Dr. Roderic Pettigrew, PhD, MD

The Robert A. Welch Professor of Chemistry, Roderic I. Pettigrew, PhD, MD, served as the Inaugural Dean of the School of Engineering Medicine. He currently serves as the Vice Chancellor for Health and Strategic Initiatives for the University System and CEO of EnHealth, which is the nation’s first comprehensive educational program to integrate engineering into all health-related disciplines at Texas A&M University.

Before joining Texas A&M and Houston Methodist Hospital, Dr. Pettigrew served as the founding director for the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). On the 10th anniversary of NIBIB, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution commending the institute for its leadership and impact in improving the nation’s health through technological innovation.

Known internationally for his pioneering work involving four-dimensional imaging of the cardiovascular system using magnetic resonance (MRI), Dr. Pettigrew’s current knowledge base also includes nanotechnology, regenerative medicine and point-of-care technologies.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in physics from Morehouse College as a Merrill Scholar, Dr. Pettigrew attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he earned his master’s degree in nuclear science and engineering. He then received his PhD in radiation physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and attained his medical doctorate from Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami.