Consulting LLC owner (2016–present).

His teaching includes courses on molecular genetics, ethics in research, and cell biology. He emphasizes bridging academic research with industrial innovation, mentoring the next generation of biomedical scientists.